ABSTRACT
Positive psychology conceives of itself as a universal, value-added proposition that ought to be accessible to the world over. Psychology, in general, has not been kind to religion. For Christians, some problems with secular psychology are: the labeling of religious beliefs as coping mechanisms or illusions, evolution from non-Christian sources, and apparent threats to a belief in free will. Many forms of Christianity will never fully embrace the positive psychology program on metaphysical and ontological grounds, for the same reason that Wilson found fault with the "this-world-ness" of MacIntyre's moral imperative toward "human-nature-as-it-could-be-if-it-realized-its-telos." Positive psychology differs significantly from psychology-at-large in ways that may both ease and complicate integration with Christianity. Psychology is normally taught as a degree program within the education faculty, or it can be found as a small part of education degree programs. Few Sunni Arab countries publicly tout positive psychology, other Sunni countries could be expected to slowly follow suit.
