Pohledy na psychologii náboženství

In the European and American culture, the psychology of religion has been understood, hitherto, as the psychological approach to Christianity above all. The beginning of this subdiscipline goes back to the last quarter of the 19th century. In the course of the 20th century, the psychology of religion developed expressively both from the theoretical-methodological and research aspects and also in the form of specialized psychotherapeutic practice. The psychology of religion is characterized by the application of the point of view of "neutrality" with regard to the problem of the existence of God. The methodological pluralism of psychological sciences is reflected in psychology of religion, as well. -- In the present paper, account has been taken, among the topics of the psychology of religion, of the concept of religion as a human need, to an emotional aspect of living a religion, to the psychology of religious experience, as well as to the psychological aspect of conversion. Attention is also paid to religious problems relating to personality. In this sense, the author deals with distinguishing the extrinsic religiousness and the intrinsic one, with the so-called dimension of "quest", with the religiousness of extroverted and introverted persons, and with the religious styles of the so-called coping.