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The Psychology of Spirituality and Religion in Health Care

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Spirituality in Healthcare: Perspectives for Innovative Practice

Abstract

This chapter explores psychological aspects of spirituality. After an introduction to the psychology of spirituality and religion, the evolutionary psychological basis of transcendent belief is explored. A novel model is proposed based on the idea that ‘believing’ information from trusted sources was advantageous and possibly adaptive in our evolutionary history, which has facilitated the development of spirituality within the human species across the globe. The essential elements of this model are (a) believing as knowledge transmission, (b) believing as motivation or drive and (c) spiritual and religious beliefs as the basis for community (beyond kinship). These factors are further examined in relation to their benefits in health care today.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Jan M. A. de Vries

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  1. Jan M. A. de Vries
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Correspondence to Jan M. A. de Vries .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Fiona Timmins

  2. Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal

    Sílvia Caldeira

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de Vries, J.M.A. (2019). The Psychology of Spirituality and Religion in Health Care. In: Timmins, F., Caldeira, S. (eds) Spirituality in Healthcare: Perspectives for Innovative Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04420-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04420-6_2

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