Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

A muddy day LOVING the UNHOLY, UNCLEAN, and DISGUSTING Like most children, I loved to visit zoos. One day my dad took me to the Philadelphia zoo. It was a lot of fun until dad had a disgusting experience. A massive tiger faced us. Then, with front paws raised, it soaked dad in urine. At church, a group of us are looking at Richard Beck’s book titled, Unclean . Philosopher, Doug Olena introduced the topic in the last two weeks. Our impulse is to avoid the unclean and expel that which is disgusting. But Christians are called to serve people that society considers unclean. Beck draws heavily on disgust psychology. In psychology, “Dr. Disgust” is Paul Rozin of the University of Pennsylvania. Rozin has studied disgust for decades. It’s fascinating for many reasons. Disgust is of course an emotional response with a recognizable facial expression. Though the classic disgust face can be seen in babies rejecting anything distasteful, infants soon learn more about that which is di...

Psychology, Memory, and Religious Narratives Pope Francis is in the Americas and will soon be welcomed by the U.S. Congress. What a difference 500 years can make! Attitudes toward Catholics have changed in recent years. Pope Francis offers words of hope to the disenfranchised. I’m focused on the dynamic of human memory and religious struggles--memories that appear so malleable and responsive to revised narratives. To some degree, we each control our own narrative. We tell the story others hear. We explain how religious and secular events fit into our personal history. Together with others, we also tell a collective history of our religious tribe. We share how we related to other religious and irreligious groups. And we forge new narratives when we act in the present. PERSPECTIVES In terms of human history, it wasn’t long ago that Catholics and Protestants were at each other’s throats. The church-state connections in Europe along with the attendant ...

Self-Forgiveness vs. God’s Forgiveness Pope Francis made news when he said priests can forgive women who seek forgiveness for having an abortion. “ The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented," the Pope said, adding that he has met "many women" scarred by the "agonizing and painful" decision to have an   abortion .” The Catholic Church considers abortion serious enough that it can lead to excommunication. Ordinarily, only a bishop can reduce the penalty. ( CNN ) To Christians, the story reveals the Pope’s compassion. But the statement can seem strange to evangelicals and secularists. And, as a psychologist I’m wondering about the importance of self-forgiveness and where Christians insert God into their views on forgiveness. God, Priests, and Psychotherapists Growing up in conservative protestant churches, it was a badge of self-righteousness not to call pastors “Father.” And we sure didn’t need to confess...

CHRISTIAN FAITH, CAMPUS SEX, AND CONSENT Christian colleges and universities will face additional tests of faith this fall as matters of sex are sure to attract more attention than usual. The first and only two “Council News” stories on today’s (August 15, 2015) CCCU (Council for Christian Colleges and Universities) web page were recent and sex-related issues (contraceptive mandate, same-sex marriage). In the last few years, laws, policies, and campaigns have focused on the problems of sex or sex-linked behavior in new and nuanced ways. After focusing attention on the problems of sexual assault in the military, President Obama highlighted the problem of sexual assault on college campuses . A few days ago, NPR reported on the big business of programs designed to address the issue of sexual assault on campus. As I read the story, I couldn’t help but wonder how any short educational program could possibly produce change in human sexual behavior. Fortunately, others are...

THE FLAMING RHETORIC OF RIGHTS How many similarities do you need to link one rights movement with another? Freedom for U.S. slaves was a lengthy process and even after they were emancipated, civil rights were not codified in law until a century later. A key word here is law because attitudes are slow to change even when laws set limits on behavior. The battle against racism continues. Leaders supporting and opposing same-sex marriage and other rights and protections for sexual minorities have referred to the civil rights movement. Some assert similarities. Others point to differences. The statements are often intensified by emotional rhetoric shrunken to bite-sized statements suitable for T-shirts and video clips. The civil rights arguments are not just academic because the reasons come with powerful emotions attached. One can easily imagine students being asked to write an essay about the subject. And I can imagine some professors having a difficult time gradin...

Creation and Evolution: How Do Christians Bridge the Gap? As noted in my previous two posts, the famous Scopes Trial was 90 years ago. The issues at the heart of the 1925 trial continue to divide U.S. Christians. My focus in the previous posts was a consideration of how evolution informs an understanding of psychology in general and the psychology of religion in particular. My focus in this post is to consider why evolution is such a divisive issue for a substantial minority of Christians and what, if anything, may be done to reduce the acrimony and promote peace. A few days ago, news stories appeared about the resignation of respected evangelical philosophy professor, Jim Stump. Stump is a philosopher of science with a degree from Boston University. His former employer, Bethel College (Indiana), prepared a statement on human origins. The resignation appears to have occurred peacefully. Here’s a quote from the ChristianPost . "In considering t...