Psyche and spirit: the encounter between psychological science and theology

Abstract

The long history of suspicion and opposition between depth psychology and religious institutions is well known. The coryphaei of psychoanalysis - Freud, Adler and Jung - believed that religion, especially in its institutional aspect, had a pathogenic effect on the psyche. The qualification of religion as an ‘obsessive neurosis’ was experienced by believers as a whipping in the face, which hindered the initiation of dialogue with those who so radically disqualified the experience of others.