Psychological meaning of religious experience

The Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, edited by David A. Leeming, Kathryn Madden, and Stanton Marlan (New York: Springer, 2010), offers a definitive and intellectually rigorous collection of psychological interpretations of the stories, rituals, motifs, symbols, doctrines, dogmas, and experiences of the world's religious and mythological traditions. In 997 pages, the Encyclopedia applies a range of psychological approaches to understanding the form and content of religious experience, at the same time offering insight into the meanings of various symbols and themes of numerous world religions.

As with other Gale Virtual Reference Library titles, this resource includes downloadable mp3 audio files for each entry and a citation tool that will generate an MLA or APA format citation for each entry. Other features:

• A comprehensive reference work that includes that broad spectrum of psychological approaches to understanding the form and content of religious experience


• Entries draw on forty different religious traditions, including modern world religions (e.g. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism), as well as older religious movements (e.g. African Animism, Egyptian, Greek, Gnostic, and Native North American religions)


• Provides the technical and phenomenological vocabulary that will enable researchers in the fields of psychology and religion to pursue collaboration and dialogue

This is a crucial resource for the collaboration and mutual illumination of the fields of psychology and religion and their intersection.