Good afternoon and welcome back to The Psych Era. My apologies for the delay; I know you all missed me so very much. I hope you have been faithful and thinking about me because we are talking about religion this week (see what I did there). This week, I gave a speech, and I was speaking about the culture in African countries. Now, I know you must be wondering why I am telling you this, Doctor. Owusu (me); well, let me tell you. Culture and religion are correlated. In a sense, there is a deep history behind them. Now, let’s dive into what we want to know: how psychology and religion correlate. Religion is something that is a guiding principle in the lives of a majority of people in the world. I do not know about you all, but my mother at Church shows a different level of gratitude and love, which continues to inspire me. It is awe-inspiring to see how much she believes in God; however, the most fantastic thing about her faith is how easily it connects her to fellow believers. This is due to something known as the faith factor. As I have previously mentioned, this is due to the idea of ingroups.

 

 

 

Religious principles link people together and allow them to continue and establish sound principles and learn from one another. Psychologists have stated that having some faith factor helps prevent bad things from occurring. For example, many Christians emphasize premarital sex as a sin, and therefore one is practicing abstinence which helps avoid getting STDS. Building upon that, this also helps reach self-actualization. Maslow’s Theory states that to reach our fullest potential, our physiological (food and water) and social needs must be accounted for first. You and I both know this is the truth. How many times have you been “hangry”? It is baffling to think about; however, if you are not fed or hydrated, you tend to forget about the world around you. Not all of us can be Gandhi and stick with our faith.

 

 

 

I say that due to the idea or bias that is seen within the faith factor. Sorry that I have to refer back to previous blogs but bare with me. Ingroup v.s. Outgroup. Us v.s. Them. In a sense, many people who believe in a higher power have something known as a superiority complex and belief perseverance. These individuals misinterpret the word and allow their biases to take over. It isn’t very pleasant, but people do not let their convictions be seen as mere opinions. Allow me to give you a short anecdote. Growing up, my African family put a high emphasis on religion. They told me about the wonders God could provide, and I completely believed them; however, something did not sit right with me; why were people not religious treated so differently? I am about to get deep here. We all have differences, which is unavoidable, but are we necessarily better than one another due to what WE believe? I think not. Psych readers remember the true meaning of religion. It is about spreading your message and something equally or even more important- love. See you next time.