Psychology and Religion

                                          
The study of psychology gives up on the belief that possession of demons cause illnesses, and other religious beliefs and uses the basis of science. Gareth Cook once again writes another great opinion article for the Boston Globe, "Modern psychology's God problem". He questions the lack of religion in the work done by psychologists, and how utilizing religion could help those patients that are deeply religious. I have to agree with Cook because if someone is not in a good mental state, yet religion is part of their life, having the professional person they talk to could really help them. Though I would probably not be one of those deeply religious people, I do believe in a higher power. I also think that as their profession is defined, psychologists help patients through therapy, and if their patient believes in a higher power or is devoutly religious, then the psychologist should be giving their patient therapy that involves religion. The fact that professionals in psychology are avoiding religion in their work seems to defy the message of their profession.

Gareth Cook continues to utilize many writing techniques in "Modern psychology's God problem". In his opening, he questions the audience about a specific ability and states that God gave it to them. Cook writes of a contradiction between modern psychology and America's involvement in religion. He gives statistics about America and religion, including that over fifty percent categorize religion as very important and ninety percent belief in a higher power. Those statistics prove how important religion is in America therefore gaining the audience's point of  view. He also quotes David Rosmarin about psychology's issue with religion. Another technique that Gareth Cook uses is that he discusses a research study performed with a thirty minute video that uses the language of religion to express concepts of psychology. Cook writes of the effective results, which also appeals to the audience's logic. The last line of the article had a huge influence on the audience, when Gareth Cook writes, "It's about the field of psychology shedding its prejudices and preconceptions and returning to the first principle of therapy: meeting patients where they are," (Cook) That line convinces the audience of the basics of psychology and how their avoidance of religion needs to go. The opinion article "Modern psychology's God problem" by Gareth Cook convinces the audience of psychology's need to include religion in its work.

Source: Cook, Gareth. "Modern psychology's God problem." The Boston Globe 15 Oct. 2011, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The Boston Globe. Web. 16 Oct. 2011.