ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the three disciplines which provide the basis for the book: conflict resolution and transformation, the psychology of religion and psychodynamic psychology. The first three sections of the chapter describe each of these fields in turn and cite some of the key publications which provide the intellectual grounding for the book. The chapter then focuses on Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as the original inspirations for psychodynamic psychology, describing in particular their attitudes to religion. The hostility to Jung is also described, and the author explains why some of this hostility is misplaced and why Jung needs to be rehabilitated if the subject of religion is to be better understood. Finally, the chapter looks beyond Freud and Jung to mention other influences on the book.
