Religion and Culture: Individualism and Collectivism in the East and West
Abstract
Religion is an important topic to understand in cross-cultural psychology. More theorizing and empirical work has gone into Western religions than Eastern religions. We briefly review work on cultural differences among Western religious groups, using the framework of individualism and collectivism. Such work raises questions on how religions and cultures affect each other, how diverse cultural groups are, and how confounded country and religious identities are. We then ask some of the same questions about Eastern religions and propose new questions for a cross-cultural psychology of religion, such as what counts as a religion, and whether there are nonreligious parallels of religious constructs that serve similar functions (e.g., belief in a just world [BJW], or social axiom of reward for human application). In all, we propose that a greater attention to both Western and Eastern religions in cross-cultural psychology can be illuminating regarding religion and culture.
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The significant prediction of help-seeking intentions by social pressures in non-western cultures may reflect the collectivistic nature of these societies, which traditionally encourage interconnectedness with others.
“This may be reflective of the collectivistic nature of these societies, which traditionally encourage interconnectedness with others [88].”
From Explaining adults’ mental health help-seeking through the lens of the theory of planned behavior: A scoping review (2022) · cites this paper as [88]
Western cultures are typically individualistic, and people from these cultures may be more motivated to act according to their own goals and beliefs.
“For example, western cultures are typically individualistic and therefore, people from these cultures may be more motivated to act according to their own goals and beliefs [88].”
From Explaining adults’ mental health help-seeking through the lens of the theory of planned behavior: A scoping review (2022) · cites this paper as [88]
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- Authors
- Cohen, A. B., Wu, M. S., & Miller, J.
- Affiliations
- Arizona State University (US)
- Xiamen University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Cohen, Adam B.
- Venue
- Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-09-24
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1236-1249
- ISSN
- 0022-0221 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-5422
- OpenAlex
- W2515216807
- Cited by
- 147
- References
- 80
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 8.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
- Keywords
- religion and culture, individualism-collectivism, Western religion, Eastern religions, religious identity, belief in a just world, definition of religion
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