Russ Phillips, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychology. He oversees the psychology major clinical/counseling concentration and the clinical/counseling minor at Pitt-Greensburg. (Please contact him if interested.) Dr. Phillips has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University. Dr. Phillips' teaching interests include clinical/counseling courses such as psychopathology and health psychology, and more applied research courses like cross-cultural or personality psychology. Dr. Phillips' research interests involve the scientific study of religion and spirituality, including 1) encounters with the sacred (e.g., within psychedelic experiences); 2) religious fundamentalism; and 3) religious coping; as well as correlates/predictors/outcomes from these variables.
Dr. Phillips' Study of the Meaning of Fundamentalism
Dr. Phillips and his students are trying to learn what it means to be a fundamentalist, and want to hear what YOU think the term means - especially if you are a fundamentalist yourself! Dr Phillips and his students have spent many hours on the phone, zoom, and visiting local churches to understand more. Please take our survey and tell others about it.
Recent/Exemplary Publications
Phillips, R.E. III (2024). What is religious fundamentalism? Asking scientists who study the construct. Review of Religious Research.
Phillips, R.E. III, & Kitchens, M.B. (2023). The other side of the coin: Religious fundamentalism and positive mental health outcomes. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 33, 145-161.
Kitchens, M. B., & Phillips, R. E., III (2021). A curvilinear relationship between clear beliefs about God and self-concept clarity. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 13, 26-35. doi:10.1037/rel0000181
Lauricella, S., Phillips, R.E. III, & Dubow, E. (2017). Religious coping with sexual stigma in young adults with same-sex attractions. Journal of Religion and Health, 56(4), 1436-1449.
Phillips, R. E. III and Kitchens, M. (2016). Augustine or Philistine? College students’ sanctification of learning and its implications. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 26(1), 80-94.
Phillips, R.E. III, Cheng, C.M., Hietbrink, L., Buczek, E., & Oemig, C. (2012). Validation of a Buddhist coping measure among primarily non-Asian Buddhists in the United States. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51(1), 156-172.
Marash, V., & Phillips, R.E. III (2008). Infusing feminist-clinical sensibilities into traditional Buddhist meditation. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 14(2), 67-74.
*18 undergraduates have been authors on Dr. Phillips' publications - having publications helps undergrads get into graduate school!
- Ph.D. 2005 Clinical Psychology. Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH.
- M.A. 2000 Clinical Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
- B.A. 1998 Psychology and Criminal Justice Double Major, Neuroscience Minor, Baldwin Wallace College, Berea, OH
Education & Training
- Pitt-Greensburg Alumni Association Outstanding Faculty Award April 2022
- Pitt-Greensburg President’s Award for Faculty – Distinguished Teaching April, 2019
