Religion, spirituality, and positive psychology

People are drawn to religion or spiritual practice out of family tradition, curiousity, desire for fulfillment, or just the hope that it will make them feel better. Remarkably, they often get what they seek. Empirical research proves that such engagement brings with it numerous physical and psychological benefits, reflected in better marriages, sunnier outlooks, and longer lives. In recent years, scholars from an array of disciplines applied cutting-edge research techniques to determining the effects of faith. Religion, Spirituality, and Positive Psychology: Understanding the Psychological Fruits of Faith brings those scholars together to share what they learned. Through their thoughtful, evidence-based reflections, this insightful book demonstrates the positive benefits of spiritual and religious engagement, both for individual practitioners and for society as a whole. This book covers Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other major traditions across culture in two sections. The first focuses on ways in which religious and spiritual engagement improves psychological and behavioral health. The second highlights the application of this knowledge to physical, psychological, and social problems. Each chapter focuses on a spiritual "fruit," among them humanity, hope, tolerance, gratitude, forgiveness, better health, and recovery from disease or addiction, explaining how the fruit is "planted" and why faith helps it flourish. -- from dust jacket.