Religion and Psychology in Transition: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and Theology PDF
Preview Religion and Psychology in Transition: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and Theology
Religion and Psychology in Transition J W. J Religion and Psychology in Transition , , Yale University Press New Haven and London Copyright (cid:2)by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections and of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Designed by Sonia L. Scanlon Set in Adobe Garamond type by The Composing Room of Michigan, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in the United States of America by Edwards Brothers, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jones, James W., 1943– Religion and psychology in transition : psychoanalysis, feminism, and theology/ James W. Jones. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 0-300-06769-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Psychoanalysis and religion. 2. Fem- inist psychology. I. Title. 175.4.44655 1996 96-15777 291.1′75—dc20 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Contents Acknowledgments / vii Introduction / ix I B H Freud on Human Nature and Religion / The Capacity for Relationships / A Relational Psychoanalysis of Religion / Toward a Relational Theology / II K Illusion / The Dilemmas of Reductionism / A Nonreductive Psychoanalysis / Conclusion: Being Human, Knowing God / References / Index / Acknowledgments At the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association I received the William J. Bier Award given by the Division of Psychology of Religion. I wish to thank my colleagues for giving me the opportunity in my invited address on that occasion to present publicly my ideas about the dialogue between psychology and religion and to explore the per- sonal context out of which my work has grown. In October and January I was invited to give a series of lec- tures and seminars at the Rosemead School of Psychology, in La Mirada, California, in which many of the ideas contained here were presented. I wish to thank the faculty, students, and staff of Rosemead who arranged these visits and provided many gracious and stimulating opportunities for discussion. At the other end of the continent and the theological spec- trum, during the spring of I taught a seminar at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and I wish to thank those students for a semes- ter of passionate and fruitful discussion around that seminar table. Several people read an early draft of the manuscript in its entirety, placing me forever in their debt. Randy Sorenson’s comments both en- couraged me and forced me to look at familiar material in new ways. Ten years ago Marilyn Saur founded a study group that started me thinking about this topic in new ways. Much of my writing (including this book) would have remained unwritten without Marilyn’s feedback and support and that of the group on object relations theory and religion. More years ago than either of us will say, Frank G. Kirkpatrick and I were graduate students together in the religious studies department of Brown Univer- sity. In the ensuing years our friendship continued but our interests di- verged as he delved deeper into the philosophy of religion and I went off to study and practice psychology. But the past few years have found us viii intellectually reconverging as my studies of British object relations theory brought me to consider the philosophy of John Macmurray, the subject of Frank’s lifelong interest. Not only did Frank’s careful philo- sophical reading greatly strengthen the manuscript, but the fruit of his willingness to share his knowledge of Macmurray’s philosophy and its relation to the work of W. R. D. Fairbairn and Harry Guntrip and my tremendous debt to it are clear in these chapters. John McDargh served as a reader for this manuscript and, as always, his comments were un- failingly gracious and helpful, not only in his review but in our many conversations over many dinners over many years. Malcolm Diamond, friend, colleague, model of graciousness and courage in the face of life’s vicissitudes, contributed to this manuscript through his capacity for truly constructive criticism. Once again Naomi Goldenberg in our con- tinuing discussion of these topics demonstrated that close friendship and ferocious disagreement can co-exist, and my growing impetus to make psychology and theology more sensitive to gender has been reinforced and areas of confusion clarified by these ongoing debates. Charles Grench, a prince among editors, and his colleagues at Yale University Press were, as always, a pleasure to work with. Rutgers University pro- vided me with a faculty academic study leave during which time this book was written. An earlier version of chapter was published as “Knowledge in Tran- sition: Toward A Winnicottian Epistemology,” Psychoanalytic Review :, and is used by permission of the Psychoanalytic Review, published by the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. Introduction This book represents a dialogue between psychoanalysis and theology that has been going on in my mind and with colleagues for more than two decades. As both a clinical psychologist trained in psychoanalytic psychology and a professor of religious studies trained in the philosophy of religion who continues to work in both religious scholarship and clini- cal practice and who has a background in philosophy of science, this dis- cussion has been central to my professional life. But I am not only an aca- demic. I am a practicing psychotherapist. I have also been an ordained member of the clergy and a student of spiritual disciplines from a vari- ety of religious traditions. So psychotherapeutic and spiritual practices have been consciously (and unconsciously) interacting inside me as well. And as a professor of religious studies conversant with many religious traditions, I am inclined, while using predominantly Western theologi- cal language, to approach the interaction of religion and psychology from a perspective encompassing world religions rather than just a single tra- dition. Therefore the dialogue I hope to construct here will take account of both psychoanalytic and religious ideas and also their respective prac- tices (as illustrated by case material) and will take place in a multi- religious framework. Questions put to me regarding my earlier work, Contemporary Psy- choanalysis and Religion, provided the impetus for this book. Readers raised three major criticisms of that book: first, that Freud was used sim- ply as a starting point and was not discussed in sufficient depth; second, that gender as a category of analysis was overlooked; and third, that the theological implications of my discussion of psychoanalytic theories of religion were not elaborated. I agree with all three and in this book treat those areas left underdeveloped in the earlier work. In the ensuing chap-
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