title: "Be the love of god rather than talk about it": ministers study psychology.
abstract: After World War II, American ministers successfully drew on training in psychology to nurture their spiritual and vocational development. Contrary to what critics of a therapeutic ethos in American culture have asserted, this social history of ministers shows that their adoption of psychological modes of thinking was neither atomizing nor secularizing. Rather, it helped them become better people and better ministers. It nurtured their faith as well as their social connections. Thus, I argue against critics who have feared the civically enervating effects of psychological outlooks in American society.
authors: Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA. snm2a@virginia.edu
authors: Stephanie
authors: S
authors: Muravchik
mesh_terms: D002835:Christianity / Q000266:history*; D002977:Clergy / Q000266:history*; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011584:Psychology / Q000193:education / Q000266:history; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D014481:United States