ABSTRACT
As the title suggests, this chapter begins the introduction of psychodynamic concepts relevant to understanding religious hatred. It starts with the Jungian idea of ‘complexes’, the unconscious images and associations which human beings carry and which can influence behaviour without the person being aware of them. The relationship between complexes and religious traditions is explored, and this leads into a discussion of ‘cultural complexes’, the phenomenon which can inhabit communities and nations in the same way that personal complexes inhabit individuals. The second key Jungian concept introduced here is that of the ‘Shadow’, the parts of people which are repressed or inhibited and may be projected onto Others to their detriment. The chapter concludes by looking at how complexes and Shadows are transmitted by human emotion.
