Religion: defined

Religious beliefs are an eclectic makeup of tradition, moral code, societal order, and source of explanation. In many ways, religion is no different from governments, schools, national holidays, or even common social gatherings.

As we analyze the psychology of religion more closely, we find that religion is more than a matter of simple belief. Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud both assert that “religious experiences” can be anything that is of utmost importance to a person, and that people find meaning to life by placing trust in the self and developing through individuation.

For example, a Catholic who places trust in Christ is truly placing trust in himself by maintaining the faith and beliefs that are taught by the scripture, and thus he is developing individuation by unifying his trust in Christ with his personal integrity.

In the same way, a Wiccan, quite opposite to the Catholic, can develop the same individuation and wholesomeness while placing faith in the Mother Goddess. Both are experiencing personal growth.

Hence, the majority of Jung’s and Freud’s studies confirm that moral guidance comes mainly from personal experience, and rarely from a standard. In the realm of psychology, it is agreed that religious institutions provide the primary introduction of universal virtues, and the “filler” of the teachings derive from culture and tradition of previous generations. Yet Jung and Freud differ widely on how important religion is in society. Freud states that religion is solely an illusion and an idea attempting to fulfill our wishes. Jung believed that religion is good if it is purposeful to the person, and religion is an important safety for maturation and exploring the self.

Religion in the personal sense affects one through experience; books, institutions, and other outside sources are someone else’s experience. One can not develop a true consciousness by outside means. These teachings become a mere aspect of the psyche.

So as a scientific community, we can analyze the information: what religion really is. Yet religion has the upper hand over the scientific movement; it motivates through emotion while science does so through reasoning. We look at the facts, the data, the studies, but will we let our minds question what has been taught to us and passed down through tradition for thousands of years? Is our religious culture truly the moral code in our hearts? Or… will we continue with narrow minds and blind acceptance? I leave you with a quote:





“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”

-Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)



(Image courtesy of psychology.unlv.edu)