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Psychology Of Altruism: A Phenomenological Study Of Christian Leaders, Joshua G. Belk

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Altruism is fundamentally a part of Christianity, but this phenomenon has never been researched from the perspective of Christian leaders. More than simple kindness or generosity, altruism can be defined as actions and behaviors which place a person’s own interests subordinate to another’s. This qualitative study interviews 31 Christian leaders to establish an understanding of what altruism is in the context of Christian faith. The study found that Christian leaders’ experiences with altruism redefines what was previously known about the phenomenon and its role in our lives. Examining the Christian rationale of altruism provides a richer conception of altruism and …

At The Intersection Of Religion, Spirituality, And Clinical Psychology: A Conversation With Two Jewish Psychologists, Robert A. Demayo, David A. Levy

Psychology Division Scholarship

This article presents a dialogue between two Jewish psychologists who share their respective personal and professional journeys on how spirituality and religious affiliation impacts their work as clinicians. They address the following questions: How would you identify your cultural background with respect to your religious or spiritual history and identity? How do you manage the competing demands of respecting both individual cultural identity and group cultural identity? How did your early experiences with Judaism influence your professional practice? What were your earliest academic influences on the question of spirituality in psychology? How have religion and spirituality manifested in your clinical …

Ciis Dissertation Abstracts, 2022-2023, California Institute Of Integral Studies

CIIS Dissertation Abstracts

This compilation of dissertation abstracts reflects the exciting research completed by the 2022-2023 graduates from PhD programs in the School of Consciousness and Transformation and the Clinical Psychology Doctorate (PsyD) in the School of Professional Psychology and Health at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

The original and impactful doctoral research presented here spans diverse areas of scholarship from anthropology and social change to human sexuality, philosophy and religion, and whole person approaches to psychology, demonstrating the breadth and depth of transformative and integral inquiry happening at CIIS. The transdisciplinary nature of these dissertations reflects the richness and complexity …

Religion And Spirituality In Psychotherapy: A Personal Bedrock Of Faith, Edward Shafranske

Psychology Division Scholarship

Personal beliefs and values conjoin with professional training to influence clinical practice. This article examines the role of religion and spirituality (R/S) through the lens of the author’s personal experiences and illustrates the confluence of faith, belief, identity, and practice in professional life. An autobiographical “glimpse” introduces the author’s formative experiences as a Roman Catholic and illustrates how religious narratives furnished conceptions of suffering, forgiveness, and transcendence that contributed to authentic hope for the client. Although often seemingly silent, R/S may influence psychotherapy practice. Clinical supervision provides a context to examine these personal factors.

Religious Self-Identity And Racism, Alexandria Morgan

Honors College

This project is a replication of a study by Johnson, Rowatt, and LaBouff (2010) that subliminally primed American Christian participants to think about Christianity subconsciously and found increased prejudice towards Black Americans. This study is often cited to support the claim that “thinking about religion makes people more prejudiced,” despite not having been replicated effectively. Replicability is crucial to make appropriate claims. We replicated the original study with updated explicit priming methods as well as updated racial prejudice scales with a recruited national sample of 500 white American Christians through Prolific.ac. Participants were randomly assigned to a priming condition, where …

Psychology: Religious Conflicts Amongst A Christian Campus, Cole Peterson, Alyssa Shearing, Sydney Willis, Melody Alvarez

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The current study seeks to develop and validate a quantitative measure of religion on a Christian campus. As the influence of religion in multiple aspects of the world continues to evolve, it becomes increasingly important to gain an understanding of the experiences of college students within a Christian campus. It has been found that “exposure to new ideas that college provides were thought to lead students to question and ultimately abandon their traditional religious beliefs” (Maryl & Oeur, 2009). More research regarding the effect of religion specifically on a Christian campus is needed; therefore, a reliable and valid psychometric scale …

How Science Education Impacts The Religious Beliefs Of Students, Sahithi Kunisetty, Alexa Neal, Benjamin Ravas

Content presented at the Roesch Social Sciences Symposium

This is a literature review exploring the conflict between science and religion. It seeks to understand how a science education influences a student's level of religious beliefs. Furthermore, it provides reasons as to why one would have less access to a science education, and how religion can restrict one from learning about science.

An Examination Of The Association Of Religiosity, Purity Culture, And Religious Trauma With Symptoms Of Depression And Anxiety, Kaelyn R. Griffin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While no consistent definition yet exists for religious trauma, religious abuse is typically defined as a misuse of authority by a spiritual leader to coerce, control, or exploit those under their leadership, which may in turn lead to the experience of religious trauma. Numerous studies suggest that experiencing abuse within a religious environment is a both global phenomenon and common experience. The impact of religious abuse has recently gained greater media attention, specifically related to the social and psychological impact of leaving high-cost religious groups (i.e., those with rigid rules or groups from which departure leads to isolation and rejection …

Moral Objections To Pornography: Does The Reason For Opposition Affect Consumption?, Grant Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent literature has suggested a link between self-described “problematic” pornography usage or pornography addiction and moral incongruence (Grubbs et al., 2022; Guidry et al., 2019). That is, when someone is morally opposed to pornography, they feel worse about their use of it. As of yet, however, no link has been established between specific reasons for objecting to pornography and their effects on consumption. Participants were 54 adults selected randomly using Amazon’s MTurk survey distribution platform. Respondents completed demographic questions and 6 scales measuring frequency of pornography use, objections to pornography, self-perceived problematic porn use, external and internal shame, God representations, …

Intercorrelations Between Essentialist Beliefs And Religious, Political, And National Identities, Truman Deree

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Research on essentialist beliefs has largely focused on a few identities associated with biological traits that have socially constructed significance and meanings placed on them (e.g., skin color for race or voice pitch for gender). Identities that are more choice-based (e.g., religion or politics) or otherwise non-physical (e.g., nationality) have been underrepresented in research on essentialism. The concept of essentialism is important because the action of regarding natural biological factors as immutable and determinant has been found to lead to racial and political discrimination. The current study surveyed participants on their national, religious, and political beliefs to investigate the relationships …

Exploring Interfaith Sex Education, Bailey Lewis

Honors College

Sacred Sexuality explores the intersections of religion and sexuality. I worked with Dr. Birthisel, Director of the Wilson Center, and Kate Dawson, co-facilitator of the sex education class, to survey the sex education class participants on how the experience has been for them. I surveyed the sex education class participants after the class to analyze their opinions of the sex education class, interfaith dialogue, and how their spirituality or religious perspectives inform their beliefs around sexuality. Overall, the sex education class was highly recommended and gave an interesting look into how faith and sexuality interact. While the sex education class …

Attitudes Toward Participation In Organized Religion: Its Impact On Mental Health And Life Satisfaction, Kayla M. Riley, Jonathan Riley

Journal of Graduate Education Research

This is a non-experimental study which is designed to discover potential relationships between an individual’s attitude towards participation in organized religion and their mental health, as well as their life satisfaction. The study contained 203 young adults taken from a convenience sample using social media, e-mail, and SMS messages. The research was conducted using a survey form composed of three instruments intended to measure attitude towards religion, general well-being, and life satisfaction. The results from the study indicated that there is a weak positive relationship between one’s attitude towards organized religion and mental health. Additionally, the results also indicated that …

Is The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Adult Belief In Paranormality Moderated By Locus Of Control?, Michelle Alessia Cardone M.S., M.A.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Research has established a relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and belief in paranormal phenomena (Lawrence et al., 1994). In the present study, I sought to replicate this finding in more detail by examining seven dimensions of paranormality. Further, the current study investigated whether locus of control moderated the relationship between ACEs and paranormal belief. I hypothesized that ACEs positively correlated with paranormal belief. Further, I hypothesized that the relationship between ACEs and paranormal belief would be moderated by locus of control, such that, the stronger the internal locus of control, the weaker the relationship between ACEs and paranormal belief. …

Growing Up Ghanaian: The Well-Being Of Ghanaian Children In The United States And Ghana, Akua Bemma Opoku

Dissertations and Theses

Children’s subjective well-being is a child’s judgment of their well-being. Subjective well- being can have positive and negative indicators. Positive indicators include but are not limited to safety, feeling happy, and feeling excited. Negative indicators include but are not limited to lack of safety, lack of confidence, and sadness. Children’s ethnic background and their relation to their ethnic background may influence their subjective well-being. Research focusing on ethnic identity and child well-being has found positive associations. Research has also found a relationship between the context of family, school, peers, religion, community, and ethnic identity. This comparative phenomenological study aimed to …

The Moderating Effects Of Religious/Spiritual Coping On The Depression-Suicidal Thoughts Relationship, Rebecca Aryeh M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Religious coping refers to the various ways individuals respond to distress, involving cognitive, emotional, and behavioral approaches centered around their religious or spiritual (R/S) beliefs. This coping mechanism can be classified into two main facets: positive religious coping, which involves constructive approaches, and negative religious coping, encompassing struggles in the spiritual realm. During periods of depression, some individuals rely on religious or spiritual coping mechanisms. Currently, there is a lack of research examining the moderating effect of positive and negative religious coping on the relationship between depression and suicidal thoughts, especially within the Jewish community. The primary objective of the …

Spiritual Well-Being Scale (Swbs): Measuring Spiritual Well-Being In International Contexts, Rodger K. Bufford, Raymond F. Paloutzian

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) is a 20-item measure of self-perceived spiritual health. Developed in the 1980s, it includes 2 subscales with 10 items each. Responses are made on a 6-point continuum from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree with no neutral point; 9 of the items are negatively worded to minimize response biases. The US samples show good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Content validity was established in construction. Expected correlations with religion and spirituality indices, social and psychological mea-sures, and physical functioning and demonstration of expected group differences support criterion validity. Factor analysis commonly shows 2 factors corresponding to …

Investigating Relations Regarding The Religious Ought, Ideal, And Actual Self Using A Relational Density Theory Approach, Kam Barker

MSU Graduate Theses

Religiosity may produce positive outcomes (e.g., greater life satisfaction, hope, and optimism) or negative outcomes (e.g., psychological distress), especially if the individual’s identity is in conflict (Koenig, 2001). This distress, as explained by self-discrepancy theory, is caused by inconsistency between the self-concept (attributes the individual believes they currently possess) and the self-guides, consisting of the ‘ought’ self (attributes the individual believes they ought to -or should- possess) and the 'ideal' self (attributes the individual desires to possess) (Higgins, 1987). Exploring stimulus relations related to these ‘selves’ using a relational density framework (Belisle & Dixon, 2020) may provide insight regarding relational …

Views Of Asexuality And Transgender Individuals: The Role Of Religious Beliefs, Allison Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Asexuality is a lifelong, continuous lack of sexual attraction or the inability to feel sexual attraction. Asexuality is a naturally occurring sexual orientation thought to be present in 0.4-1.1% of the American population. However, asexuality is still relatively unknown by the general population and understudied by scientific researchers. Even less known is how religious individuals view asexuality. According to the 2020 US census, around 70% of American adults identify as Christian. The current study examined how degree of religiousness related to feelings toward sexuality and asexual individuals. Main hypotheses included: religious fundamentalism would predict negative attitudes toward asexual and transgender …

Noted With Honor: Intersections Between Theology, Music Therapy, Psychotherapy, And Original Music Compositions For Hospice Patients, Stanton Nelson

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

This thesis investigates the intersections between theology, music therapy, and psychotherapy when creating a music composition that honors a hospice patient’s walk of faith. A pioneer organization inspiring this thesis is Swan Songs in Austin, Texas, where musical moments are created for the patient and family. However, its model is primarily based on collating previously composed pieces for recitals without a personalized honoring of the patient’s witness of faith. Noted with Honor is an emerging non-profit organization that creates an original work that reflects upon the testimony of the patient and forms a new narrative towards the end of one’s …

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Exploring The Crisis Of Faith Process Of Former Members Of The Cjlds Within The United States, Kent Taylor Critchlow

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christians are experiencing a crisis of religious faith throughout the United States at an alarming rate, especially among millennials. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, there were 20 primary and secondary reasons that created a crisis of religious faith and there were 13 reasons that motivated each participant to eventually abandon their Church membership. Over 80% of the reasons why the participants left the Church were directly and indirectly tied to the Prophet Joseph Smith and to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. The use of the Internet played a significant role in expediting …

Intersectional Identities Of Race And Religion Of African American Muslims And Their Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services, Cheruba A. Dhanaraj

Dissertations

African American Muslims have overlapping and interconnected identities of race and religion that can be conceptualized by the intersectionality framework to understand the complexities of barriers they face when seeking mental health services. African American Muslims have a higher risk of mental health issues due to systemic racism, racial discrimination, racial trauma, and Islamophobic discrimination. Yet, there is a lack of scholarly research or studies that focus explicitly on African American Muslims' specific mental health needs, barriers, and attitudes related to seeking mental health treatment.

This study sought to fill the gap in knowledge about attitudes toward seeking mental health …

Approaches Mainline Protestant Pastors Use To Work With Lgb People And Their Families: Implications For Family Therapists, Christi R. Mcgeorge, Katelyn O. Coburn

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

When a loved one comes out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), families often seek the assistance of a trusted professional. For many families that involves seeking the consultation of a religious leader. This queer theory informed qualitative study sought to explore how Christian pastors work with LGB individuals and their families. Additionally, this study explored how pastors’ approaches to working with LGB individuals and their families varied based on the degree to which families were accepting or rejecting of their LGB family members. Twenty-one mainline Protestant Christian pastors were interviewed. Thematic analysis identified three themes and a number of …

The Impact Of Political Beliefs On Ethical Framework In Adults

Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research

This study aimed to examine the differences between major political philosophies in the United States and whether these beliefs influence a person’s ethical views. This research was a non-experimental correlation design, using a survey methodology with adult participants. The participants were asked to complete the 39-item The Impact of Political Beliefs on Ethical Frameworks in Adults Survey. A Pearson’s r was conducted to determine the relationship between political beliefs and ethical frameworks. The results showed a slightly positive correlation that was statistically significant [r(166) = .28, p = .000]. Therefore, there was sufficient evidence to support the research hypothesis: there …

Religion After Rape: Changes In Faith And Hindered Acknowledgement, Danielle M. Piggott, Raeann E. Anderson

Psychology Student Publications

Previous research has demonstrated the dramatic effect trauma can have on religiosity. This study sought to extend this understanding by examining how a specific trauma, rape, influences religious beliefs and behaviors as well as how religiosity influences acknowledgement of rape. Rape acknowledgement is the personal use of the label rape to describe such an experience. The process of acknowledgement and general recovery from rape can include dramatic questioning of one’s religious beliefs and marks an important potential point of intervention, especially given the majority of the US identifies as religious. A sample of 310 mostly Christian, college-aged women completed questionnaires …

Effects Of Religious And Science Identity On Compatibility, Darby C. Casey

Honors College

Science and religion sometimes appear to clash; for example, some religious organizations reject COVID-19 restrictions on religious grounds. However, many people, like millions of religious scientists, see science and religion as perfectly compatible. The purpose of this study is to examine how people who identify as religious and people who identify as scientists think about science and religion as either compatible or in conflict. The study was conducted with psychology and honors undergraduate students at the University of Maine and consisted of surveys asking about students’ religious and science commitment, as well as their perceptions of the science-religion relationship. We …

The Theological Structure For Forming Christian Vocational Spirituality: A Practical Method For The Whole Of The Christian Life, Yong Sub Sim

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The Christian church works for reconciliation between God and his creatures through Jesus Christ. For this, the church calls people and helps them hear, understand, recognize and receive the Spirit of God through Jesus. This dissertation explains this process as walking with, working with and following Jesus.

This dissertation builds a theological structure for forming “Christian vocational spirituality” as the whole of the Christian life reconciled with the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ. This theological structure guides the process through which a human being becomes a true Christian being, and a Christian being becomes a true human being reconciled …

The Double-Edged Sword: Unsuccessful Versus Successful Religious Parenting And Transmission, Avanlee Peterson

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Religious participation can have many positive effects on children and adolescents, including improved health, academic, and social capabilities. Therefore, many parents are concerned by the decrease in religiosity in American society today. In response to this common concern, this literature review discusses how various types of religious parenting can improve parent-child religious transmission while maintaining good parent-child relationships and promoting healthy child development. Much of the research on parenting styles suggests that religious parenting is most successful when using an authoritative style of parenting (high structure, high warmth, high autonomy) rather than an authoritarian style (high structure, low warmth, low …

Religion Has A Public Relations Problem: Integrating Evidence-Based Thinking Into Clinical Practice, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Religion and religious institutions receive a great deal of negative, rather than positive, attention and press. This creates an impression, for the casual observer, that religion and associated institutions are a plight on the planet. It is critically important for evidence-based research and best practices in clinical services to be well known and utilized within professional psychotherapy practice. Clinicians must be mindful of the many advantages of religious engagement for physical, mental, and community health and wellness. Psychologists, and other mental health professionals, tend to be secular and nonreligious and receive little, if any, training on religious diversity that may …

Recovery In Ten: An Inclusive Model Of Recovery For Rising Generations, Sydney Alexandra Camargo

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

For decades, the 12-step model has been the go-to for substance use treatment. Programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous have given individuals in recovery the space to recover and reclaim their lives. However, research has shown this recovery to be directly influenced by the individual’s religion and his or her reliance on a higher power. For those who subscribe to a religion outside of Christianity, or have no religious backing at all, 12-step program can be disadvantageous. The lack of true inclusivity, as well as the verbal degradation of one’s self, has turned many away from this method. For those who …

Relationship Changes Of African Americans With Nontraditional Spiritual Practices, Della Sanders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have explored the subject of belongingness for decades. However, there is limited research on how belongingness may change for African Americans who transitioned from traditional Christianity to other spiritual practices. In this study, the relationship changes (in terms of family, friends, significant others, and former church relationships) of African Americans who identify as spiritual but not religious (SBNR) after leaving traditional Christianity were explored. The theoretical framework of the social connectedness theory was used to explore the need for belongingness to avoid social isolation and loneliness within a social network. Six African American Generation Xers, four women and two …