Main description:

Religious Hatred and Human Conflict focuses the lens of psychodynamic psychology on a phenomenon that often confounds conventional thinking - the intensity of conflict with religious or quasi-religious dimensions.

The book highlights six dimensions of religion: identity, doctrine and practice, emotion and experience, mythology, sacred values and power and control, exploring how these can give rise to religious hatred and lead to marginalisation, persecution and even genocide. It also explores reasons for the evolution of religion and religious hatred, and their relationship with human behaviour through contemporary issues such as fundamentalism, martyrdom, clerical narcissism and apocalyptic belief. Acland examines how religious hatred and conflict may be transcended by facilitating processes of dialogue and diapraxis which enable a systematic understanding of prejudices and projections. Lastly, it offers practical methods and strategies for helping individuals and communities grow beyond the constraints of religious hatred, treating religious hatred as a psycho-spiritual problem that requires self-understanding.

Identifying the implications for professionals in conflict resolution and mediation, politicians, community leaders, diplomats and anyone working to prevent or reduce conflict where religious belief is a factor, this book sets out how those tasked with intervening can respond to the challenges involved. It will also be highly relevant reading for students and researchers of psychology and religious studies.

Contents:

PART 1: Contexts and cultures

Chapter 1: Beginning, Background and Biases

Chapter 2: Three Backstories

Conflict resolution and transformation

The psychology of religion

Psychodynamic psychology

Inspirational beginnings: Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung

Rehabilitating Jung

Beyond Freud and Jung

PART 2: What is religious hatred?

Chapter 3: Thinking about Religious Hatred

Anatomies of hatred

Hatred and evolution

Hatred and the Other

From hatred to genocide

Hatred and thoughtcrime

Religion and hatred as addictions

Chapter 4: Psychodynamic Approaches to Religious Hatred

Complexes

Complexes and religious traditions

Cultural complexes

The Shadow

Complexes and Shadows in transmission

PART 3: Religious hatred and the dimensions of religion

Chapter 5: Six Dimensions of Religion

Dimensions of religion

The dimensions of religion, religious hatred and the problem of evil

Chapter 6: The Identity Dimension

Religion and identity

Conflicting religious identities and the idea of the 'Other'

The narcissism of small differences

The Persona, the Shadow and the Other

Chapter 7: The Doctrine and Practice Dimension

Religious doctrine and the Golem Effect

Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism, hatred and violence

The psychology of fundamentalist doctrine and practice

Groups and group practices

Fundamentalism as a form of cultural complex

Chapter 8: The Emotional and Experiential Dimension

The missing dimension

Marks of religious experience

Emotions and religious experience

The psychology of religious experience

Religious hatred and the Divided Self

Healing the Divided Self

Religious hatred as the failure to individuate

Hatred and the Self

Chapter 9: The Mythological Dimension

Approaching mythology

Social impacts of myth

Impacts of myth on individuals

Mythology and religious hatred

Modern myths

Cosmic wars

When myth leads to martyrdom

The psychology of Armageddon

Mythmaking and scapegoating

Chapter 10: The Sacred Values Dimension

The nature of sacred values

Sacred values and personal motivation

Valuing sacred values

Pseudo-sacred values

Secular values that turn sacred

Sacred values and religious hatred

Sacred values and uncertainty

Chapter 11: The Power and Control Dimension

The impetus to control

Constraints as control

Compensatory control

Terror Management Theory

From control to paranoia

Control through clericalism

Evolution of religious control

PART 4: Working through religious hatred

Chapter 12: The Search for Answers

Understanding religion

Appreciating the emotional and unconscious

Beyond dialogue

Reframing religious hatred as a psychospiritual problem

Incorporating the transcendent function

The practicalities of conflict resolution: dialogue and diapraxis

Diapraxis: process and structures

Using the dimensions of religion as a structure for dialogue and diapraxis

Afterword

Select Bibliography