Religion as a natural laboratory for understanding human behavior
Religion as a natural laboratory for understanding human behavior
What do we gain from the scientific study of religion? One possibility is that religious contexts are unique, and cognition within these contexts is worth understanding. Another possibility is that religion can be viewed as a laboratory for understanding psychology and culture more broadly. Rather than limiting the study of religion to a single context, I argue that the study of religion is useful precisely because it illuminates secular psychological and cultural processes. I first outline my practical approach to psychology and religion, focusing on how people use religion to advance mundane goals. I then discuss several domains in which studying religion has led to important insights, including culture, prejudice, and cognition. This article is an extended version of an Early Career Award address given at the International Association for the Psychology of Religion meeting in 2023 in Groningen, Netherlands.
Moon, Jordan W.
552fac5b-2f9e-48c3-9546-a0844409098b
Moon, Jordan W.
552fac5b-2f9e-48c3-9546-a0844409098b
Moon, Jordan W.
(2024)
Religion as a natural laboratory for understanding human behavior.
Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 46 (3).
(doi:10.1177/00846724241255131).
Abstract
What do we gain from the scientific study of religion? One possibility is that religious contexts are unique, and cognition within these contexts is worth understanding. Another possibility is that religion can be viewed as a laboratory for understanding psychology and culture more broadly. Rather than limiting the study of religion to a single context, I argue that the study of religion is useful precisely because it illuminates secular psychological and cultural processes. I first outline my practical approach to psychology and religion, focusing on how people use religion to advance mundane goals. I then discuss several domains in which studying religion has led to important insights, including culture, prejudice, and cognition. This article is an extended version of an Early Career Award address given at the International Association for the Psychology of Religion meeting in 2023 in Groningen, Netherlands.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 30 May 2024
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Local EPrints ID: 506722
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/506722
PURE UUID: 0f8d7b3f-cc4d-4f28-aeed-736bb2c4fc56
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Date deposited: 17 Nov 2025 17:40
Last modified: 18 Nov 2025 03:14
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Author:
Jordan W. Moon
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