The Psychology of Religion: A Force For Good or Evil?

by Steve Taylor, Ph.D.
Is religion the source of conflict, or are deeper problems to blame? Militant atheists such as Richard Dawkins compare religion to a virus which infects human minds and turns potentially rational people into dogmatic automatons, willing to kill and die for their beliefs. But this is a dangerous over-simplification. Although I’m not religious myself – I don’t believe in God or follow any religious tradition – I believe that religion is being used as a scapegoat for deeper psychological problems. [Read more] ...