There exists within the church a great divide. Psychology and faith are distancing themselves - trying to act like neither will impact the other. Now I'm the first to admit I will naturally have a bias. But at the same time, I truly believe that both can effect the other. Therefore, I have no real allegiances. I think the Bible encourages getting to know our minds and hearts. And I think the study of religion can tell us a lot about human nature. In fact, I think Christian psychological researchers and theorists ought to begin with the Bible and let that illuminate their research studies and their theories.
But why is there such an animosity that some ministers preach against the dangers of psychology?
The first is that the church is threatened because over the last 4 centuries it has had an adversarial relationship with science. It's the infamous science vs. religion debate. And psychology falls on the wrong side. But it's more than just that. There are small issues that are highlighted by some Christian fundamentalists (i.e. spanking children, homosexuality, etc.) where psychological research seems to put doubt in the believers. Spanking is shown to be counter-productive to good emotional development. Homosexuality is suggested to be genetic (I believe there is probably a genetic predisposition, but not a gene that makes a person homosexual - similar to the genetic contributors to alcoholism). This research threatens some Christian fundamentalists becausesuddenly it seems their faith is under attack.
But psychology has not been completely irreverent of religion. In fact, the scientific study of religion is still a blossoming field. I believe that the research methods of psychology can develop measures of spirituality which can assist in determining if, for example, a pastor is effectively developing the faith of the congregation or if the 40 days of Purpose strengthens marital relationships (one article has already shown that it does). But Christians only want the positive results. They would have loved to hear that prayer actually contributes to better outcome for heart surgery patients. Pastors would have shared it at church. But since it came out negative the issue will be tucked away and go undiscussed.
So why are religion and psychology (even Christian psychology) considered different realms? Paul often did outcome studies to determine the spiritual health of a church. When he noticed that the behavior or attitude of a church was ungodly, he rebuked them. In my opinion, that is using research, albeit observational research, to make judgments and alter decisions. Shouldn't we devote ourselves to gaining greater insight into the mystery of faith, being patient as we trudge through periods of doubt? Or does psychology have nothing to say about religion?
Many people think psychology does not address sin. There are several theories which view sin as a social construct and not as something real. But certainly not all theories. And often psychology adds a lot of insight into sin. Psychology addresses the defense mechanisms which often cause sinful attitudes such as projection (placing your feelings on another person), intellectualization (thinking about your problems rather than feeling them), and denial (refusing to accept a painful event). These are very helpful ways to understand how your sinful behavior is actually operating. Psychology also helps us know how to counsel, or even rebuke, in a gentle way, as Paul commanded us to do. You may think that this knowledge was unneccesary for centuries and you would be correct, but we are dealing with a generation which is inundated with thousands of emotional messages in the media that teach individuality, materialism, and community detachment. The church ought to use the scientific method to make it more effective. If psychology can show us how the church can minister better to people then we should at least bring it to discussion, even if we do not adapt all it has to say.
I am reminded of the discoveries of Galileo. If the church tried to deny the possibility that the earth is not the center of the universe, couldn't it make mistakes today? Will the church faithfully believe in God's word while still being open to their own lack of understanding of it? Or will it close-mindedly reject all new ideas as being "unbiblical"? I hope that we learn not to rest in our own feelings of certainty about the universe and accept that we have more to learn.
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