Psychoanalysis And Religion In The 21St Century: Examining The Possibility OfIntegration

Abstract

Using Ian Barbour's fourfold typology of the relationship between religion and science—Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, and Integration—this article examines how the relationship between religion and psychoanalysis has increasingly moved from being one of perceived irreducible Conflict to one in which Dialogue and—even in some cases— Integration are attempted and valued. Examination of the evolving relationship between religion and psychoanalysis allows for corollary discussion of how the effects of religion on modernity may be understood via a psychoanalytic lens. Although sociopolitical models are often used in studying secularism and the implications of modernity and postmodernity for religion, psychoanalytic investigation offers an alternative perspective on how modern individuals experience religion. Further, this article aims to demonstrate how the epistemological changes that have affected religion and the field of religious studies have also contributed to the reinterpretation and reconstruction of the classical psychoanalytic view of religion.