Keywords

Multiculturalism, spirituality, religion, psychology, counseling

Abstract

A new movement has begun. Spirituality and religion are being integrated into racial-cultural psychology and counseling. This chapter will review the literature that is the basis of that movement. We first describe the historical forces alluded to by Trimble (2000) that until only recently have minimized the relevance of religion and spirituality to psychological research and practice. We then summarize the potential benefits and concerns about incorporating spiritual and religious perspectives into research and practice that have been suggested in publications of the past 30 years. To demonstrate that religion and spirituality are central to racial-cultural psychology and counseling, literature describing the complex relationship between mental health, race and culture, and religiosity/spirituality is reviewed, as well as the literature investigating the relationship between religion and racism. Recommendations for future scholarship are provided in the concluding section.