ABSTRACT
Jung proposed that a native religious function exists within the human psyche (see, among many references, Jung 1966:para. 150). Homo religio¯sus is by no means an exceptional creature. In fact, everyone is to some extent religiously inclined, at least implicitly. The religious function is a mythopoetic instinct of sorts, and it bespeaks humankind’s inherent tendency to create myth. This function manifests wherever people make culture and try to find meaning. It arises spontaneously in individuals, and it can be studied in the historical records of religions and in the ritual practices of all human beings in all time periods.
