On a cultural psychology of religion: a critical response to Belzen (2010)

Abstract

In this brief response to Belzen's proposal that the psychology of religion undertakes a cultural approach to its subject matter, I suggest that (1) the psychology of religion is not as a-cultural as suggested by Belzen and (2) a cultural approach has both practical and theoretical liabilities, including the lack of coherence and the inability to identify universals. I then offer a friendly amendment to Belzen's approach, suggesting from a Kuhnian perspective that he presents a cultural approach more in terms of rapprochement with the existing experimental paradigm.

Keywords:

• cultural psychology
• psychology of religion