Christian Psychology: Past, Present, and Future
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2013) | Viewed by 31449
Special Issue Editor
Interests: Christian psychotherapy and developmental psychology; attribution theory; philosophy of the human sciences; transdisciplinary scholarship
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
When most people today think of psychology, they have in mind the version that arose in the late 1800’s, based on the worldview of naturalism and the application of natural science methods to the study of human experience and behavior, which became the dominant approach to psychology in the West in the 20th century. However, every complex culture in human history has developed some version of psychology, considered as a body of knowledge and practice concerned with understanding individual human beings and promoting their wellbeing. In the centuries since its founding, the Christian community has developed a rich and distinctive body of knowledge and practice that warrants the label Christian psychology.
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1854), for example, described himself as a Christian psychologist, wrote penetrating analyses of the human condition, and developed a number of significant existential/critical psychological models of the emotions, motivation, human flourishing, the unconscious, stage development, abnormality, and remediation, from a distinctly Christian perspective—before Freud was even born—that differ in significant ways from those of modern psychology.
A renewal of interest in Christian psychology began two to three decades ago in Europe and the USA, inspired in some cases by the charismatic movement and in others by the resurgence of Christian philosophy. Contemporary Christian psychology, therefore, is in its infancy. In dialogue with other versions of psychology, the agenda of a Christian psychology is the development of distinctively Christian psychological theory, research programs, and clinical practice, based on a Christian worldview and derived from Christianity’s many intellectual and soul-care traditions, in areas of psychology where worldview assumptions appear to make a difference in the deliverances of scientific activity.
Prof. Dr. Eric L. Johnson
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- history of psychology
- philosophy of science
- religion
- spirituality
- theistic psychology
- folk psychology
- worldview
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
