Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1998, page 64
glorify war.” (Murray, Peter and Linda. 1968. A Dictionary of Art and Artists. Penguin
Reference Books)
Enlightenment gurus who use “skillful means” to “liberate” their devotees from personal
history, karma, or psychological baggage will assert that they mean no harm, but the fast
track to moksha (soul liberation) requires total submission and sacrifice to a living master if
one is to succeed in one lifetime. As to the “death” of the self, even St. Paul of Christianity
wrote: “I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20). In much of guru
submission, the Absolute is a parallel to the Christ of Paul, though the proponents of either
view might dispute this assertion.
Joseph P. Szimhart
Cult Information Specialist
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
The Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Approach (2nd ed.). R.W. Hood,
Jr., B. Spilka, B. Hunsberger, &R. Gorsuch. The Guilford Press, New York, NY,
1996, 546 pages.
This book is authored by four full professors of psychology who promise to be “sensitive to
the difficulties and limitations of a purely empirical approach” without abandoning
“commitment to empiricism as the single most fruitful avenue in understanding the
psychology of religion” (p. viii). No biographical information is given other than university
affiliations on the title page. This second edition has been expanded with more material on
family, schools, “religion and coping,” and more recent research. The book‟s format is
scholarly, with a preface, acknowledgments, and an annotated table of contents, as well as
numbered endnotes throughout the 13 chapters, an impressive 67-page, single-spaced
references section 15-page, 3-column author index and 10-page, 3-column subject index.
The book provides an overview of the subject, then explores the psychology of religion in
separate chapters on childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, death and suicide, conversion,
mysticism, morality, coping and adjustment, and mental disorders. While classic theorists
are cited, such as James, Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, Bowlby, Erikson, and Eysenck, the
citations far exceed those sources.
Chapter 1 describes problems of past research, hindered by a lack of operational definitions
and a firm theoretical base. Biological, social, attribution, and disposition theories of religion
are reviewed. Starting from classic heredity versus environment might have made the text
more easily understood by nonacademic readers. Locke, Leibnitz, and Rousseau --
forerunners of today‟s major personality theories --are not cited. Chapter 2 explores
religion in childhood in the context of major theorists Piaget, Elkind, Erikson, Kohlberg, and
Bowlby. Chapter 3 describes religion in adolescence with respect to parenting, peers,
college, and gender differences, with reference to Allport‟s “religious doubt” and
socialization theory.
Chapter 4 explores religion in adulthood. It criticizes many previous studies that classified
people by stated faith rather than denomination or depth of commitment. Religious aspects
of socialization, marriage, sex, and politics are described. Therapists may question the
conclusion that “more recent research suggests religiosity has no inhibiting effect on sexual
behavior” (p.128). Despite more than a decade of political activity by the “moral majority”
and antiabortion protestors, the area of politics and religion “begs for exacting research”
(p.145).
Chapter 5 studies how the threat of death, anxiety, bereavement, near-death experiences
(NDEs), AIDS, and euthanasia is affected by religion. Becker, who authored the Pulitzer-
Prize-winning Denial of Death, and Kenneth Ring, who wrote The Omega Project on NDEs,
get one reference each out of 158. Kubler-Ross, a pioneer in the hospice movement, is not
glorify war.” (Murray, Peter and Linda. 1968. A Dictionary of Art and Artists. Penguin
Reference Books)
Enlightenment gurus who use “skillful means” to “liberate” their devotees from personal
history, karma, or psychological baggage will assert that they mean no harm, but the fast
track to moksha (soul liberation) requires total submission and sacrifice to a living master if
one is to succeed in one lifetime. As to the “death” of the self, even St. Paul of Christianity
wrote: “I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20). In much of guru
submission, the Absolute is a parallel to the Christ of Paul, though the proponents of either
view might dispute this assertion.
Joseph P. Szimhart
Cult Information Specialist
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
The Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Approach (2nd ed.). R.W. Hood,
Jr., B. Spilka, B. Hunsberger, &R. Gorsuch. The Guilford Press, New York, NY,
1996, 546 pages.
This book is authored by four full professors of psychology who promise to be “sensitive to
the difficulties and limitations of a purely empirical approach” without abandoning
“commitment to empiricism as the single most fruitful avenue in understanding the
psychology of religion” (p. viii). No biographical information is given other than university
affiliations on the title page. This second edition has been expanded with more material on
family, schools, “religion and coping,” and more recent research. The book‟s format is
scholarly, with a preface, acknowledgments, and an annotated table of contents, as well as
numbered endnotes throughout the 13 chapters, an impressive 67-page, single-spaced
references section 15-page, 3-column author index and 10-page, 3-column subject index.
The book provides an overview of the subject, then explores the psychology of religion in
separate chapters on childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, death and suicide, conversion,
mysticism, morality, coping and adjustment, and mental disorders. While classic theorists
are cited, such as James, Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, Bowlby, Erikson, and Eysenck, the
citations far exceed those sources.
Chapter 1 describes problems of past research, hindered by a lack of operational definitions
and a firm theoretical base. Biological, social, attribution, and disposition theories of religion
are reviewed. Starting from classic heredity versus environment might have made the text
more easily understood by nonacademic readers. Locke, Leibnitz, and Rousseau --
forerunners of today‟s major personality theories --are not cited. Chapter 2 explores
religion in childhood in the context of major theorists Piaget, Elkind, Erikson, Kohlberg, and
Bowlby. Chapter 3 describes religion in adolescence with respect to parenting, peers,
college, and gender differences, with reference to Allport‟s “religious doubt” and
socialization theory.
Chapter 4 explores religion in adulthood. It criticizes many previous studies that classified
people by stated faith rather than denomination or depth of commitment. Religious aspects
of socialization, marriage, sex, and politics are described. Therapists may question the
conclusion that “more recent research suggests religiosity has no inhibiting effect on sexual
behavior” (p.128). Despite more than a decade of political activity by the “moral majority”
and antiabortion protestors, the area of politics and religion “begs for exacting research”
(p.145).
Chapter 5 studies how the threat of death, anxiety, bereavement, near-death experiences
(NDEs), AIDS, and euthanasia is affected by religion. Becker, who authored the Pulitzer-
Prize-winning Denial of Death, and Kenneth Ring, who wrote The Omega Project on NDEs,
get one reference each out of 158. Kubler-Ross, a pioneer in the hospice movement, is not
