Page 120 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 5

The Society for Christian Psychology

What I Hope for the Society for Christian Psychology
William R. Miller

The historic roots of the discipline of psychology are intertwined
with philosophy and religion. When William James published Va-
rieties of Religious Experience in 1902, he took it for granted that a
psychologist would naturally be as interested in the spiritual side of
personhood as much as any other aspect of human nature.

Yet during the course of the 20th century a great divide opened
between psychology and religion. It is as if psychology were going
through its adolescence and insisting, “I am NOT like my parents!”
Christians and their pastors grew reluctant to seek the services of se-
cular psychologists, and not without reason. Traditions of Christian William R. Miller,
counseling arose, often quite isolated from the science of psychology. Ph.D., Emeritus Di-
Mutual suspicion and animosity furthered isolation. stinguished Profes-
sor of Psychology and
During the last decade of the 20th century, however, clear signs of Psychiatry, The Uni-
reconciliation began to appear. The stalwart American Psychologi- versity of New Mexico.
cal Association (APA) began to publish mainstream books on spi- Dr. Miller’s publicati-
rituality and religion. A national survey1 revealed that, though less ons include 40 books
religious than the general population, APA members overwhelmin- and over 400 articles
gly viewed religion as having a positive influence on mental health. and chapters. Fun-
Presentations on spirituality at APA meetings tended to be crowded, damentally interested
even when scheduled at inconvenient hours. in the psychology of
change, he has focused
At the same time there were signals of greater Christian openness in particular on the de-
to scientific psychology. As with health science more generally, psy- velopment, testing, and
chological science has produced effective methods for healing that dissemination of beha-
can benefit Christians and non-Christians alike. The European Mo- vioral treatments for
vement for Christian Anthropology, Psychology, and Psychothera- addictions.
py (EMCAPP), the Christian Association for Psychological Studies
(CAPS), and the Society for Christian Psychology (SCP) represent
efforts to draw upon and integrate the best of both Christian and
scientific traditions.

Firstly I hope that SCP can be a resource to increase the openness of
mainstream psychology to the spiritual and religious side of human
nature in general and to Judeo-Christian perspectives in particular.
A majority of clients served by American psychologists believe in
God and identify with Christian religion. Integrating clients’ spiri-
tuality into psychological treatment can make it more accessible and
acceptable for religious individuals and groups and may increase the
effectiveness of evidence-based psychotherapies2. The APA requires
that the training of psychologists should include preparation to help
people from varied backgrounds, and religion is a major component
of cultural differences.

Secondly I hope that SCP can make the benefits of psychology more
available to Christians.

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