The Transformed Self: The Psychology of Religious Conversion

232 Pages·1989·20.298 MB·English

by  Chana Ullman (auth.)

THE
TRANSFORMED
SELF
The Psychology of
Religious Conversion
EMOTIONS, PERSONALITY, AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
Series Editors
Carroll E. Izard, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
and
Jerome L. Singer, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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THE TRANSFORMED SELF: The Psychology of Religious Conversion
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THE
TRANSFORMED
SELF
The Psychology of
Religious Conversion
Chana Ullman
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Ullman, Chana.
The transformed self: the psychology of religious conversion 1 Chana Ullman.
p. cm. - (Emotions, personality, and psychotherapy)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4899-0932-9 ISBN 978-1-4899-0930-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-0930-5
1. Conversion. 1. Title. Il. Series.
BRllO.U43 1989 89-8498
291.4'2-dc20 CIP
© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1989
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1989
Ali rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
Dedicated to my parents;
and in the memory of my friend,
Shula Sommers, Ph.D.
Preface
This book is about the dramatic experience of religious conver
sion. The phenomenon of religious conversion lies at the crossroad of
several disciplines. As the title of this book indicates, my own interest
in religious conversion is not sociological, historical, nor anthropolog
ical. My primary interest is not even in the domain of the psychology
of religion. That is, this book is not a comprehensive review of the
social psychological factors that shape religious beliefs in general and
religious conversions in particular.
Rather, my primary interest is in the experience of conversion as
an instance of a meaningful, sudden change in the course of individu
al lives. Religious conversion is examined in this book prinwrily from
the point of view of the psychology of the self. My aim is to elucidate
the experience of religious conversion as a change in the self and to
raise suggestions for the study of the self that derive from the data on
religious conversion.
This interest dictated the scope as well as the methods of the
present investigation. Namely, I have chosen to study individuals
who have indeed changed visibly as a result of their conversion. My
inquiry was based on self-report, assuming the importance of the
person's own point of view. Finally, my inquiry was semi-clinical,
vii
viii PREFACE
based on the assumption of an underlying structure to the varieties of
conversion experiences.
I am grateful to the people I have interviewed, for allowing me
into their lives. I have substituted fictional names and when neces
sary disguised other potentially revealing characteristics. I hope I
have succeeded in protecting their anonymity.
This book is partly based on data collected for my doctoral disser
tation at Boston University. Augusto Blasi, my dissertation adviser,
was a steadfast source of suggestions, criticism, and support not only
at the initial stages of the research but also long after my dissertation
was completed. His ideas continue to inspire my work and I am
grateful to him for countless enlightening discussions. Abigail Stew
art's enthusiasm as well as unfailingly constructive advice have
carried me through the various stages of the research and various
versions of this book. I am also grateful to Sigmund Koch for encour
aging and helping to consolidate my interest in the experience of
religious conversion and to Henry Weinberg for his help at the initial
stages of this project.
I am indebted to Lisa Ullman, Amia Lieblich, Av ishai Margalit,
Michael Gorkin, Ester Goldmintz, and Yoram Bilu for reading and
offering valuable comments on drafts of this manuscript. I also owe
an acknowledgment and gratitude to Suzanne Gordon for sharing
with me data she collected on born-again Christians. Carroll Izard's
careful review of my manuscript resulted in several suggestions for
extensions and revisions from which this final version greatly bene
fited.
My close friend and colleague Shula Sommers died at the age of
41 as this book was in press. She would probably disagree with some
of the ideas expressed here, but arguing with Shula was always
thought-provoking and illuminating. I believe this book could have
been better had she had the chance to review the final version.
Finally, I am taking the risk of closing with a well-worn cliche, for
in this case it seems a simple expression of the truth: This book could
not have been written without the intellectual and emotional support
of my husband, Shimon Ullman.
Chana Ullman
Contents
CHAPTER 1. HAVEN oF LAsT REsoRT: CoNVERSION
AND THE SEARCH FOR RELIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Defining Conversion ........................... 4
The Subjects ................................... 6
The Religious Groups .......................... 6
The Instruments ............................... 9
Childhood and Adolescent Turmoil ............. 11
Turmoil Prior to the Religious Conversion ....... 18
The Conversion Process and the Promise
of Relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Summary .................................... 24
CHAPTER 2. THE RELATIONSHIP WITH AUTHORITY:
CONVERSION AND THE QUEST FOR THE
PERFECT FATHER •.••.•..•.•..•.......• 27
The Case of Meir ............................. 33
The Absent Father ............................ 36
The Withdrawn Father ........................ 38
The Aggressive Father ......................... 41
ix
X CONTENTS
Why the Father? .............................. 44
Freud's Interpretation of a Religious
Experience ................................. 46
The Father s Role in Development .............. 49
Father as Inhibitor ............................ 50
Father as Protector ............................ 53
The Father as Enhancing
Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Father Figure in the Conversion
Process .................................... 59
The Case of Donald ........................... 61
The Case of Janet ............................. 65
The Case of Cathleen ......................... 70
CHAPTER 3. THE INFATUATION WITH THE GROUP:
CONVERSION AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE .... 75
Conversion and Processes of Social
Influence ................................... 78
Conversion and Thought Reform ............... 86
Group Process and Individual Identity .......... 91
The Role of Emotions in the Group
Process .................................... 94
The Case of Ed ............................... 98
Conversion and the "Looking-Glass"
Self ....................................... 103
CHAPTER 4. ADOLESCENT CONVERSION AND THE
SEARCH FOR IDENTITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Erikson's Concept of Identity ................. 110
Conversion and Identity Formation ............ 114
The Struggle for Autonomy ................... 117
Conversion and Adolescent Cognition ......... 120
Conversion and Adolescent Turmoil ........... 122
The Fruits of Adolescent Conversion:
Achieving Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127