ISRC Presents 'The Cultural Psychology of Theodicy' with Daniel Sullivan, Department of Psychology

View All

Campus Notes

Printer-friendly version PDF version

ISRC Presents 'The Cultural Psychology of Theodicy' with Daniel Sullivan, Department of Psychology

College of Humanities and The Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture
September 18, 2014

Join us for the launch of the Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture's 2014-15 Lecture Series on "Psychology and Religion" with a lecture by Daniel Sullivan of the UA Psychology Department.

People have always had a need to make sense of seemingly random suffering. Yet different groups of people have addressed this problem very differently. Drawing on the existential thought of Nietzsche and Tillich, Sullivan proposes that some groups of people primarily try to resolve the problem of suffering in a way that leaves intact their sense of personal control and self-esteem. Others prioritize the preservation of a rigid meaning system in the face of suffering. He will present evidence supporting these ideas from a case study investigating the beliefs of members of different minority religions. Specifically, survey responses will be compared between Unitarian Universalists and traditionalist Mennonites. The findings point to systematic variation in the way people from different religious backgrounds psychologically cope with the major trials of life.

This event is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the College of Humanities' Religious Studies Program.

The Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture provides the University of Arizona with a research and outreach center that addresses the renewed role of religion in international politics and in societies across the globe and situates that role in historical perspective. It is essential for the land-grant mission of the University of Arizona to engage the fundamental question of religion's impact on all human societies and cultures. As a public university, the University of Arizona recognizes that a non-sectarian understanding of religion and its role in culture is central to its educational mission, and the Institute provides an opportunity to align this aspect of the UA mission with the pressing realities of our day.

UA@Work is produced by University Communications

Marshall Building, Suite 100. 845 N. Park Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719 (or) 
P.O. Box 210158B, Tucson, AZ 85721

T 520.621.1877  F 520.626.4121

Feedback University Privacy Statement 

2024 © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona