The Individual and His Religion: A Psychological Interpretation

Book Review
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The title of the book in review is The Individual and His Religion: A Psychological Interpretation. The book was authored by Gordon Willard Allport and published through the Macmillan publishers in the year 1960. The original copy was done through the University of Virginia. The book which has 147 pages was later digitized in 2nd July of 2008 (Allport, 1970).
Gordon Willard Allport is a professor at the Harvard University, within the department of social relations and majors in psychology. The book, The Individual and His Religion: A Psychological Interpretationin this case is part of an extension in the field of religion and related studies. This is a topic that he has covered fully one other book that he has authored titled the Personality: A psychological Interpretation which was published in the year 1937 (Allport, 1970). A closer look at the book, reveals a connection between the content and context of the book and the lectures that he once delivered in Boston in the year 1947 titled the Lowell lectures. The Individual and His Religion: A Psychological Interpretation, although it is a small volume, can be said to be a psychological portrayal religious sentiments that one can find in the personality structure.
From the title, it is clear what the objective of the author is and what emphasis they are trying to create in the readers mind. A closer look at the elemental placement of the words in the title will reveal a clear message for the readers even before they delve in the content of the book and the context of the thesis. In the title the word ‘his’ is used to indicate that it excludes from the readers consideration, the subjective experience that may or may not exist as well as objective realities that they may experience beyond this reality. On the other hand, the word ‘psychology’ should be understood in the naturalistic manner relative to the empirical psychology (Allport, 1970). As such, the removes from the mindset all the elements that relate to causal factors in the likeness of communion or divine grace that might exist between man and god, which science may not be in a position to make any form of assertions whether affirmatively or in a negative form. Without this limitation in the way, the author thus opens a wide array of discussions relative to the context of the title.
One of the first elements of the book, the author’s thesis and author is that there some element of personality inclination that is evident from the flow of the arguments presented. In the book, the author takes a positive tone towards religion which comes out clearly relative to the treatment of Freud. Additionally is also clear that the author does not in any way want to lean on the idea that religion may be in one way discredited based on its origins or the fact that it is quite close to the desired of the human race. Instead he closely leans on the theistic elements as well as the aspect of personality. Going back to the preface, the author gives credit to some two associates from the Boston University, who are, Bertocci and Brightman (Allport, 1970). These two also seem to give the book the philosophical elements that is needs to rem...