To the best of our knowledge in all cultures, supernatural beliefs occupy a central and extremely important place in the lives of the overwhelming majority of people. Apparently, only scholars in Western societies have attempted to understand and study the beliefs, behaviors, and experiences of those who accept such views. A basic, apparently innate, feature of our mental apparatus is the formation of images of reference objects wherever possible. More specifically, research indicates that a probable genetic component is part of such religious systems (D’Onofrio et al. 1999). Though these do not explicitly identify God images as part of this complex, many scholars imply that they are part of such a mental framework (Ellis 2000).
Research in this area concerns two idea patterns: a descriptive set of images and certain cognitive and behavioral characteristics. Strictly speaking, God image refers to the former; the God concept is the latter. Concept also includes divine intentions and...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Benson, P. L., & Spilka, B. (1973). God image as a function of self-esteem and locus of control. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 13, 297–310.
D’Onofrio, B., Eaves, L. J., Murrelle, L., Maes, H. H., & Spilka, B. (1999). Understanding biological and social influences on religious affiliation, attitudes, and behaviors: A behavior-genetic perspective. Journal of Personality, 67, 953–984.
Ellis, T. B. (2000). Natural gazes, non-natural agents: The biology of religion’s ocular behavior. In J. R. Feierman (Ed.), The biology of religious behavior (pp. 36–51). Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio.
Foster, R. A., & Babcock, R. L. (2001). God as a man versus God as a woman: Perceiving God as a function of the gender of God and the gender of the participant. International Journal of the Psychology of Religion, 11, 93–104.
Freud, S. (1928). The future of an illusion. New York: Liveright.
Harms, E. (1944). The development of religious experience in children. American Journal of Sociology, 50, 112–122.
Ladd, K. L., McIntosh, D. N., & Spilka, B. (1998). Children’s God concepts: Influence of denomination, age, and gender. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 8, 49–56.
Lawrence, R. T. (1996). Measuring the image of God: The God image inventory and the God image scales. Paper presented at the Convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto (10 Aug 1996).
McMinn, M. R., Brooks, S. D., Triplett, M. A. H., Hoffman, W. E., & Huizinga, P. G. (1993). The effects of God language on perceived attributes of God. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 21, 309–314.
Piedmont, R., & Muller, J. (2006). Are God image and God concept redundant concepts? Paper presented at the 2006 Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans.
Pitts, V. (1977). The God concept in the child: A bibliography. Schenectady: Character Research Press.
Randour, M. L., & Bondanza, J. (1987). The concept of God in the psychological formation of females. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 4, 301–313.
Saussy, C. (1991). God images and the self-esteem of women. In C. Saussy (Ed.), God image and self esteem: Empowering women in a patriarchal society. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Spilka, B. (2020). God Image. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_268
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_268
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24347-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24348-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences