Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion

Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion

Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion David A. Leeming, Kathryn Madden, Stanton Marlan (Eds.)

Encyclopedia of Psychology

and Religion

With15Figuresand2Tables Editors-in-Chief:

DavidA.Leeming,Ph.D.

Blanton-PealeInstitute

3West29thStreet

NewYork,NY10001

USA

KathrynMadden,Ph.D.

NationalInstituteforthePsychotherapies

250West57thStreet,Suite501

NewYork,NY10019

USA

StantonMarlan,Ph.D.

PittsburghCenterforPsychotherapyandPsychoanalysis

4527WinthropStreet

Pittsburgh,PA15213-3722

USA

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ISBN:978-0-387-71801-9

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ßSpringerScience+BusinessMediaLLC2010(USA)

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Printedonacid-freepaper SPIN:115287082109—543210 Preface

Mr.KennethGinigersometimeagosuggestedtoDr.HollyJohnson,thenPresidentofBlanton-PealeInstitute,NewYork,

NY,thatBlanton-Pealecompileanencyclopediaofpsychologyandreligion,acomprehensivereferenceworkconsisting

of articles contributed by scholars of importance in the fields of religion, psychology, psychology and religion, and

psychologyofreligion.Dr.Johnsonalsosawtheneedforsuchaninformationsourceandbeganplanningworkonthe

projectwiththeassistanceofBlanton-Pealecolleagues,Dr.WalterOdajnykandDr.DavidA.Leeming.Longworking

together with Blanton-Peale on behalf of Journal of Religion and Health, Springer Science+Business Media became

publisher, with Dr.Leeming, Dr. Kathryn Madden, and Dr. Stanton Marlan named as Editors-in-Chief. Dr. Leeming

becameManagingEditoroftheproject.Hehastaughtcoursesinmyth,religion,andliteratureformanyyearsandhas

publishedseveralbooksonthesesubjects,includingtheOxfordCompaniontoWorldMythology,anduntilrecentlywas

Editor-in-Chiefoftheaward-winningJournalofReligionandHealthandDeanofBlanton-Peale’sGraduateInstitute.He

iscurrentlyPresidentofBlanton-PealeInstitute.Dr.MaddenservedasDeanandlaterPresidentofBlanton-Peale,was

AssociateEditorandlaterExecutiveEditoroftheJournalofReligionandHealth,andhasrecentlypublishedDarkLight

of the Soul (Lindisfarme Books). She teaches and lectures regularly and is in private practice. She received her M.A.,

M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in Psychology and Religion from Union Theological Seminary inNew York City. Shehas

publishedmanyarticlesinherfieldandisEditorofQuadrant.Dr.Marlanisaclinicalpsychologistinprivatepractice.

He is a training and supervising analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and is President of the

PittsburghSocietyofJungianAnalysts.HeisalsoAdjunctClinicalProfessorofPsychologyatDuquesneUniversityand

holdsdiplomatesinbothClinicalPsychologyandPsychoanalysisfromtheAmericanBoardofProfessionalPsychology.

HehasbeenEditoroftheJournalofJungianTheoryandPracticeandistheauthorofnumerousarticlesandbooksinthe

fieldofJungian psychology.Parentageofthe Encyclopedia ofPsychologyandReligioncomes naturally to theBlanton-

PealeInstitute.Foundedin1937byDr.NormanVincentPealeandpsychologistSmileyBlanton,theInstituteisamental

healthclinicandpsychologicaltraininginstitutededicatedtotheconstructiveintegrationofreligionandpsychology.

TheEncyclopediaofPsychologyandReligionprovidesacrucialnewresourceforthecollaborationandmutualillumina-

tionofthesetwofields.

Entriesaredrawnfromawidevarietyofreligioustraditions,notonlymodernworldreligions,suchasChristianity,

Judaism,Islam,Buddhism,andHinduism,butalso,forexample,AfricanAnimism,pre-ChristianCelticandGermanic

traditions,Egyptian,Greek,Gnostic,andNativeNorthAmericanandMesoamericanreligiousmovements.Approaches

to the subjects demonstrate a broad range of methodologies. Each entry is intended to create a tension of meaning

betweentraditionalreligioustermsandpsychologicalinterpretations.Thegoalisnottoimposethecorrectordefinitive

meaning, but to explore new and latent deposits of meaning that bear implications for human self-understanding,

cross-culturalinterpretation,andtherapeuticpossibilities.

Occasionally,morethanonearticleonagivensubjectisincludedtopresentdifferentpointsofview.Extensivecross-

referencingallowsthereadertoenhanceunderstandingofparticularsubjectsthroughdirectaccesstorelatedtopics.The

EncyclopediaofPsychologyandReligionwillserveasavaluableandaccessiblereferenceworkinbothelectronicandprint

versionsforacademiclibrariesandtheirpatronsandwillbeofparticularusetothegrowingcommunityofresearchers,

academics, teachers, clergy, therapists, counselors, and other professionals who are involved in the developing

reintegrationofthefieldsofreligionandpsychology. Acknowledgment

TheEditorsandBlanton-PealeInstitutethankthemembersofSpringerScience+BusinessMediastaffinbothGermany

andtheUnitedStatesfortheirsupportonthisproject.WeareparticularlygratefultoCarolBischoff,ThomasMager,

SusanneFriedrichsen,HeikeRichini,andChristineHausmannfortheirconsistenthelpandsupport.

DavidA.Leeming,KathrynMadden,andStantonMarlan Introduction

The world’s great religions have always served as the repository of the psychological truths and values of mankind.

Religionsaddressthefundamentalquestionsofhumanexistence:thepurposeandmeaningoflife;ourrelationshipwith

God;thenatureofthesoul;theexistenceofevil,suffering,anddeath;ethicalbehaviorandconscience;oursearchfor

happiness,redemption,andsalvation.Inpreviouscenturiestheologiansandreligiousphilosopherswerenotinclinedto

differentiatebetweenmattersof‘‘soul’’or‘‘psyche.’’FiguressuchasSt.Paul,St.Augustine,MartinLuther,Pascal,and

Kierkegaardwerepeopleoffaithwhoalsograppledwiththemysteriesofhumaninteriority,will,andmotivation.

Inthecourseofaddressingtheseissues,everyreligionhasdevelopedadefinitionofhumannatureandexaminedour

fundamentalmotivations,drives,anddesires.Religionshavebeencruciblesforthetime-testedpsychologicalprinciples

thatassureasenseofidentity,community,andmeaningfullife.Allreligions,forexample,havediscoveredthatnegative

psychologicalstates, suchas pride,anger,hatred,lust,envy,ignorance,selfishness, andegotism,lead topersonaland

socialconflict,injustice,andpain.Ontheotherhand,positivementalandemotionalattitudes,suchaslove,altruism,

forgiveness,compassion,generosity,humility,equanimity,andwisdom,leadtoasenseofpersonalwell-beingandsocial

harmony.Fromapsychologicalperspective,religionsareall-encompassingtherapeuticsystemsthatdealwithmajorlife

events,transitions,andcrisesandrespondinahealing,oftenlife-savingwaytothetravailsofthesufferingsoulandthe

impoverishedspirit.

With the emergence and then dominance of scientific rationalism, however, the fields of religion and psychology

diverged and entered into a relation of mutual suspicion. Beginning with the Enlightenment and its materialistic,

secular,andrationalisticweltanschauung,thepreviouslygenerallyacceptedreligiousandspiritualdelineationofhuman

naturewasseriouslychallenged.Intime,asplitoccurredbetweenstudiesofhumannaturebasedonseculardefinitions

andtheage-oldreligiousknowledgeofthehumansoulandspirit.Thetwofieldsthatshouldhavebeenalliedandin

creativedialogueinsteadbecameestrangedfromeachother,andoftenignoredorrejectedtheknowledgethateachcould

havecontributedtotheenterpriseofunderstandinghumannature.Purelysecularnotionsofhumannatureemerged:

humanbeingswereseenasrationalanimals;apersonwasbornatabularasa,neithergoodnorevil,withparentingand

education forming the personality; human beings were a composite of their economic and social relations; human

beings were initially motivated by instinctive, irrational, and unrealistic drives and desires; all human behavior,

emotions,andmotivationsandthosemostsublimeculturalcreations,religiousbeliefsandexperiences,weretheresult

of complexorganic, neurological, and biochemical interactions. The tradition inspired by Sigmund Freud tended to

viewreligionasanillusion,aculturalvestigeofimmaturityandprojection.Consequently,thoseinthereligiouscamp

cametoviewpsychologyasareductionistenterprisethatdeniedthesacredandtranscendentaspectsofreality.

Whilesomecontinuetosubscribetosuchstereotypes,amoresophisticatedunderstandingofreligion–particularly

asadvancedbythefieldofdepthpsychology–hasdonemuchtoovercomethem.Thesecularparadigmthathasruled

thedomainofpsychologyforthepastcenturieswaschallengedearlyonbypioneerssuchasWilliamJames,C.G.Jung,

RobertoAssagioli,ViktorFrankl,ErikErikson,andthehumanisticpsychologistsGordonAllport,ErichFromm,and

AbrahamMaslow.Duringthe1970s,thesethinkerswerejoinedbythetranspersonalpsychologists,whohavesoughta

synthesisbetweensecularpsychologyandthegreatspiritualtraditions.Whiletheyhaveacceptedthestagesofpersonal

development described by various exponents of secular psychology, they have added the stages of transpersonal

developmentevidencedintheworld’scontemplativeandmeditativetraditions.Becauseoftheculturalshiftrepresented

by the above and the persistence of religious beliefs in the vast majority of populations worldwide, contemporary

psychologistsarebeginningtorecognizethatapurelysecularapproachtothestudyandtreatmentofhumanbeingsis

inadequate.Asciencededicatedtotheexplorationofthebasiccharacteristicsandstrivingsofhumanbeingsandtothe

classificationofthelawsofhumanbehaviorneedstobeinclusiveandnotexclusiveofthereligiousdimension.

The need to address religious and spiritual problems is now deemed not only legitimate, but also clinically and

ethically imperative. The 1994 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the

AmericanPsychiatricAssociation,forexample,containsanewclassification,‘‘ReligiousorSpiritualProblems.’’

ThisEncyclopediaofPsychologyandReligiongrowsoutofthedevelopingawarenessoftheneedtoreintegratethe

sciencesofthemindwiththescienceofthespirit. Bybringing together thedisciplines ofpsychology andreligion, it viii Introduction

unitesthetwoareasofstudyconcernedwiththebehaviorandmotivationsofhumanbeingsandprovidesacrucialnew

resourceforthecollaborationandmutualilluminationofthesetwofields.Forthoseinthestudyofreligion,itoffers

new toolsforunderstandingtheimages,structures,symbols, andrhythmsthatconstitute thevocabularyofreligious

experience. For those in the field of psychology it reveals deep patterns of meaning and practice that inform human

cultureandthepersonalidentityofmillions.

ThisEncyclopediaofPsychologyandReligionillustrates,eventotheskeptical,thevitalimportanceofreligioninour

worldandtheseriousdepthsofitssymbolicuniverse.Forthosealreadyimmersedinreligiousstudies,itdemonstrates

layersofmeaningthatareenriched–notreduced–bythetoolsofpsychologicalinvestigation.

Wetrustthisencyclopediaprovidescomprehensivetimelyaccessibleinformationfromamulti-facetedperspective

thatreflectstheintersectionandthegrowingsynthesisofpsychologyandreligion.

DavidA.Leeming,KathrynMadden,andStantonMarlan Editors-in-Chief

DavidA.Leeming

Blanton-PealeInstitute

3West29thStreet

NewYork,NY10001

USA

KathrynMadden

NationalInstituteforthePsychotherapies

250West57thStreet,Suite501

NewYork,NY10019

USA

StantonMarlan

PittsburghCenterforPsychotherapyandPsychoanalysis

4527WinthropStreet

Pittsburgh,PA15213-3722

USA

Managing Editor

DavidA.Leeming

Blanton-PealeInstitute

3West29thStreet

NewYork,NY10001

USA

Associate Managing Editor

FeliceNoelleRodriguez

Blanton-PealeInstitute

3West29thStreet

NewYork,NY10001

USA