The interest in the topic of spirituality as a more or less independent dimension of quality of life is continuously growing, and research questions are beginning to change as the field of religiosity changes, becoming more diverse and pluralistic. Addressing new topics in health research also relies on standardized questionnaires. The number of instruments intended to measure specific aspects of spirituality is growing, and it is particularly difficult to evaluate the new instruments. This Special Issue will focus on some of the established instruments (updating them to different languages and cultures), but will also describe the features and intentions of newly-developed instruments, which may potentially be used in larger studies to develop knowledge relevant to spiritual care and practice. This Special Issue will serve as a resource on the instruments used to study the wide range of organized religiosity, the individual experience of the divine, and an open approach in the search for meaning and purpose in life.

Sample assessment tool - Religiosity. Sample assessment tool - Religion. Sample assessment tool - Spirituality. SAMPLE ASSESSMENT TOOLS: Quest Scale. Religious Maturity Scale. Faith Development Scale. Religious Status Interview. Religious Status Inventory. Spiritual Maturity Index. Character Assessment Scale. Rokeach Value Survey. Mysticism Scale. Spiritual Assessment Inventory. Spiritual Themes and Religious Responses Test. Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire. Spiritual Well-Being Scale. Adjective Ratings of God. Concept of God and Parental Images. God Image Inventory. Nearness to God Scale. Nonverbal Measure of God-Concept. Dogmatism Scale.

In Spirituality and Health Research: Methods, Measurement, Statistics, and Resources, Dr. Harold G. Koenig leads a comprehensive overview of this complex subject. Dr. Koenig is one of the world’s leading authorities on the relationship between spirituality and health, and a leading researcher on the topic. As such, he is distinctively qualified to author such a book. This unique source of information on how to conduct research on religion, spirituality, and health includes practical information that goes well beyond what is typically taught in most undergraduate, graduate, or even post-doctoral level courses. This volume reviews what research has been done, discusses the strengths and limitations of that research, provides a research agenda for the future that describes the most important studies that need to be done to advance the field, and describes how to actually conduct that research (design, statistical analysis, and publication of results). It also covers practical matters such as how to write fundable grants to support the research, where to find sources of funding support for research in this area, and what can be done even if the researcher has little or no funding support. The information gathered together here, which has been reviewed for accuracy and comprehensiveness by research design and statistical experts, has been acquired during a span of over twenty-five years that Dr. Koenig spent conducting research, reviewing others’ research, reviewing research grants, and interacting with mainstream biomedical researchers both within and outside the field of spirituality and health. The material is presented in an easy to read and readily accessible form that will benefit researchers at almost any level of training and experience.

Assessment of mental health, religion and culture: The development and examination of psychometric measures focuses on questionnaires that are of practical value for researchers interested in examining the relationship between the constructs of mental health, religion, and culture. Three particular areas of development and evaluation are represented within this volume: firstly, the psychometric properties of recently developed new questionnaires; secondly, the psychometric properties of established questionnaires that have been translated into other languages; and thirdly, the psychometric properties of questionnaires employed in various cultural contexts and religious samples. The research in this book is authored by a wide range of international scholars working on diverse samples and in a variety of different cultures. In doing so, the book facilitates future research in the area of mental health, religion, and culture. This book was originally published as two special issues of Mental Health, Religion & Culture.

Why do we need more questionnaires to measure aspects of spirituality/religiosity when we already have so many well-tried instruments in use? One answer is that research in this field is growing and that new research questions continuously do arise. Several of these new questions cannot be easily answered with the instruments designed for previous questions. The field is expanding and, consequently, the research topics. Meanwhile several multidimensional instruments were developed which cover existential, prosocial, religious and non-religious forms of spirituality, hope, peace and trust—and several more. The ‘disadvantage’ of these instruments is the fact that some are conceptually broad and often rather unspecific, but they might be suited quite well for culturally and spiritually diverse populations when the intention is to compare such diverse groups. This is the reason why more research on new instruments is needed as can be found in this Special Issue, and to stimulate a critical debate about their pros and cons.

Medicine, Religion, and Health: Where Science and Spirituality Meet will be the first title published in the new Templeton Science and Religion Series, in which scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. In this, the series' maiden volume, Dr. Harold G. Koenig, provides an overview of the relationship between health care and religion that manages to be comprehensive yet concise, factual yet inspirational, and technical yet easily accessible to nonspecialists and general readers. Focusing on the scientific basis for integrating spirituality into medicine, Koenig carefully summarizes major trends, controversies, and the latest research from various disciplines and provides plausible and compelling theoretical explanations for what has thus far emerged in this relatively young field of study. Medicine, Religion, and Health begins by defining the principal terms and then moves on to a brief history of religion's role in medicine before delving into the current state of research. Koenig devotes several chapters to exploring the outcomes of specific studies in fields such as mental health, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. The book concludes with a review of the clinical applications derived from the research. Koenig also supplies several detailed appendices to aid readers of all levels looking for further information. Medicine, Religion, and Health will shed new light on critical contemporary issues. They will whet readers' appetites for more information on this fascinating, complex, and controversial area of research, clinical activity, and widespread discussion. It will find a welcome home on the bookshelves of students, researchers, clinicians, and other health professionals in a variety of disciplines.

A venture into the art and science of measuring religion in everyday life In an era of rapid technological advances, the measures and methods used to generate data about religion have undergone remarkably little change. Faithful Measures pushes the study of religion into the 21st century by evaluating new and existing measures of religion and introducing new methods for tapping into religious behaviors and beliefs. This book offers a global and innovative approach, with chapters on the intersection of religion and new technology, such as smart phone apps, Google Ngrams, crowdsourcing data, and Amazon buying networks. It also shows how old methods can be improved by using new technology to create online surveys with experimental designs and by developing new ways of mining data from existing information. Chapter contributors thoroughly explain how to employ these new techniques, and offer fresh insights into understanding the complex topic of religion in modern life. Beyond its quantitative contributions, Faithful Measures will be an invaluable resource for inspiring a new wave of creativity and exploration in our connected world.

This updated edition of The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality codifies the leading empirical evidence in the support and application of postmaterial psychological science. Lisa J. Miller has gathered together a group of ground-breaking scholars to showcase their work of many decades that has come further to fruition in the past ten years with the collective momentum of a Spiritual Renaissance in Psychological Science. With new and updated chapters from leading scholars in psychology, medicine, physics, and biology, the Handbook is an interdisciplinary reference for a rapidly emerging approach to contemporary science. Highlighting fresh ideas and supporting science, this overarching work provides both a foundation and a roadmap for what is truly a new ideological age.

Religion in Personality Theory makes clear the link between theory and research and personality and religion. Presently, most personality texts have a limited discussion of religion and reference few theorists other than Freud and Maslow in relation to the subject. This book reviews the theory and the empirical literature on the writings of 14 theorists. Every chapter concludes with a summation of the current research on the theorist's proposals. Reviews: "Frederick Walborn has written an excellent text that explores the degree to which classical personality theorists were personally influenced by and focused upon religion in developing their personality theories. Each theorist is presented in sufficient detail so that their personal views of religion are seen to influence the theories they developed. In addition, the current status of the empirical evidence in the psychology of religion is explored in the context of the theorist and theory to which the data is most relevant. Current and up to date, this text is appropriate for either a course in Personality or as an introduction to the Psychology of Religion. The author's own comprehensive theory of religion and spirituality creatively integrates the positive contributions of the classical personality theorist to the contemporary psychology of religion." -Ralph W. Hood Jr., Professor of Psychology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga "In this interesting and accessible book, Frederick Walborn thoughtfully probes the place of religion and spirituality in the writings of a broad range of classical psychological thinkers and offers an insightful critique of current empirical research on the complex relation of religion and spirituality to individual well-being." -Michele Dillon, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire - Identifies what major personality theorists say about religion - Investigates whether evidence supports or refutes predictions made by different theories - Concludes with a comprehensive integrative theory on religion and spirituality