This book codifies, describes, and contextualizes group rituals and individual practices from world religious traditions. At the interface of religious studies, psychology, and medicine, it elucidates the cultural richness of practices and rituals from numerous world religions. The book begins by discussing the role that religious rituals and practices may play in the well-being of humans and the multi-dimensional cultural and psychological complexity of religious rituals and practices. It then discusses rituals and practices within a number of religions, including Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist, Sikh, Hindu, Confucian, and other traditions. There is a need for a more inclusive collection of religious rituals and practices, as some practices are making headlines in contemporary society. Mindfulness is one of the fastest-growing psychological interventions in healthcare and Yoga is now practiced by tens of millions of people in the U.S.A. These practices have been examined in thousands of academic publications spanning neuroscience, psychology, medicine, sociology, and religious studies. While Mindfulness and Yoga have recently received widespread scientific and cultural attention, many rituals and practices from world religious traditions have remained underexplored in scholarly, scientific, and clinical contexts. This book brings more diverse rituals and practices into this academic discourse while providing a reference guide for clinicians and students of the topic.

The unprecedented economic growth in many East Asian societies in the few past decades have placed the region center stage, and increasing globalization has made East-West cultural understanding of even greater importance today. The Psychological and Cultural Foundations of East Asian Cognition is one of the most comprehensive volumes on East Asian cognition and thinking styles to date, and is one of the first to bring together a large body of empirical research on naive dialecticism and analytic/holistic thinking theories stemming from Richard Nisbett's highly influential The Geography of Thought. Edited by Julie Spencer-Rodgers and Kaiping Peng, The Psychological and Cultural Foundations of East Asian Cognition expertly examines the psychological, philosophical, and cultural underpinnings and consequences of these thinking theories for human thought, emotion, and behavior. In the past couple of decades, research on this topic has flourished, and East-West cultural differences have been documented in almost all aspects of the human condition, from the manner in which people reason and make decisions, conceptualize themselves and those around them, to how they cope with stress and mental illness, and interact with others, including romantic partners and social groups. Contributions to this volume cover such fascinating and diverse topics as cultural neuroscience and the brain, lifespan development, attitudes and group perception, romantic relationships, the adoption of foreign mindsets and perspectives, creativity, emotion, the self-concept, racial and ethnic identity, psychopathology, and coping processes and wellbeing. Further, the research featured within this volume has practical implications for business and organizational management, international relations and politics, education, and clinical and counseling psychology, and may be of particular interest to business professionals, managers in government and non-profit sectors, as well as educators and clinicians working with East Asians and Americans of East Asian descent.

This book codifies, describes, and contextualizes group rituals and individual practices from world religious traditions. At the interface of religious studies, psychology, and medicine, it elucidates the cultural richness of practices and rituals from numerous world religions. The book begins by discussing the role that religious rituals and practices may play in the well-being of humans and the multi-dimensional cultural and psychological complexity of religious rituals and practices. It then discusses rituals and practices within a number of religions, including Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist, Sikh, Hindu, Confucian, and other traditions. There is a need for a more inclusive collection of religious rituals and practices, as some practices are making headlines in contemporary society. Mindfulness is one of the fastest-growing psychological interventions in healthcare and Yoga is now practiced by tens of millions of people in the U.S.A. These practices have been examined in thousands of academic publications spanning neuroscience, psychology, medicine, sociology, and religious studies. While Mindfulness and Yoga have recently received widespread scientific and cultural attention, many rituals and practices from world religious traditions have remained underexplored in scholarly, scientific, and clinical contexts. This book brings more diverse rituals and practices into this academic discourse while providing a reference guide for clinicians and students of the topic.