Psychology of religion

Japanese: 宗教心理学 - しゅうきょうしんりがく（英語表記）psychology of religion

A general term for various schools and methods of psychology that study religion. As Ebbinghouse, H.'s statement that "psychology has a long history, but its actual history is short" suggests, religion itself, which is the subject of research, also has an aspect of exploring the mind. Even before psychology laboratories were established at universities in the United States and Germany at the end of the 19th century and scientific psychology was born, Buddhism had a system of the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, action, and consciousness) that corresponded to perceptual psychology and a deep psychological system such as Yogacara, and excellent preachers such as theologian Edwards, J. had a deep observational eye that saved the human soul. If we take the psychology of religion in a broad sense, we need to pay attention to these things, and even cooperation between movements such as Buddhist psychology and the psychology of religion may be considered. Homans, P. (1987) looks back on the history of psychology and points out the need to reflect on and examine (but not abandon) the researchers' own faith and values.

Conversion (a sudden religious awakening) is the most widely treated topic in the psychology of religion. Conversion research against the background of the revival movement began with Hall, GS's lecture at Harvard University in 1881, followed by Starbuck, ED (1899), who quantitatively examined the conversion from adolescent guilt using a questionnaire, and James, W.'s lecture at the University of Edinburgh (1902), which cited many religious notes. The clear changes before and after conversion were suitable for psychological research, but the unique experience of conversion was also seen as a kind of abnormal psychology. Later, Lifton, RJ's (1961) study of brainwashing and Lofland, J. and Stark, R.'s (1965) study of the process of joining a new religious movement showed the existence of a gradual process of change in state of mind linked to the gradual degree of participation in the organization, rather than a sudden transformation of ideas and values. Conversion to Islam and conversion in evangelical Christian world missionary work have also been examined by Hefner, RW (1993) and others in the context of cultural anthropology.

Even if we look at the extent of research on conversion alone, psychological research on religion is broad. For example, there are a variety of themes that are not published in empirical research journals such as the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, such as deep psychological exploration, the accumulation of pathology and religiosity in psychotherapy, human potential development practices such as humanistic psychology and transpersonal psychology, and cognitive psychology perspectives linked to participant observation (Wulff, DM, 1997). The special feature on oriental practices in Psychology Review, Vol. 35, No. 1 (1992), provides an overview of physiological psychology of Zen, which has been actively conducted in Japan. In addition, Kaneko Akitsugu (2011) provides an overview of empirical psychology of religion, and Shimazono Susumu and Nishihira Nao (2001) confirm the connection between deep psychology and religious studies.

In recent years, the application of meditation and positive psychology have been attracting attention. For a detailed account of psychiatric research on meditation, see Ando Osamu (1993). In addition, Valera, F., a neuroscientist who experienced the pain of the Chilean political upheaval, has conducted joint research with the Dalai Lama and others from the Mind and Life Institute, and, in addition to conducting neuroscientific evaluations of Buddhist meditation, has sought applications of meditation to improve politics, the economy, and society. Vipassana meditation, which is a form of Southeast Asian Buddhism, has spread in the West alongside Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, and has been systematized as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) proposed by Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990), and is being applied to a wide range of mental and physical illnesses, including the prevention of relapses in depression and addiction. Mindfulness is becoming so widely known that people are forgetting that it is a word of Buddhist origin. Positive psychology, a movement advocated by Seligman, MEP (2000), who criticized psychology for focusing only on the negative aspects such as psychopathology, inherits the methods and knowledge of traditional psychology, while examining the correlation between human virtues, values, and happiness, and is being widely applied to organizational research and teaching methods, etc., but these were once the subject of religious personality theory. →Positive Psychology →Yuishiki Psychological Thought [Kenta Kasai]

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Japanese:

宗教を研究対象とする心理学の諸学派や方法群の総称。エビングハウスEbbinghouse,H.の「心理学には長い過去があるが，実際の歴史は短い」という言明が暗示するように，研究対象である宗教そのものにも心の探究という側面がある。19世紀末にアメリカとドイツで大学に心理学実験室が設置され科学的心理学が産声を上げる以前から，知覚心理学と呼応する五蘊（色・受・想・行・識）の体系や唯識のような深層心理学的体系を仏教はもっていたし，神学者エドワーズEdwards,J.のような優れた説教者は，人間の魂を救済する深い観察眼を備えていた。宗教心理学を広義にとらえるならこれらに目配りする必要があり，仏教心理学のような運動と宗教心理学との連携さえ検討されうる。ホーマンズHomans,P.（1987）は心理学史を振り返り，研究者自身の信仰や価値観を反省吟味（放棄ではない）する必要も指摘する。

　宗教心理学で最も広く扱われた主題として，回心conversion（宗教的な急激な目覚め）がある。リバイバル運動を背景とする回心研究は，1881年にホールHall,G.S.が行なったハーバード大学での講義を皮切りに，思春期の罪責感からの転換を質問紙法で数量的に吟味したスターバックStarbuck,E.D.（1899），宗教的な手記を数多く引用したジェームズJames,W.のエジンバラ大学での講演録（1902）と続く。回心前後の鮮明な変化は心理学研究に好適であったが，回心という特異な体験はある種の異常心理ともとらえられた。その後，リフトンLifton,R.J.（1961）の洗脳の研究や，ロフランドLofland,J.とスタークStark,R.（1965）による新宗教運動への入会過程conversionは，思想や価値観の急激な変容ではなく組織への段階的参加度と連動しての心境の漸次的変化過程の存在を示した。イスラムへの改宗や福音主義的キリスト教の世界伝道における改宗conversionも，ヘフナーHefner,R.W.（1993）などが文化人類学の文脈で検討している。

　回心研究の広がりだけ見ても，宗教の心理学的研究は広範である。たとえば『International Journal for the Psychology of Religion』や『Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion』などの実証的研究誌には掲載されない，深層心理学的な探究，心理療法における病理と宗教性の蓄積，人間性心理学やトランスパーソナル心理学などの人間可能性開発的な実践，参与観察と連動した認知心理学的視点などの多様な主題がある（Wulff,D.M.，1997）。『心理学評論』35巻1号（1992）は東洋的行法の特集で，日本で精力的に行なわれた禅の生理心理学的研究の概要を知ることができる。また，金児暁嗣（2011）では実証的宗教心理学の概要が，島薗進と西平直（2001）では深層心理学と宗教研究のつながりが確認される。

　近年注目すべき領域として，瞑想の応用とポジティブ心理学がある。瞑想の精神医学的研究は安藤治（1993）に詳しい。また，チリ政変の苦痛を体験した脳神経学者バレーラValera,F.は，精神と生命研究所Mind and Life Instituteを拠点に，チベット仏教のダライ・ラマなどとの共同研究を重ね，仏教的瞑想の脳科学的評価と合わせ，政治，経済，社会の改善のための瞑想の応用を模索した。東南アジア仏教系のビパッサナー瞑想は禅やチベット仏教と並ぶ西欧での広がりをもち，カバット・ジンKabat-Zinn,J.（1990）の提唱するマインドフルネスストレス低減法mindfulness based stress reduction（MBSR）に体系化され，さらにうつ病や依存症の再発予防など幅広い心身疾患に応用されている。マインドフルネスは仏教起源の語であることが忘れられるほど人口に膾炙しつつある。心理学が精神病理など負の側面にばかり焦点を当ててきたと批判したセリグマンSeligman,M.E.P.（2000）の提唱した運動であるポジティブ心理学は，従来の心理学の方法や知見を継承しつつ，人間の徳性や価値観と幸福との相関を検証して，組織研究や教授法などに幅広く応用されつつあるが，これらはかつて宗教人格論という主題であったのである。　→ポジティブ心理学　→唯識心理思想
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