Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

About half find religion to be important Dominated by the Christian faith, religion has been important in the U.S. and most of the world for centuries. However, in recent years the level of importance has declined in the U.S. What’s different now is the size of the drop in the past 10 years. Just under half (49%) of American adults report that religion is important in their daily life. Chart based on Gallup data- See Reference How much did the level of importance drop? 17% What is the time frame? 10 years What are the basic facts?  66% in 2015, 49% in 2025. How common is that size of a drop? Rare. Less than 10% of 160 nations see a drop that large in 10 years. How does the US compare with other nations? On average, religion is highly important at 83% in most countries, but the US at 49% is above the 36% average in countries with advanced economies. What’s the source? Gallup as reported by Vigers and Ray (2025, November 13) Read more at the reference link. Reference Vigers, B. &...

  A Circle of Well-Being Gratitude and Joy One of the beautiful holiday connections in the United States is the Thanksgiving to Christmas festivities. Just after Thanksgiving, I noticed that a former student posted a photo of an ultrasound. She and her husband had smiles as they hugged. She posted her Spring due date. Great Expectations! We know a lot about gratitude. Saying thanks, writing gratitude letters, and keeping a gratitude journal are annual reminders of things we can do to promote our wellbeing and make the world a nicer place. That’s Thanksgiving. But psychologists have also begun the study of joy, which until recently has been hidden amongst a sea of happiness research. Enter Philip Watkins and his colleagues who find evidence that sets joy apart from other good feelings. Psychologists link the emotion of joy to good news. It’s not just any good news but something we long for—something we look forward to, hope for, and expect. Moreover, joy is not like getting ...

Most of the world’s major religions value forgiveness. In Christianity, forgiveness is a commandment with a threat. The forgiveness commonly referred to in the Bible is forgiveness of others; however, recently, psychological scientists have studied self-forgiveness.  Self-forgiveness is the unique case in which people are both offenders and victims.   People are often in the case of failing to live up to their moral standards, which results in harm to themselves. They may have felt guilty for abusing drugs or acts they performed against another. They rehearse the events and cannot seem to let them go. In short, they do not seem able to forgive themselves even if they have been forgiven by others or, advised by clergy that God has forgiven them.  This issue of living with unforgiveness is not just a matter of religious beliefs or argument because studies show that forgiveness is related to general and mental health (e.g., see Worthington, 2020 ). Thus, self...

Evolutionary Psychology of Religion On July 21, 1925 , the Scopes trial ended.  The Jury found John Scopes violated the law by teaching evolution. Rhea County Courthouse, TN Photo by Geoff W Sutton 2015  This is part two of two posts about contributions of evolutionary science to psychology. I am drawing on Lee Kirkpatrick’s 2013 summary of the issues to consider how evolutionary psychology may contribute to an understanding of religion. I have decided that the best way to consider how evolutionary psychology might be related to religion is to pose a few questions followed by possible answers. But first, a brief explanation of psychological mechanisms as behavioral routines. Psychological mechanisms as apps I am using the term app to represent a psychological application. Psychological scientists refer to psychological mechanisms, routines, and systems. Some use the analogy of computer software as having similar properties as a behavior pa...

Perfectionism: Maladaptive and Adaptive    and Spirituality As a clinician, specializing in the treatment of persons with spiritual issues in addition to general mental health conditions, it was not uncommon to see persons struggling with imperfection and feeling like a failure. This was especially true among clients associated with fundamentalist beliefs and those faiths with strict behavioral expectations. And from time to time I saw people with religious obsessions and compulsions. A recent study in Psychology ofReligion and Spirituality examines adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism in a sample of Latter Day Saints. What Can We Learn About the Spirituality of Latter Day Saints (LDS, Mormons)? The Latter Day Saints (LDS) is an example of an American religion, which began in the 1800s. Religions specify beliefs and values as well as expected behavior patterns. In short, many religions define morality for their adherents. Failure to comply with the beha...

Soldiers, Heroes, Faith and Identity Normandy, France 8 March 2012 / Geoff Sutton 1. War Memorials offer the living evidence that another human being lived and died . And in that war, that person made a significant contribution to us -- the one living and able to observe the memorial. Even when not connected by a family tree, we feel connected to someone who helped preserve our nation. 2. Memorials reveal identities . But the identities are often limited to a name and a date. Somehow a name is such a vital part of who we are. Some people get pretty upset when their names are mispronounced. What’s in a name? A lot really-- an entire life can be called up by a name. And we care for those unnamed—a place reserved in time and space for the “Unknown.” Sometimes we get a glimpse into another piece of identity. My father-in-law was a World War II American Veteran. There's a symbol representing his military service, wheat identifying his farmer-life, and a fish in mem...

Afterlife What do  people  believe? Surveys of religious beliefs are common in the USA.  Christians are the largest group of religious people in the US so, it makes sense to consider the context  of beliefs about life after life. The primary story is from the Gospels, which can be found in the New Testament section of Bibles. Easter events begin with MaundyThursday or Good Friday (Some protestant groups skip Maundy Thursday). Jesus celebrated the Jewish Passover with his followers. He was betrayed and accused of wrongdoing. He was sentenced to die by crucifixion and buried. On Easter Sunday, his followers found his tomb empty, encountered Jesus in different situations, and spread the word of the resurrection. The Gospel of Luke reports the events beginning in  Chapter 22 . A Harris Poll (16 December 2013) has some findings relevant to the Easter story. The survey of 2,250 adults was conducted between 13 and 18 November, 2013. Belie...

Psychology of Leadership, Spirituality, and a Palm Sunday Journey As Christians celebrate the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, I take a look at perceptions of leadership then and now. You can find the Gospel story in Matthew 21: 1-11 . After procuring a donkey, Jesus rode into Jerusalem. A crowd placed their clothes and newly cut tree branches (possibly palm branches) on the road. These actions, and the words shouted by the people, link Jesus to the beloved warrior king David. And the Hosanna exclamation embodied both praise and hopes of salvation. But the writer knows what happens next and quotes an old prophet (Zechariah 9:9) who described the king as gentle . This king was not the warrior on a charging horse. Then as now, people have expectations of their leaders. Established leaders are wary, if not paranoid, of potential challengers and would be assassins. Humility and gentleness are not on the short list of successful leadership traits. Not t...