Psychology and Religion

Originally published in 1963, this book states that religion is a universal phenomenon and a dominant factor in human development. It must therefore be studied psychologically as a primordial aspect of human consciousness. This involves a balanced presentation of anthropology, comparative religion, evolution and the theories of those considered at the time the three greatest psychologists of the twentieth century, William James, Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung. This book is a highly readable study of the psychology of religion in the twentieth century. The first part is devoted to a clear exposition of modern theories of the time, particularly those of Freud and Jung, and the second part is a comprehensive study of the way in which such theories help to elucidate religious practices and the phenomena of religious experience and mysticism. It assumes that Freudian theories are capable of a positive interpretation and that the Jungian theories of archetypes and symbolism furnish one of the most brilliant explanations of religious phenomena. The section which deals with myth and historical religion is a positive contribution to what was often regarded, theologically, as a contentious issue.