Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion [Hardcover]

Lee A. Kirkpatrick PhD (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1593850883 | ISBN-13: 978-1593850883 | Publication Date: October 18, 2004 | Edition: 1

In this provocative and engaging book, Lee Kirkpatrick establishes a broad, comprehensive framework for approaching the psychology of religion from an evolutionary perspective. Within this framework, attachment theory provides a powerful lens through which to reconceptualize diverse aspects of religious belief and behavior. Rejecting the notion that humans possess religion-specific instincts or adaptations, Kirkpatrick argues that religion instead emerges from numerous psychological mechanisms and systems that evolved for other functions. This integrative work will spark discussion, debate, and future research among anyone interested in the psychology of religion, attachment theory, and evolutionary psychology, as well as religious studies. It will also serve as a text in advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level courses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this highly engaging, wide-ranging, and gracefully written book, Kirkpatrick moves from his own innovative work on attachment processes and religious phenomena to a much broader, multidimensional analysis of religion as an outcome of evolution. The book stands out from other writings on evolution and religion, which tend to have a narrow focus (on cognition or ritual or mystical experience, for example) and to see religion as a unitary adaptation. In contrast, Kirkpatrick argues persuasively that religion is best explained by a confluence of several different evolved mechanisms, each with its own primary, nonreligious function."--Phillip R. Shaver, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis

"Kirkpatrick has provided a dazzling and insightful analysis of the psychology of religion. Groundbreaking and gripping from start to finish, the book takes readers on a tour of religious phenomena, from the origins of belief to the nature of religious leaders and their followers. The result is the most incisive and scientifically sound analysis of religion I have seen, using principles drawn from modern evolutionary psychology. It’s a landmark publication, and sure to form the center of lively debate for years to come."--David M. Buss, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin

"In this brilliant work, Lee Kirkpatrick embeds the study of religion within an integrative evolutionary framework that draws extensively on attachment theory. In elaborating his comprehensive explanatory theory, Kirkpatrick boldly proposes a route for advancing the science of the psychology of religion. This book is essential reading for students and scholars of the psychology of religion and evolutionary psychology, particularly those interested in the psychological origins of religion."--Crystal L. Park, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut

"This is a masterful example of scholarship aimed at integrating an attachment and evolutionary theoretical approach to the wide and far-reaching domain of the psychology of religion. Kirkpatrick is the world’s leading expert on attachment theory and religion, and in this book he has expanded the argument to encompass a broader perspective, one that places the psychology of religion squarely in the emerging field of evolutionary psychology and thus links it with the larger orbit of sciences. The writing is rich with research whose data argue in a compelling way that religious phenomena match the predictions of an attachment-evolutionary framework. Other approaches are acknowledged but are challenged with the question of why they work, if they do. Written with a high level of sophistication, the book is nonetheless extremely accessible. Kirkpatrick clearly loves his material. His logic is keen, his writing beautiful, his topic and message timeless."--Raymond F. Paloutzian, PhD, Department of Psychology, Westmont College

About the Author

Lee A. Kirkpatrick, PhD, is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Psychology at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He has published numerous research articles and book chapters on topics related to adult attachment, the psychology of religion, and evolutionary psychology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (October 18, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593850883
• ISBN-13: 978-1593850883
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eminently readable and balanced approach to the psychology of religion, October 17, 2006

By 

D. M. Njus - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion (Hardcover)

I began reading this book in the library of the college where I teach psychology, and after finishing Kirpatrick's introduction I knew I had to purchase the book for myself.

Kirpatrick provides a rigorously scientific approach to the psychology of religion. Couching religious belief, or at least parts of our religious belief, in the context of attachment theory is both intuitively appealing and empirically supported. Wrapping the whole in the metatheoretical framework of evolutionary psychology is the final piece that puts everything together, and Kirkpatrick does just that, in an eminently readable way.

Certainly there is much more research to be done in this area before we can even begin to provide potential answers to all questions about religious belief, but Kirkpatrick does an excellent job summarizing the state of the research at present, and drawing reasonable--and interesting--interpretations.

Finally, I was impressed by the intellectually balanced approach Kirkpatrick provides. There is no hint of an agenda or an axe to grind; theist and atheist alike can read this book and learn from it without having their sensibilities offended. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an intelligent look at religion, April 16, 2006

By 

Peter Derks - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion (Hardcover)

Kirkpatrick has given us a scholarly, comprehensive and comprehendable discussion of an extremly important part of human experience. This work is well and carefully documented for the scholar and clearly written for the casual (but curious) reader. It's too bad Dennett didn't read this before he wrote "Breaking the Spell." He could have saved hinself a couple of years and sent us to read "Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting, July 9, 2007

By 

James Buchanan "stratusmind" (Boone, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion (Hardcover)

Although I have read other theories with which I agree more (evolutionary theories elaborated upon by Atran and Boyer), the Attachment Theory perspective is a very interesting point of view on how people form and maintain relationships with supernatural beings. The book as a whole makes some pretty persuasive arguments for the Attachment Theory and does it with humor and facts combined. For a subject that has great potential to be dry and boring, Kirkpatrick leads the reader through the points in a very fluid and entertaining way. Again, I really enjoyed this book, both as a Psych major and as a Philosophy & Religion major.