
Ask HN: Best books on the psychology of religion? - technobabble
Hello,<p>I&#x27;m interested in learning more on the psychology of religion. Can anybody recommend any books on the subject, and why you recommend them?<p>Thanks.<p>edit: Upon second thought, I&#x27;m more interested in the psychology of virtue&#x2F;morals.
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rossdavidh
"The Righteous Mind" by Johnathan Haidt. Technically it's not just about
religion, it's about the psychology of righteousness, but it's clearly
related. My review of it:
[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/829796352](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/829796352)

~~~
technobabble
Thanks! And now that I think about it, I'm looking less at the psychology of
religion, but more so the psychology of virtue/morals.

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ageofwant
C.S. Lewis' 'The problem of pain', and 'A grief Observed' I think is relevant,
even if you are trying to avoid reading apologetics.

I would definitely consider reading Julian Jaynes' 'The Origin of
Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind' in this context as well.

~~~
steve1977
Another vote for Julian Jaynes. I'm aware his theories are contested, but
they're very interesting and thought-provoking nonetheless.

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nopriorarrests
Not sure if it counts as psychology of religion, but "Orthodoxy" by Gilbert
Keith Chesterton is something not to be missed if you are looking for one of
the finest works of christian philosophy in XX century.

some quotations here
[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orthodoxy_(book)](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orthodoxy_\(book\)).
Quotations from the chapter I, "Introduction in Defense of Everything Else",
might be exactly what you are looking for.

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rasnider
I’m sure more experienced scholars will have more up-to-date recommendations,
but William James ‘Varieties of Religious Experience’ is a classic.

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ethn
I say this was great humility, but unfortunately the majority of books
recommended here are naive perspectives of religion—with the one exception
being the recommendation of C.S. Lewis.

If you want to understand the psychology behind religion I recommend
Wittgenstein's "Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough"; Eliade's "Myths, Dreams,
and Mysteries" and "The Sacred & Profane"; Feuerbach's "The Essence of
Religion"; Gertz's "The Religion of Java" and "The Interpretation of
Cultures"; and no anthology of introduction to religion would be complete
without Ricouer's "Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences".

An amazing excerpt from Eliade details the Tjilpa people orientating their
small tribe around this sacred gum tree, until one day the tree breaks, the
Tjilpa people then "wandered around aimlessly for a time, and finally [laid]
down on the ground together and waited for death to overtake them".

~~~
cprayingmantis
Out of curiosity which one is the C.S. Lewis recommendation? Had a hard time
Googling that.

~~~
combatentropy
Someone here recommended _The Problem of Pain_ and _A Grief Observed_ , and I
would add _Mere Christianity_ and _The Four Loves_.

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charlysl
William James - The Varieties of Religious Experience.

Possibly the classic about this subject (" _' Varieties of Religious
Experience' now stands as such a masterly investigation of the psychology of
individual theologies, that his other works tend to be rather pushed to one
side. _").

 _This is a study of the psychology of original religious experiences, not
religious institutions. Religious geniuses have often shown nervous
instability, such as George Fox or St Theresa. Medical materialism, sexual
origins refuted. Perhaps the neurotic temperament is best to receive religious
inspiration._

There is an abridged version in the Squashed Philosophers:
[http://sqapo.com/james.htm](http://sqapo.com/james.htm)

I particularly like this sentence:

 _our morality appears as a plaster hiding a sore it can never cure, and all
our well-doing as the hollowest substitute for that well-being that our lives
ought to be grounded in, but, alas! are not._

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liamcardenas
The Science of Religion on EdX [1]

I have been interested in why humans believe in religion ever since watching
this discussion[2]. This course is absolutely amazing and it even features
content from individuals outside of religious studies, including Jordan
Peterson and Jonathan Haidt. Each video contains lectures or interviews from
experts on each respective subject in the course. Talking about the building
block theory of religion? The course features the lady who invented it.
Talking about data science in religion? The course features the researcher in
charge of the largest religious database in the world. I think this course is
a model for how online courses ought to be. And yes, it absolutely gets into
the psychology involved.

[1] [https://www.edx.org/course/science-religion-ubcx-
religionx-0](https://www.edx.org/course/science-religion-ubcx-religionx-0)
(youtube lectures:
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNBQqqt7UnTQ8CuCbfwV4gA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNBQqqt7UnTQ8CuCbfwV4gA)
)

[2] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqCRwkak-
TU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqCRwkak-TU)

P.S. this is an excerpt from my blog which is why it is written in a slightly
different tone than I typically would use on HN.

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sscarduzio
Maybe a bit less orthodox (no pun intended) than the rest of the
recommendations, but Peter Hintjens in "Social Architecture" describes very
well the differences between cults and groups of virtuous people. And more
importantly, the mechanics of how you are more likely to join a cult in
moments of weakness.

[https://g.co/kgs/S3NEdK](https://g.co/kgs/S3NEdK)

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notduncansmith
Here are a few related materials on the psychology of moral development:

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg's_stages_o...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg's_stages_of_moral_development)

[http://cook-greuter.com/9%20levels%20of%20increasing%20embra...](http://cook-
greuter.com/9%20levels%20of%20increasing%20embrace%20update%201%2007.pdf)

[https://vividness.live/2015/10/12/developing-ethical-
social-...](https://vividness.live/2015/10/12/developing-ethical-social-and-
cognitive-competence/)

~~~
technobabble
Thanks. I never heard about Lawrence Kohlberg.

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dpeck
Hero of a Thousand Faces, [https://smile.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-
Joseph-Cam...](https://smile.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-
Campbell/dp/1577315936), is a great overview of mythology/morality across many
times and cultures.

There is also a great interview with the author on Netflix now. It’s from the
1980s, but it’s several hours of great content as well.

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seekingcharlie
Freud's Civilisation & It's Discontent. It's not purely about religion/morals
but he does touch on it from an interesting angle:

[https://www.amazon.com/Civilization-Its-Discontents-
Sigmund-...](https://www.amazon.com/Civilization-Its-Discontents-Sigmund-
Freud/dp/0393304515)

------
richerlariviere
I would suggest Food of the Gods by Terrence McKenna as it brings an
interesting angle over religion related to our consciousness:
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51660.Food_of_the_Gods](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51660.Food_of_the_Gods)

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bklaasen
Daniel Dennett's "Breaking the Spell" is worth your time:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_the_Spell:_Religion...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_the_Spell:_Religion_as_a_Natural_Phenomenon)

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p33p
The Evolution of God by Robert Wright is a good read. I think it’s important
to understand morals/religion in historical context, and Wright does a great
job of adding this context and how religion has developed over the centuries.

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swah
Also I want to read Rene Girard someday - I believe he talks about this as
well.

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hprotagonist
Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" and "Either/Or"are hard slogs, but worth
it, if you like thinking about essential paradoxes, psychological responses to
existentialism, and the like.

~~~
bobwaycott
I’ve never found Kierkegaard to be a hard slog. I’ve long enjoyed his
writings.

~~~
hprotagonist
More than most, he suffers from the penalty of "it's old so it has to be Super
Serious And Stuffy", which is kind of a shame.

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steven_noble
Plus one for The Righteous Mind, mentioned below.

Also in the vein of 'not quite psychology of religion, but related', The
Hero's Journey, by Joseph Campbell.

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pepitoroncio
Freud "Moses And Monotheism"
[https://archive.org/stream/mosesandmonothei032233mbp/mosesan...](https://archive.org/stream/mosesandmonothei032233mbp/mosesandmonothei032233mbp_djvu.txt)
It's about the evolutionary roots and the modern desire for a uber-father

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boltzmannbrain
"Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion" by Sam Harris:
[http://a.co/d/bpQ6OlS](http://a.co/d/bpQ6OlS)

"The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins:
[http://a.co/d/2aP5Tvo](http://a.co/d/2aP5Tvo)

"Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and
Enlightenment" by Robert Wright:
[http://a.co/d/8IawuEo](http://a.co/d/8IawuEo)

Sam Harris discusses these topics (amongst others you may find interesting) in
conversations on his podcast:
[https://samharris.org/podcast/](https://samharris.org/podcast/)

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lainon
Patrick McNamara - The neuroscience of religious experience

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k0t0n0
try work done by maskeen. his work is on Sikhism in Punjabi language.
philosophy on religion is opinionated.

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propertius
Aristotle's ethical treatises.

Also, his Rhetoric.

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Haitischmock
Jordan Peterson is a psychology professor from Canada who has become a
somewhat divisive/controversial political figure during the last 2 years, but
he has been uploading video lectures about exactly these topics for a long
time.

Jordan Peterson, The Psychological Significance of the Biblical Stories:
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQD_IZs7y60I...](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQD_IZs7y60I3lUrrFTzkpat)

Jordan Peterson, 2017 Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief (University
of Toronto):
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQAT-0aSPq-O...](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQAT-0aSPq-
OKOpQlHyR4k5h)

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mstdokumaci
stefan zweig - mental healers

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h43z
"Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief" by Jordan Peterson

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steamer25
Not a book but here are some recently published debates between Jordan
Peterson and Sam Harris that are moderated by Bret Weinstein:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-Z9EZE8kpo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-Z9EZE8kpo)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtkwF5qA6uE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtkwF5qA6uE)

I haven't gotten around to watching them yet (4.5 hours total) but they're
supposed to be pretty interesting. The topic of the debate, as I understand
it, is roughly whether religion or religious beliefs have any utility from an
evolutionary/fitness perspective and/or to what degree could/should we try to
objectively evaluate religious/ethical beliefs. Peterson is a clinical
psychologist so he's coming to the debate from that angle.

~~~
notduncansmith
One thing to be aware of is that there’s a lot of polarization around
Peterson’s material. I’d recommend sticking to his long-form material
(presentations/podcasts) on YouTube rather than the many clickbait videos
that’ll be recommended.

~~~
technobabble
Yeah, I came across his earlier work, and was disappointed on his latest
lectures/videos.

