Richard Beck on the Nature of Religious Belief: A Summary
Introduction Experimental psychologist Richard Beck has spent much of his career showing that Sigmund Freud’s take on religion was partially, but just partially, correct. To be more specific, Beck has shown that not everyone who embraces religion does so in a subconscious attempt to stave off existential terror. Although most believers might fall under this category, he writes that many believe for non-defensive reasons; that is, many believers “fully recognize [their] existential situation” and “actively refuse to believe as a means to repress existential terror.”[1] Beck’s thesis is important, and I think believers and skeptics alike would do well to understand it. Many believers avoid some of the most important findings of psychology and consequently fail to understand themselves as they should. The end result is often faith that is unreflective and even harmful. Many skeptics, on the other hand, err too far in the other direction, condemning all religious belief as regressive and d