This book documents the current polarization in Germany regarding the issue of refugee immigration. It presents quantitative estimates for both xenophobia and xenophilia in the German population, including short-time changes. The book suggests a conceptual change of perspectives. It focuses not only on the pathogenic model that accounts for outcomes such as xenophobia, Islamophobia and other forms of (inter-religious) prejudice, but on a salutogenic model. In the book's view, the salutogenic model entails xenosophia: the wisdom, creativity and inspiration that emerges from the encounter with the strange and the strange religion. The book addresses individual dispositions, which may lead to xenophobia or xenosophia, and takes into account predictors such as religiosity, religious schemata, value preferences, tolerance of complexity, and violence legitimizing norms of masculinity. A selection of case studies present typical biographical trajectories toward xenosophia.

This book documents the current polarization in Germany regarding the issue of refugee immigration. It presents quantitative estimates for both xenophobia and xenophilia in the German population, including short-time changes. The book suggests a conceptual change of perspectives. It focuses not only on the pathogenic model that accounts for outcomes such as xenophobia, Islamophobia and other forms of (inter-religious) prejudice, but on a salutogenic model. In the book's view, the salutogenic model entails xenosophia: the wisdom, creativity and inspiration that emerges from the encounter with the strange and the strange religion. The book addresses individual dispositions, which may lead to xenophobia or xenosophia, and takes into account predictors such as religiosity, religious schemata, value preferences, tolerance of complexity, and violence legitimizing norms of masculinity. A selection of case studies present typical biographical trajectories toward xenosophia.

This book examines what people mean when they say they are "spiritual". It looks at the semantics of "spirituality", the visibility of reasons for "spiritual" preference in biographies, in psychological dispositions, in cultural differences between Germany and the US, and in gender differences. It also examines the kind of biographical consequences that are associated with "spirituality". The book reports the results of an online-questionnaire filled out by 773 respondents in Germany and 1113 in the US, personal interviews with a selected group of more than 100 persons, and an experiment. Based on the data collected, it reports results that are relevant for a number of scientific and practical disciplines. It makes a contribution to the semantics of everyday religious language and to the cross-cultural study of religion and to many related fields as well, because "spirituality" is evaluated in relation to personality, mysticism, well-being, religious styles, generativity, attachment, biography and atheism. The book draws attention to the - new and ever changing - ways in which people give names to their ultimate concern and symbolize their experiences of transcendence.

Many people in the USA, but also in Germany self-identify as spiritual or say I am more spiritual than religious. But what exactly is the meaning of spirituality? What are the psychological and biographical underpinnings of preferences for this self-identification? Barbara Keller and Heinz Streib answer these questions with reference to results of the Bielefeld-based Cross-cultural Study on Spirituality with focus on the German participants. The authors present qualitative and quantitative results that are relevant for researchers as well as for people working in education, counseling, churches and the media. Ich bin mehr spirituell als religioes sagen immer mehr Menschen in den U.S.A., aber auch in Deutschland. Was heisst hier Spiritualitat? Welche psychologischen und biographischen Veranderungen sind damit verbunden? Heinz Streib und Barbara Keller geben Antworten, gestutzt auf die qualitativen und quantitativen Ergebnisse der an der Universitat Bielefeld durchgefuhrten Studie zur Semantik und Psychologie von Spiritualitat. Eine lohnenswerte Lekture uber Veranderungen im religioesen Feld fur alle, die sich an Universitat und Schule, in Seelsorge und Beratung, in Kirchen und Medien mit dem Phanomen Spiritualitat beschaftigen.