My Dutch Students

This was the last day of our Psychology of Religion class. These are my faithful Dutch students. We've had a really interesting time discussing what psychology has to say to religion; what religion has to say to psychology. Our last session was on Religious Coping and Mental Health. There's an amazing amount of data--studies and the like--linking religious coping mechanisms to positive physical and mental health outcomes. These second and third year students are busy conducting surveys, gathering data, and explaining results. May sound dry, but they were engaged, curious and questioning, not willing to take things at face value. And they are sometimes amazed at the results, particularly when they differ from their expectations. Here are some fine budding social scientists. Watch out for them!