Main description:

Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased brings together cutting-edge empirical and theoretical contributions from scholars in fields including psychology, theology, ethics, neuroscience, medicine, and philosophy, to examine how and why humans engage in, or even seek spiritual experiences and connection with the immaterial world. In this richly interdisciplinary volume, Plante and Schwartz recognize human interaction with the divine and departed as a cross-cultural and historical universal that continues to concern diverse disciplines. Accounting for variances in belief and human perception and use, the book is divided into four major sections: personal experience; theological consideration; medical, technological, and scientific considerations; and psychological considerations with chapters addressing phenomena including prayer, reincarnation, sensed presence, and divine revelations. Featuring scholars specializing in theology, psychology, medicine, neuroscience, and ethics, this book provides a thoughtful, compelling, evidence-based, and contemporary approach to gain a grounded perspective on current understandings of human interaction with the divine, the sacred, and the deceased. Of interest to believers, questioners, and unbelievers alike, this volume will be key reading for researchers, scholars, and academics engaged in the fields of religion and psychology, social psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and health psychology. Readers with a broader interest in spiritualism, religious and non-religious movements will also find the text of interest.

Contents:

Introduction Part I: The Personal and Storied Experience of Divine and Departed Communications 1.Marginalizing the Sacred: The Clinical Contextualization of Sensed Presence Experiences 2.Understanding Lived Experiences of Encountering the Divine and the Departed 3.Personal Experiences of Communication with the Departed, the Sacred, and the Divine - A Self-Science Approach Part II: Theological Considerations 4.Travels Beyond 5."God saw . . . and God knew . . .": Science, Divine Action, and Un/answered Prayers 6."My Soul is Not Me": Monistic Anthropologies and Participatory Prayer 7.Christian Perspectives on Praying for Deliverance from Demons 8.Islamic Perspectives on Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, Saints, and the Deceased Part III: Medical, Technological, and Scientific Considerations 9.Love and Healing 10.Implications of the Emerging Science of Consciousness for Prayer and Divine Experience 11.Murder, Truth and Justice, and Religion: Altered Carbon and the Ambiguity of Real Death 12.Ghosts and Gods in the Machine: Human-Machine Interfaces in Transhuman Philosophy 13.Contemporary Evidence for Communication with the Departed and the Sacred Part IV: Psychological Considerations 14.The Process of Believing and Communicating with the Unseen 15.The Meaning of Beliefs in Communicating with God and the Deceased for Individuals' Well-being 16.Perceiving Messages from the Divine and Departed: An Attributional Perspective 17.Ethical Challenges with Communication with the Divine and the Departed Conclusion