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RELIGION AND THE UNCONSCIOUS by Ann & Barry Ulanov

RELIGION AND THE UNCONSCIOUS

By

Pub Date: Oct. 13th, 1975
Publisher: Westminster

This mild manifesto formally correlates the study of depth psychology with Christian theology. Its governing thesis is that religion provides the structure for the integration of primordial drives and images into the individual consciousness. Reciprocally the modern techniques of psychology facilitate an achievement of human wholeness intimated by the religious ideal. The Ulanovs contend that psychoanalysis cannot satisfy innate spiritual needs; but neither can piety alone fulfill the human potential. Over a broad range of topics, from the distinction between symbolic and sacramental perspectives to ethics redefined in the light of the unconscious, they suggest new ways in which each discipline can complement the other. Written with some grace and intelligence, the book has many provocative ideas and cogent summaries of theoretical positions. Yet it is oddly composed, shunting from topic to topic at the expense of the primary theme.