Religion, Spirituality, and Positive Psychology in Adulthood: A Developmental View

Abstract

For decades, psychologists have been interested in the question whether, and how, religious and spiritual behavior, in terms of beliefs, attitudes, practices, and belonging, could be scientifically studied and assessed in terms of their relative good, or ill, for human well-being. This article considers contributions of religious commitment and spiritual practice to well-being and cognitivedevelopmental theoretical models and related bodies of empirical and clinical research regarding religious and spiritual development across the life cycle, with particular attention to questions related to positive adult development.

The Psychology of religious, spiritual, and moral development: conceptual and Empirical relationships

“…In our view these conceptual and empirical problems echo problems common to Piaget's earlier work and to other neo-Piagetian models across a host of domains (Day, 2008a(Day, , 2010b. In the paragraphs that follow we consider some of these problems, and suggest, in the light of recent research using the Model of Hierarchical Complexity (MHC), some ways of improving the cognitive-developmental model for the psychology of religious and spiritual development, at once substantiating the claim that religious and spiritual development can be usefully studied in terms of stage and structure, and supplementing our understanding as to how this understanding might be applied.…”

“…Given that all people must wrestle with and resolve moral dilemmas that confront them throughout life, they will do so whether or not religious beliefs, practices, or belonging to communities of faith are part of their moral experience. Since moral questions figure in religious and spiritual ones, movement in moral judgment will have consequences for the mechanisms and processes in the formulation of religious and spiritual understanding (Day, 2008a(Day, , 2010bDay & Naedts, 2006;Day & Youngman, 2003).…”

Discussion on Religious Practice in Counseling: a Preliminary Survey

“…Souza (2002) as well as Horfman & Walach (2011) stated that the application of the religious or spiritual aspect coincides with the importance of diversity in counseling and it is essential that a counselor understands the spiritual aspect as an aspect of client diversity. Day (2010) explained, "A body of recent research has noted some positive impact of spirituality on well-being. Across a broad array of cultural settings and populations, religion and spirituality have often been found to be contributing factors to life satisfaction, sense of personal efficacy, successful coping, and self-esteem.…”

Spiritual and Religious Issues in Psychotherapy with Schizophrenia: Cultural Implications and Implementation

“…Across a broad array of cultural settings and populations, religion and spirituality have often been found to be contributing factors to life satisfaction, sense of personal efficacy, successful coping, and self-esteem [31][32][33][34][35]. Religion and spirituality have been identified as important factors in mental health, including in the recovery from serious mental illnesses [36][37][38].…”

“…The field of positive psychology also encourages the scientific study of religious and spiritual development as a contributory factor to positive development in adulthood. For example, spirituality and religiousness are associated with higher-order cognitive functions, which involve meaning-making processes, moral judgment, and complex problem-solving skills [31].…”