Psychology and Religion

Psychology and Religion: West and East was first published in 1958, and in this new edition bibliographical citations and entries have been revised in the light of subsequent publications in the Collected Works.Should psychology try to explain religion or try to understand it? Pioneers in psychology like Sigmund Freud and William James took opposing views on the matter and it has been hotly debated ever since. Interestingly though in the past psychology was used to attack religion recent findings in the area have been more sympathetic to religion. How should we understand their relationship today?Michael Argyle's new book is an introduction to the psychology of religion from one of the world's most famous experimental psychologists. He ranges over the whole of psychology to look at the results of psychology's study of religion including those of his own important experiments. Full of fascinating and surprising insights into people and their religious worlds, his belief in both the empirical value of psychology and the spiritual value of religion are evident in this comprehensive and accessible survey of what psychologists know about religion - and what they don't.