Psichologinė religinių jausmų svarba Williamo Jameso požiūriu

LTStraipsnyje analizuojama amerikiečių psichologo Williamo Jameso (Viljamo Džeimso) religijos psichologijos tematika. Ji traktuojama kitų ano meto psichologijos mokslo pradininkų darbų kontekste. W. Jamesas matė pozityvias religingumo / tikėjimo puses: tai stimuliuojantis gyvenimo šaltinis, integruojantis žmogaus brendimo aspektas ir netgi fundamentalus žmogaus dvasinės higienos veiksnys. Be religijos visavertis gyvenimas yra sunkiai pasiekiamas, o empirinis mokslas, jo nuomone, vis labiau ardė religijos pamatus. Todėl ieškodamas išeities bandė sukurti vadinamąją optimistinę filosofiją. W. Jamesas aiškino, kad psichologas gali taip pat objektyviai domėtis religijos fenomenais kaip ir kitais kasdieniais psichologiniais dalykais. Psichologija gali tirti teologinius reiškinius, tačiau yra vienas ribotumas – psichologinis tyrinėjimas apsiriboja žmogaus jausmų ir valios sritimi, o tai reiškia, kad netiria Bažnyčios institucijos doktrinos klausimų. Tikėjimo teikiamas šventumas žmogui padeda įgyti psichologinę pusiausvyrą, atveria naujus gyvenimo horizontus, praplečia akiratį ir teikia amžinybės viltį. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: W. Jamesas, religija, šventumas. [Iš leidinio]

ENThe article discusses the theme of religion in the work of one of the pioneers of psychological science, the American psychologist William James. He is one of the few researchers who has sufficiently extensively analysed the relationship between the Christian faith and psychology. In his work, he quotes a lot from the Bible. However, he ignores doctrinal aspects of individual denominations, for example, he never quotes the documents of the Catholic Church in his works on religious topics. This is explained by the fact that the author tried to look at the phenomenon of faith as a scientist who is not committed to any particular religion, but who wants to study actual and practical manifestations of that religion in human life. James said that faith in God leads to the deeper self-knowledge of the individual, establishes a person’s authentic freedom, helps to maintain patience in everyday life, and stabilises the psyche. In particular, faith manifests itself in the mature pursuit of holiness. A person who believes has a sense of holiness in an actual and practical way. Practicality, in general, was one of the key concepts of James’ psychology. Therefore, the practical consequences of holiness for a person are an infinite sense of freedom, getting rid of the feeling of guilt, correctly experiencing the sinful past, hopeful anticipation of the future, purity of conscience, and the ability to empathically accept others as well as mercy for people who are downtrodden by fate, adherence to life discipline, and conversion from negative life experiences.In emphasising this, James emphasised the global positive importance of the Christian faith, and reveals the psychotherapeutic side of religion. The author emphasised that faith is a dynamic phenomenon, never static, but constantly renewed. This attitude of the scientist is very modern, because it emphasises the cultivation of a mature faith, not a neurotic and fanatical one. G. Allport and K.G. Jung, later masters of the science of psychology, drew much from his psychological studies. Key words: W. James, religion, holiness. [From the publication]