Controversy
Given historical animosity between science and religion (Haque, 2001), controversy surrounding the scientific study of religion is expected. Many psychologists reject religion. For instance, Sigmund Freud viewed religion as an illusion, a sign of psychological neurosis. Additionally Eric Fromm’s humanistic psychology centers on man and rejects authoritarian religion. However, religious scholars and psychologists advocating the study of religion have contested such views. Paul Vitz critiqued Fromm’s self-centered approach to psychology and labeled humanist psychology as a religion, unsupported by scientific inquiry. Reber asserted that exclusion of the study of religion only limits psychology’s understanding of human behavior. Others argue that a psychological study of human personality necessitates, at minimum, an acknowledgment of the impact religion has on many humans.
Read more about this topic: Psychology Of Religion
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