Attachment, evolution, and the psychology of religion

Abstract

Introduction. An Ambitious Agenda. Scientific. Comprehensive. Explanatory. Psychology of ... Religion. A New Direction. Attachment Theory. Evolutionary Psychology. The Plan of This Book. Introduction to Attachment Theory. Backdrop. The Attachment System. Other Related Systems. The Phenomenology of Attachment. Individual Differences in Attachment in Childhood. Multiple Attachment Figures. Internal Working Models and the Stability of Attachment Patterns. Attachment in Adulthood. Attachment and Adult Romantic Relationships. Individual Differences in Adult Romantic Attachment. Factorial and Dimensional Models. The Formation and Development of Adult Love Bonds. An Alternative Approach to Adult Attachment. Attachment and Evolutionary Psychology. Summary and Conclusions. God as an Attachment Figure. Religion as Relationship. But Is It Really an Attachment Relationship? Seeking and Maintaining Proximity to God. Proximity in Belief and Myth. Facilitating Psychological Proximity. Prayer. Other Religious Behaviors. God as a Haven of Safety. Crisis and Distress. Illness and Injury. Death and Grieving. God as a Secure Base. Phenomenology. Psychological Outcomes. Responses to Separation and Loss. Summary and Conclusions. More on Religion as an Attachment Process: Extensions and Limitations. Religion and Love. What Kind of Love? Romantic Attachment vs. Attachment to God. God as a Parental Figure. Individual Differences in Images of God. God as a Benevolent Caregiver. God as Controlling and Demanding. Children's Beliefs about God. Beyond God: Extensions and Limitations. To Generalize, or Not to Generalize? The Problem with Parsimony. Other Forms of Attachment (or Not) in Religion. Relationships with Other Supernatural Beings. Relationships with Religious Leaders. Relationships with Fellow Worshipers and Other Peers. Relationships with Groups. Nontheistic Religions. Summary and Conclusions. Individual Differences in Attachment and Religion: The Correspondence Hypothesis. Mental Models and the Correspondence Hypothesis. Correspondence in Childhood and Adolescence. Correspondence in Adulthood. Correspondence Across Cultures. Internal Working Models of Self and Others. Continuity from Childhood to Adulthood. The Socialized Correspondence Hypothesis. The Two-Level Correspondence Hypothesis. 'Socialization' as an Alternative Explanation. The Inadequacy of 'Socialization' as Explanation. The Epidemiology of Beliefs. Individual Differences Revisited. Summary and Conclusions. God as a Substitute Attachment Figure: The Compensation Hypothesis. Individual Differences and Religious Conversion. Individual Differences in Childhood Attachment and Conversion. Sudden Religious Conversion. Other Evidence for a Compensation Model. A Two-Process Model. Individual Differences in Adult Attachment. Contextual Factors in Religious Change. Separation and Loss. Bereavement. Relationship Dissolution. Unavailability of Attachment Figures. Perceived Inadequacy of Human Attachment Figures. Cultural Factors. Summary and Conclusions. Attachment in Context: Introduction to Evolutionary Psychology. Evolutionary Psychology as a Paradigm or Metatheory. Adaptation and Natural Selection. Adaptations. 'Selfish Genes' and Inclusive Fitness. Domain-Specificity and the Mental-Organs Model. Nature 'versus' Nurture. Stone-Age Minds in Modern Environments. Individual Differences in Evolutionary Context. Stable Environmental Differences. Direct Genetic Effects. Frequency-Dependent Adaptive Strategies. Early Environmental Calibration. An Example of Facultative Strategies: Human Mating. Are Evolutionary Explanations Unfalsifiable? Some Illustrative Examples: Politics, Music, and Sports. Summary and Conclusions. Attachment Theory in Modern Evolutionary Perspective. Childhood Attachment in Modern Evolutionary Perspective. Parental Caregiving and Parent-Offspring Conflict. Individual Differences in Childhood Attachment. Attachment and Reproductive Strategies. The Belsky, Steinberg,