Semantics and Psychology of Spirituality (eBook)

Heinz Streib (M.A. 1977, Tübingen University; Ph.D. 1989, Emory University, Habilitation 1995, Frankfurt University) has established the Research Center for Biographical Studies in Contemporary Religion at the University of Bielefeld and has conducted there a series of empirical studies – several of them in cooperation with Ralph Hood (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga). Streib’s major third-party funded research projects are the following: Fundamentalist Biographies (1996-1998, for an Enquete Commission of the German Parliament), Varieties of Deconversion in the USA and Germany (2002-2005), “Spirituality” in Germany and the USA (2009-2012), Xenophobia and Xenosophia between the Abrahamic Religions (2011-2015) and the study of religious development in longitudinal perspective in the USA and Germany (2014/2015 - current). Other research interests include: Theory and research in religious development in terms of religious styles and schemata, violence and inter-religious prejudice in school and adolescents’ readiness for mediation.Ralph W. Hood Jr. is professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is a former editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and a former co-editor of the Archive for the Psychology of Religion and The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. He is a past president of division 36 of the American Psychological Association and a recipient of its William James award. He has published several hundred articles and numerous book chapters in the psychology of religion and has authored, co-authored or edited fifteen books, all dealing with the psychology of religion.

Preface.- Introduction.- Part I. Points of Departure.- Chapter 1. Understanding “Spirituality” – Conceptual Considerations; Heinz Streib and Ralph W. Hood Jr..- Chapter 2. Deconversion and ''Spirituality'' - Migrations in the Religious Field; Heinz Streib, Ralph W. Hood, Jr., and Barbara Keller.- Chapter 3. Investigating ''Spirituality'': Between Survey Data and the Study of Biographies; Heinz Streib, Constantin Klein and Ralp W. Hood Jr.- Chapter 4. Design, Methods and Sample Characteristics of the Bielefeld-Based Cross-Cultural Study of ''Spirituality''; Barbara Keller, Heinz Streib, Christopher Silver, Constantin Kleinand Ralph W. Hood Jr.- Chapter 5. Who is “Spiritual”?; Barbara Keller, Constantin Kleinand, Anne Swhajor-Biesemann and Heinz Streib.- - Part II. Senmantics of ''Spirituality''.- Chapter 6. Is “Spirituality” nothing but “Religion”? An Indirect Experimental Approach; Constantin Klein, Ralph W. Hood Jr, Christopher F. Silver, Barbara Keller and Heinz Streib.- Chapter 7. Semantics Differentials Open New Perspectives on the Semantic Field of ''Spirituality'' and ''Religion''; Heinz Streib, Barbara Keller, Constantin Klein, Anne Swhajor-Biesemann and Ralph W. Hood Jr.- Chapter 8. “Spirituality” and “Religion” – Corpus analysis of Subjective Definitions in the Questionnaire; Stefan Altmeyer and Constantin Klein.- Chapter 9. Dimensions of  ''Spirituality''; The Semantics of Subjective Definitions;  Clemens Eisenmann and Constantin Klein.- Chapter 10. ''Fuziziness'' or Semantic Diversification? Insights about the Semantics of ''Spirituality'' in Cross-Cultural Comparison (Conclusion); Raph W. Hood Jr. and Heinz Streib.- Part III. Measuring Characteristics and Effects of ''Spirituality''.- Chapter 11. “Spirituality” and Mysticism; Constantin Klein, Christopher F. Silver, Heinz Streib, Ralph W. Hood Jr and  Thomas J. Coleman III.- Chapter 12. Personality Dimensions and Versions of ''Spirituality; Heinz Streib, Constantin Klein and Ralph W. Hood Jr.- .- Chapter 13. Religious Schemata and “Spirituality”; Heinz Streib, Ralph W. Hood Jr and Constantin Klein.- Chapter 14. Coordinates for Mapping ''Spirituality''; Heinz Streib and Ralph W. Hood Jr.- Part IV. Biographical analyses - Methodological Perspectives.- Chapter 15. The Faith Development Interview: Methodological Considerations; Heinz Streib, Michele Wollert and Barbara Keller.- Chapter 16. Narrative Reconstruction and Content Analysis in the Interpretation of ''Spiritual'' Biographical Trajectories for Case Studies; Barbara Keller, Thomas J. Coleman III and Christopher F. Silver.- Part V. Varieties of  ''Spiritual'' Biographies; Chapter 17. Mapping the Varieties of ''Spiritual'' Biographies; Barbara Keller, Ralph W. Hood Jr and Heinz Streib.- Chapter 18. ''...I relly did depend on my faith in God during that time...to see the meaning in my life'' - Religious Spirituality; Michele Wollert and Barbara Keller.- Chapter 19. ''Well, not a believer, meaning that I have not found my ideal faith yet. I am seeking'' - Spirituality of Religious Seekers; Michele Wollert and Barbara Keller.- Chapter 20. ''Whether these gifts are from God, from Buddha, from the universe, I do not care, I do not care at all...'' - Quilt Spiritualties; Barbara Keller and Michele Wollert.- Chapter 21. ''Experimenting with Ideologies...'' - A ''More Spiritual than Religious'' Zen Buddhist; Thomas J. Colemann III, Anne Swhajor-Biesemann, Derek Giamundo, Christopher Vance, Ralph W. Hood Jr. and Christopher F. Silver.- Chapter 22. ''...if the universe is beautiful, we're part of that beauty'' - A ''Neither Religious nor Spiritual'' Biography as Horizontal Transcendence; Thomas J. Coleman III, Christopher F. Silver and Ralph W. Hood Jr.- Chapter 23. Redrawing the Map: Varieties of ''Spiritual'', ''Religious'' and ''Secular'' Lives; Barbara Keller, Heinz Streib and Ralph W. Hood Jr.- Part VI. Consequences of Being ''Spiritual''.- Chapter 24. Faith Development, Religious Styles and ''Spirituality''; Heinz Streib, Michele Wollert and Barbara Keller.- Chapter 25. Positive Adult Development and ''Spirituality'': Psychological Well-Being, Generativity, and Emotional Stability; Constantin Klein, Barbara Keller, Christopher F. Silver, Ralph W. Hood Jr, and Heinz Streib.- Chapter 26. Religion, Spirituality, and Psychological Crisis; Barbara Keller, Matthew Durham and Femke Houten.- Conclusion.- Chapter 27. The Contribution of the Study of ''Spirituality'' to the Psychology of Religion: Conclusions and Future Prospects; Ralph W. Hood Jr, Heinz Streib, Barbara Keller and Constantin Klein.