May 22, 2021 10:54 PM
https://www.psypost.org/2021/05/new-stud...ught-60857
INTRO: New research provides evidence that specific forms of religious motivation are associated with higher-level patterns of thought. The findings, which appear in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, shed light on the cognitive underpinnings of the relationship between religion and meaning in life.
“I became interested in the psychology of religion after having taught it at a small liberal arts college I previously worked at,” said study author Jay L. Michaels, an assistant professor at the University of South Florida at Sarasota-Manatee.
“In preparing the course, I learned how hundreds of psychology and medical studies identified that people who are religious tend to have lower rates of heart disease, better outcomes following surgical procedures, and live longer. To me, this was interesting, as at the time it was unclear what exactly contributed to these health benefits.”
“So, I theorized that perhaps religion alters how people think,” Michaels said. “I specifically began testing Dr. Crystal Park’s (University of Connecticut) theory that religion enhances meaning in life, where sense of meaning is known to help people cope with stress. I theorized that if this is accurate, then religion should alter the underlying mental processes that contribute to perceived meaning. This particular article is based on this logic.”
In the study... (MORE)
INTRO: New research provides evidence that specific forms of religious motivation are associated with higher-level patterns of thought. The findings, which appear in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, shed light on the cognitive underpinnings of the relationship between religion and meaning in life.
“I became interested in the psychology of religion after having taught it at a small liberal arts college I previously worked at,” said study author Jay L. Michaels, an assistant professor at the University of South Florida at Sarasota-Manatee.
“In preparing the course, I learned how hundreds of psychology and medical studies identified that people who are religious tend to have lower rates of heart disease, better outcomes following surgical procedures, and live longer. To me, this was interesting, as at the time it was unclear what exactly contributed to these health benefits.”
“So, I theorized that perhaps religion alters how people think,” Michaels said. “I specifically began testing Dr. Crystal Park’s (University of Connecticut) theory that religion enhances meaning in life, where sense of meaning is known to help people cope with stress. I theorized that if this is accurate, then religion should alter the underlying mental processes that contribute to perceived meaning. This particular article is based on this logic.”
In the study... (MORE)
