psychology of religion
...fferent kinds of religious behaviours and beliefs. However, someone who is religious sees this as undermining the belief and turning religion into a scientific observation. Due to this conflict, the true meaning of psychology of religion has gone unstudied until very recently. Part of the reason has to do with the harsh views about religion from Freud. This conflict has left the term open for a great deal of investigation. I will attempt to provide an idiographic definition of religion by making some valid points. I believe that part of being religious does not include how often you attend a religious institution or how often you pray. I do believe, however, that being truly religious constitutes having morals and behaviours synonymous with that religion. This belief applies to the fact that religion should be intrinsic rather than extrinsic. If an individual prays five times a day, but does not behave according to their religious beliefs then I do not consider that person to be truly religious. It has been found that one reason why people begin to find religion is because they do not have faith in their own intrinsic morals and therefore look to higher values in which to guide their life. Also, protection from the unknown is one thing that is greatly sought after. Religion gives us a feeling of protection that we will be looked after in our present life and in our afterlife. Some of us believe in car insurance and some of us seek religion. Along with wanting to be protected, we also want to be able to trust. Religion plays a big role in helping individuals trust one another and work together in a community. A good definition for religion would then be that religion gives us a reason to believe in the unknown for essential human needs such as trust, protection and good values. It can not be defined as some extrinsic feature, because religion should be felt within to serve intrinsic needs. The definition of psychology is a more agreed upon term. Many would say that psychology can be defined as the observation and study of people’s actions, thoughts and beliefs. Therefore, when it is applied to religion it can then be said that “psychology of religion” deals with understanding psychological processes and explanations of an individual’s religious action, thoughts and beliefs. When put in this manner it doe...