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This neglect stems from a couple of different factors. First, it is difficult for psychologists to overcome the fact that believers in many religions claim to have unique access to the truth. Secondly, truly theological questions such as the existence of God or the nature of an afterlife are often ignored by scientists. This may be in part a hesitation to face politically sensitive and philosophically difficult issues, or the methodological limitations of modern research techniques. At the same time psychological researchers are avoiding the fusion of religion and psychology, so are religious organizations. Religion once feared psychology’s tendency to view God as “nothing but” the projection of the idealized father (Ciarrocchi, 2000). Many religions hold that divine acts can override laws of nature, a view that is usually seen as incompatible with scientific belief. Although some researchers find that the relationship between religion and psychology is not receiving enough attention, others believe that combining the two is important. If the explosion of research publications on religion and spirituality by the American Psychological Association (APA) is any indication, psychologists cannot seem to read enough on the topic (e.g., Donahue & Benson, 1996; Pargament & Park, 1996; Graham-Pole, Wass, Eyeberg, & Chu, 1989). Overall, both psychological and religious approaches are less apt to exclude the other. Regardless of whether or not religion and psychology are ready to join forces, many argue that it is slowly happening. For example, William James studied religious experience and suggested that the spiritual process works to curtail people’s negative behaviors (James, 1936). For James, spirituality helps individuals recognize their own earthly suffering as either a consequence of individual pathology or addictive behavior, or both. When people begin to criticize or consciously reject problematic individual behaviors as a permanent way of being, then they become open to the possibility of rising to a higher awareness. This higher awareness of his or her own behavior is then integrated as a part of the person’s psychology. James was already considering the role religion plays in a person’s consciousness early in the twentieth century. Alfred Adler, another pioneer of psychology, believed that our ideas about God are important indicators of how we view the world (Ansbacher H., & Ansbacher R., 1956). According to Adler these ideas have changed over time as our vision of the world and our place in it has changed. Adler suggested religion was of importance because our view of God embodies our goals and directs our social interactions. Compared to science, Adler believed that religion was more advanced because it motivates people more effectively. Religion exerts a great influence on our social environment and is important as an agent of social change. According to Adler, only when science begins to capture the same intensity as religion, and promotes the welfare of all segments of society, will the two be more equal in people’s eyes. Not all of the pioneers of psychology agree with the blending of religion and psychology. Sigmund Freud, for example, viewed religion as originating in children’s relationship to their fathers. Therefore, many cultures view God as a Heavenly Father (Freud, 1928). According to Freud, religion reflects an attempt to fulfill our personal desires, and is an illusion. Freud strived to be objective, although by current standards the methods Freud used might have allowed his biases to influence his data; he still has an influence on psychology. However, this influence is on the decline, fewer than 10% of the American Psychological Association describe themselves as having psychoanalytic perspectives on religion (Gallup & Castelli, 1989). Most people throughout the history of the world have practiced some form of religion, and for many of them, religion has been a defining aspect of their identity. It is because of this that religion and psychology can meet. If psychologists neglect religious variables as components of research, then they may be neglecting what makes up a large part of people’s identities. In the same respect, if religious venues have been afraid of the effects of studying psychology, then they are probably forgetting that they are social creatures. Even one of the most eminent thinkers of our time, Albert Einstein, would agree that religion and psychology can work together. “Religion deals only with evaluations of human thought and action: it cannot justifiably speak of facts and relationships between facts. A conflict arises when a religious community insists on the absolute truthfulness of all statements recorded in the Bible, but science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration towards truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion” (Einstein, 1945, p.10). Science encompasses psychology and even Albert Einstein agrees that there is a need for union between the two. “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”(Einstein, 1945, p.363). Bibliography: Word Count: 861
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