Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion

This issue continues the effort over the past few years to make the annual series less a review of what has happened and more of a harbinger of what will--not prophecy, of course, just scientific forecasting. This year's special section explores Islam and mental health, with seven articles on such topics as post-critical beliefs in Iran, Pakistani Muslims dealing with cancer, and using feminist psychotherapy with Muslim women. Six other papers consider such matters as couples viewing marriage and pregnancy through the lens of the sacred, paranormal beliefs and traditional religiosity, and the utility of the Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments (ASPIRES) scale with Christians and Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Ralph L. Piedmont, Ph.D. (1989) in Personality Psychology, Boston University, is Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Loyola College in Maryland, USA. He has published extensively in the area of the psychology of religion and spirituality and has been an editor for RSSSR for 9 years.Dr. Andrew Village is Senior Lecturer in Practical and Empirical Theology at York St John University, UK. His research interests relate to the sociology and psychology of the Christian religion, and in particular the role and interpretation of Scripture among ordinary believers.