Unit 3: Psychology and Religion
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​Candidates will be credited for their understanding of any relevant
psychological views of religion, and will be expected to be familiar
with how religion has been understood by Freud and Jung:

Freud
Religion as a collective neurosis; as wish fulfilment and a reaction
against helplessness; and as a response to the Oedipus complex
and repressed guilt

Jung
Religion as an expression of the collective unconscious; the ‘god
within’; the theory of archetypes: the shadow, the animus, anima and
the Self and the quest for integration
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Candidates should recognise why some of these views are seen
to challenge religious belief and how religion has responded to this
challenge.

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Issues arising
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• Has ‘God’ been explained away by psychology?
• The strengths and weaknesses of psychological views of
religion
• What is the relationship between religion and mental health?

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