RT Article
T1 When God Truly Matters: A Theistic Approach to Psychology
JF Research in the social scientific study of religion
VO 23
SP 213
OP 237
A1 Slife, Brent D.
A1 Reber, Jeffrey S.
A1 Lefevor, G. Tyler
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2012
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1840009640
AB Our study of the philosophy of social science has led us to realize that many psychologists, including ourselves, have participated in a kind of popular myth, sometimes known as the myth of neutrality. The primary feature of this myth is the supposition that the research findings and conceptual practices of secular psychology are essentially neutral to or compatible with various worldviews, including theism. We first attempt to dispel this myth. instead of being bias-free or bias-minimized, the research and practice of psychologists presupposes certain assumptions or biases about the world. We explicate some of the more important assumptions of conventional methodology and practice and compare these assumptions to the theistic assumption of a currently and practically relevant God. We find that theistic conceptualizations are considerably different from secular conceptualizations, not only in their hypotheses about psychological events but also in their practical applications to psychological problems. These differences, we believe, suggest the need for a theistic approach to psychology as a complement to our currently secular approach to psychology. We describe how this is possible by pointing to several applied branches of this theistic approach, including other articles of this special Journal issue, which relate to programs of research and approaches to practice.
K1 Angewandte Sozialwissenschaften
K1 Religion & Gesellschaft
K1 Sozialwissenschaften
DO 10.1163/9789004229549_014