Religious Of Psychology

11 Pages 2692 Words

A in 1975, and changed its name to Psychology of Religion in 1993. It now includes about 2000 members, most of whom are clinical or counseling psychologists. Despite being the primary organization of psychologists who study religion, it is a minor force in the APA. For example, its membership is small when compared to the 159,000 who comprise the APA. As such, its role in broader APA affairs is relatively limited. It nevertheless provides an important forum for the discussion of religion and psychology.
It also is worth noting that the relatively small membership of Division 36 is characteristic of other scholarly divisions of the APA, which tends to focus on mental health and practice issues. This provided the impetus behind the establishment of the American Psychological Society (APS) in 1988. The APS focuses its effort on psychological science, and provides something of a counterweight to the APA’s emphasis on mental health care. At this point in time, however, the APS has no special sections or divisions, whether for psychologists who s...