Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased: Psychological, Scientific, and Theological Perspectives (Routledge Research in Psychology)

Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased brings together cutting-edge empirical and theoretical contributions from scholars in fields including psychology, theology, ethics, neuroscience, medicine, and philosophy, to examine how and why humans engage in, or even seek spiritual experiences and connection with the immaterial world. In this richly interdisciplinary volume, Plante and Schwartz recognize human interaction with the divine and departed as a cross-cultural and historical universal that continues to concern diverse disciplines. Accounting for variances in belief and human perception and use, the book is divided into four major sections: personal experience; theological consideration; medical, technological, and scientific considerations; and psychological considerations with chapters addressing phenomena including prayer, reincarnation, sensed presence, and divine revelations. Featuring scholars specializing in theology, psychology, medicine, neuroscience, and ethics, this book provides a thoughtful, compelling, evidence-based, and contemporary approach to gain a grounded perspective on current understandings of human interaction with the divine, the sacred, and the deceased. Of interest to believers, questioners, and unbelievers alike, this volume will be key reading for researchers, scholars, and academics engaged in the fields of religion and psychology, social psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and health psychology. Readers with a broader interest in spiritualism, religious and non-religious movements will also find the text of interest.

Thomas G. Plante is Professor of psychology, and by courtesy, religious studies, at Santa Clara University. He is also Adjunct Clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, USA.

Gary E. Schwartz is Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Surgery at the University of Arizona. He is also Director of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona, USA.