A01=James W. Jones
Alter Ego Transferences
Apophatic Tradition
Author_James W. Jones
Authoritarian Religion
Category=JMAF
clinical case studies
Collective Effervescence
contemporary
Cosmic Narcissism
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eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
experience
Fanatical Religions
fanaticism
idealisation mechanisms
Idealized Parent Imago
Kohut's Theorizing
kohuts
Local Symphony
Mature Selfobject Relationships
Moral Defense
Mysterium Tremendum
Object Hunger
object relations
psychoanalysis of religious violence
psychoanalytic theory
psychological impact of faith
psychology
Purified View
relational
Relational Psychoanalytic Theories
religion
religious
Religious Fanaticism
religious transformation
Sacred Profane Distinction
Selfobject Functions
Skeptical Disenchantment
Sogyal Rinpoche
Teddy Bear
theorists
theory
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhist Center
Transformational Object
Young Man
Product details
- ISBN 9781583911938
- Weight: 270g
- Dimensions: 138 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 31 Jan 2002
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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Religion has been responsible for both horrific acts against humanity and some of humanity's most sublime teachings and experiences. How is this possible? From a contemporary psychoanalytic perspective, this book seeks to answer that question in terms of the psychological dynamic of idealisation.
At the heart of living religion is the idealisation of everyday objects. Such idealisations provide much of the transforming power of religious experience, which is one of the positive contributions of religion to the psychological life. However, idealisation can also lead to religious fanaticism which can be very destructive. Drawing on the work of various contemporary relational theorists within psychoanalysis, this book develops a psychoanalytically informed theory of the transforming and terror-producing effects of religious experience. It discusses the question of whether or not, if idealisation is the cause of many of the destructive acts done in the name of religion, there can be vital religion without idealisation.
This is the first book to address the nature of religion and its capacity to sponsor both terrorism and transformation in terms of contemporary relational psychoanalytic theory. It will be invaluable to students and practitioners of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, psychology and religious studies, and to others interested in the role of religion in the lives of individuals and societies.
James W Jones is Professor of Religion, Adjunct Professor of Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University, New Jersey and Lecturer in Religion and Psychiatry at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He has doctorates in both clinical psychology and philosophy of religion and has a long history of successful publishing in religious and psychoanalytic subjects.
