Mind and Religion: Psychological and Cognitive Foundations of Religion (Cognitive Science of Religion)

Recent cognitive approaches to the study of religion have yielded much understanding by focusing on common psychological processes that all humans share. One leading theory, Harvey WhitehouseOs modes of religiosity theory, demonstrates how two distinct modes of organizing and transmitting religious traditions emerge from different ways of activating universal memory systems. In Mind and Religion, top scholars from biology to religious studies question, test, evaluate and challenge WhitehouseOs sweeping thesis. The result is an up-to-date snapshot of the cognitive science of religion field for classes in psychology, anthropology, or history of religion. A reductionistic model of distinct modes of religious transmission / Pascal Boyer Modes theory : some theoretical considerations / Robert Hinde Ritual form and ritual frequency / E. Thomas Lawson Divergent religion : a dual-process model of religious thought, behavior, and structure / Todd Tremlin Rethinking naturalness : modes of religiosity and religion in the round / Matt Day In the empirical mode : evidence needed for the modes of religiosity theory / Justin Barrett Memory and analogical thinking in high-arousal rituals / Rebekah A. Richert, Harvey Whitehouse, and Emma Stewart The modes theory helps explain conversion phenomena / Ilkka Pyysiäinen Charisma, tradition, and ritual : a cognitive approach to magical agency / Jesper Sørensen Why religions develop free will problems / D. Jason Slone The cognitive foundations of religiosity / Harvey Whitehouse. "Recent cognitive approaches to the study of religion have yielded much understanding by focusing on common psychological processes that all humans share. One leading theory, Harvey Whitehouse's modes of religiosity theory, demonstrates how two distinct modes of organizing and transmitting religious traditions emerge from different ways of activating universal memory systems. In Mind and Religion, top scholars from biology to religious studies question, test, evaluate, and challenge Whitehouse's sweeping thesis. The result is an up-to-date snapshot of the cognitive science of religion field for classes in psychology, anthropology, or history of religion."--BOOK JACKET.

Recent cognitive approaches to the study of religion have yielded much understanding by focusing on common psychological processes that all humans share. One leading theory, Harvey Whitehouse's modes of religiosity theory, demonstrates how two distinct modes of organizing and transmitting religious traditions emerge from different ways of activating universal memory systems. In Mind and Religion, top scholars from biology to religious studies question, test, evaluate and challenge Whitehouse's sweeping thesis. The result is an up-to-date snapshot of the cognitive science of religion field for classes in psychology, anthropology, or history of religion.