In short, many of the problems in the study of religion mentioned above could
be overcome by a greater involvement of cognitive as well as developmental psychology.
To illustrate the relevance of those psychological approaches, we look at
three issues that have been singled out as of central importance in historical, anthropological,
and sociological studies of religion yet are fundamentally psychological.
These include (1) origin of religion; (2) core concepts in religion; and (3) universality
of religious beliefs.