An introduction to the psychology of religion and place

Abstract

This chapter introduces the psychology of religion and place as a significant and emerging interdisciplinary field for understanding the constellation of subjective relational and spiritual experiences in spatial settings. We carefully consider ways readers can benefit from the study of religion and place as a psychological phenomenon involving perceptual objects found in between spaces of transition and transaction. Religion and place were further explored as conceptual windows for understanding human behaviours, personality and life span development across time and space. Finally, the chapter highlights how the psychology of religion and place, as an emerging interdisciplinary field, has been treated by all the contributors in the book as experiences that provide a sense of security, identity and connection to the past.