Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Justice, Psychology, and Religion Part 1 On the street, U.S. news watchers refer to June 30 2014 headlines and say, “Hobby Lobby won and women lost." As with many difficult cases, the decision was split 5-4 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion and Justice Ginsburg wrote the dissenting opinion. The decision stimulated much talk. Many social issues came to the fore-- women’s rights, religious freedom, birth control, and religious beliefs held by owners of private companies. The 5-4 split is not just a matter of reasoned opinion.  The winners were joyful. There’s an anger driven  reaction as well. Here’s a quote from the  New York Times “Those who are bound by our decisions usually believe they can take us at our word,” Justice Sotomayor wrote. “Not so today.” The court’s action, she added, even “undermines confidence in this institution.” How religion affects justice. I found a helpful summary of researc...

A Culture of Honor Each year, graduation ceremonies ripple across the landscape as waves of rented robes trimmed in colored cords declare that a mark of honor has been achieved. On Sunday 27 April, 2014, two men were declared saints by the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis. They weren’t just any two men. They were former popes . They met the criteria for sainthood and are now known as Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II. On 2 May, 2014, Evangel University newly retired president, Robert H. Spence, was honored with applause as he spoke at the school’s commencement following 40 years of service—the second longest tenure of an American University President. The celebrations began at Homecoming in the Fall and culminated in several events a week ago. People of many religious groups honor their leaders for consistently living according to character traits such as faithfulness, humility, loyalty, kindness, and so forth. Protestants don’t recognize saints as Catholi...