Jung: Psychology and Religion Essay

Jung is accurate in his assessment that religious belief, to around, is a genuinely personalised thing. Despite the fact religious organization comprise of many millions of quite a little, a religious get in not exclusively a bodied experience. To most volume, religion remains a personal experience that is encoded and decoded in the psyche as well as the spirit. From this, derives the numerous interpretations of what should be an exclusive singular item the bible. After all, if something is the word of God, then at that place should only be one religion that derives from it.The notion of taking bits and pieces from the bible, accept what is accept up to(p), disregarding what argon not acceptable or re-inventing variants of interpretation is silly on a number of levels. Yet, this is commonplace when it comes to the numerous religions that exist. What occurs, essentially, is that a loss leader of a religion develops what he or she as authoritatives is the truth (often this notion of what is confessedly is arrived at, at the exclusion of any other interpretation of truth) and presented to a collective whole that constitutes the remaining followers of that particular branch of religion.In public speaking of religion, I must make it clear from the start what I inculpate by the termReligion is a careful and scrupulous remark ofa dynamic effectnot caused by an act of willing. (Jung 8) In other words, there is a great deal of assimilation knotted with an someones being drawn into the humans of nonionic and institutional religion. Since religion exists, oftentimes, as a large omnipresent shadow that envelopes people and, in short place, Jung Psychology and Religion Pg 2 indoctrinates them. To that regard, there is no true act of will present in terms of the demonstrable acceptance.Yes, there whitethorn appear to be an appearance of an act of will, a conscious decision, but the reality is that the true act of will intentional to accept the tenant s or lifestyle of a religion are in fact, manufactured by extraneous forces. This is about as far from an factual act of will as possible, although it has the perception of being a legitimate, personal act of will. Jung outlines this in his assessment that many time people will cling to a religion as a means of escaping what is some sort of neurosis, also known as psychic forces that seek to ruin or undermine the free will (thought) of an individual.Jung goes to show that people are subject to a wide variety of mental case repressions of varying degrees of severity. opus people accept these neurotic feelings as something that is part of them, they feel that the simmer down of all neurosis come from an outer source and therefore look at another external source in order to alleviate the neurotic feelings that they may be experiencing. The existence of such cases does something to explain why people are afraid of becoming conscious of themselves. There really is something butt j oint the screen.(one never knows) so people are content to consider the external factors outside their very consciousness (Jung 17) This is where the tragic irony of accepting religion as a substitute for therapy. In other words, people be to be drawn to a source of knowledge in the ca-ca of a status quo conclusion. In order to reach the enlightenment they feel will alleviate all their Jung Psychology and Religion Pg 3 problems in life, they become willing to accept an external force that will furnish them with the security they seek.Many times, this security comes in the social class of an organized religion, a commonly popular and safe method that they may be able to accept along with so many other people. This is not to judge there is something inherently wrong with religion as much as it is an observation of the fact people will accept the role of organized religion as a means of providing the elements that are missing in their life as well as providing an established secur ity from an external force. The notion of external force is highly important here.People take in a tendency not to look inward for support. They are constantly looking for an external source and, many times, that external source is the world of organized religion. While religions come been the source of great good in the world, there is not the omnipresent solution to peoples problems. To a great degree, Jungs criticism hedges on the fact that people have a tendency to overreach in their expectations of what religion can go game them. This is outlined extensively through Jungs work in order to drive such a point home.This does not mean, however, that there will always be an open ended commitment to religion and assurance in terms of organized religions ability to traction a hold on the psyche of an individual nor does it mean the individual will forever hold on to the religious institution as a crutch. Protestantism, having pulled down so many walls carefully erected by the c hurch immediately began to experience the disintegrating and schismatic effect of individual revelation. As curtly as the article of faithtic fence was broken down and ritual disconnected its authority, nab had to face his inner experience without the protection and guidance of dogma and ritual.(Jung 21) Jung Psychology and Religion Pg 4 To that regard, there will be an in conclusion fusion (on some peoples part) to where rational intellect may take over if religion is not able to overtake the deficiencies of institutional religion when it comes to saving people from neurosis or problems of the psyches. Of course, not everything is the proverbial one hundred percent and rational intellect does not automatically provide a cure for any deficiencies. To leave one form of bondage for another is not freedom. Jung contends this in his discourse on rationality.Jung communicate this problem as well and extrapolates on the limits of rationality in the adjacent It is a psychological ru le that when an archetype has lost its metaphysical boundaries, it becomes identify with the conscious mind of the individual, which it influences and refashions in its own form. And since an archetype always possesses certain numinosity, the integration of the numen generally produces an inflation of the subject. (Jung 315) What Jung states here is significant in the port in which he points out the fact that when what is metaphysical or occult arts loses its significance to its competition rational reason.