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Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship

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Reviewer Helms misses the point, it seems to me. Dr. Vitz correctly identifies psychology as social science as no science at all, but a belief system. (Vitz clearly distinguishes experimental and social psychology and exempts the scientific experimental type from his critique).
The Christian model of man as a creature fallen from his relationship with his creator into a pit of self offers a solution: reunion. The humanist's solution to man's unhappiness is a stronger self, or a self submitting itself with other selves to a greater self (the state, etc.). The Christian ideal, if followed, leads to peace. The humanist's leads to conflict ("will to power", one self or state vs another self or state).
For all the talk of the damage done in the name of religion, the mishief has come not from religion of man submitting him-self to his creator and its rules, but from the arrogance of self-righteousness. The isms of the 20th Century had nothing to do with religion involving God. 200 million people were killed in the struggle for humanist utopias. The religion of self and the ideologies it spawns (Dostoevsky: socialism is a Tower of Babel without God, e.g.) had its chance and failed miserably.
Science is simply a search for truth through observation and when done honestly is self-correcting. Religion is a faith-based search for truth. If psychology continues believing in the value of self- confidence, esteem, assurance, worth, help, realization, actualization, determination, sufficiency, etc., in spite of observable evidence of the anti-human results of their promotion, is it sclence or a belief system? Dr. Vitz's book does an excellent job showing us that distinction.

Have you ever looked around at American culture and wondered what went wrong. . .what is wrong? Paul Vitz gives us a goldmine of insight into the origin of modern angst. The 'selfism' described in this book will be recognizable, both in us and those around us. Truth seekers will find Vitz's exposure of the frauds of modern 'psychology' to be a milestone in their long search for answers to modern confusion. Then the real work begins. . . I recommend this book highly. You will not be disappointed.

Secularism has evolved to become the "state religion" in North America largely due to the work of the five key figures: Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and Rollo May. Judeo-Christian leaders who accepted this teaching must now concentrate on the result and accept the responsibility to alter the wrong direction society has taken because of these teachings.

The separation of state and religion was a concept that was nullified by secularism as it has become interwoven into the fabric of North American society. Millions of tax dollars are used to perpetuate this state religion. For example, schools of education in colleges and universities nation-wide have trained teachers, counselors, school administrators and those who train them in the "cult" of secular humanism. Secular humanism is devotion to self-expression as an end in itself. It " emphasized the human capacity for change to the point of almost totally ignoring the idea that life has limits and that knowledge of those limits is the basis of wisdom. For selfist there seem to be no acceptable duties, denials, inhibitions, or restraints. Instead there are only rights and opportunities for change." (page 33) When a child is taught that he or she is the most important person in the world, in the guise of building self-esteem that child's response to authority is often since-I-am-the-most-important-person-in-the-world-why should-I-listen-to-you?!! With every news broadcast and every paper across both Canada and the U.S. we daily see the result of this wrong thinking/teaching.

There is much more to this book. I hope you will chose to read it for yourself. I also hope it will inspire other authors to explore, challenge and dethrone the state religion of secularism.

Paul Vitz attempts to expose psychology for what it really is, i.e., religion. He begins by giving the reader a brief biography on the fathers of the modern psychology movement along with some of their theories. The opening chapter was dry reading but I suppose necessary as a historical backdrop. My interest peaked when I immediately recognized Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow since I was forced to study them for 26 years while in the military. Vitz also discusses Carl Jung, Erich Fromn, and Rollo May as being significant contributors to the movement.
Vitz quickly transitions into explaining the concept of self-esteem which he promotes as the center of the entire selfism movement. This became important to me as it seems no matter where you turn, a lack of or poor self-esteem appears to be the cause of every ill known to mankind. For a movement to be so widespread to the point where psychology has been woven into the gospel message, Vitz says that the self-esteem concept has "no clear intellectual origins." That's a surprising claim considering the impact selfism has had on academia and the practice of counseling.
Vitz states that self-esteem should be understood as an emotional response and not a cause. He says it is a reaction to what we have done and what others have done to us. High self-esteem is a desirable feeling to have (like happiness), but the feeling itself isn't the cause of anything. In trying to obtain a feeling of self-esteem, the only successful way is to do good to others or accomplish something. In so doing, you'll get all the self-esteem you want. However, the downside is people begin to pursue happiness as a far greater goal than the goal of obtaining personal holiness.
Not only is selfism a self-defeating goal for the Christian, Vitz goes on to make the case that it is also simply bad science and a warped philosophy. The little clinical evidence that does exist is mostly based on empirical observations and doesn't stand the test of solid scientific problem solving. He exposes flaws in each step of the process, from stating the problem, forming and testing the hypothesis, to testing the conclusion. He also identifies several philosophical contradictions and in some cases, actual misrepresentations. The spread of this bad science and faulty philosophy is believed by the author to have contributed to the destruction of families. Additionally, the entire recovery group mentality convinces the person with "low self-esteem" that their ills are due to trauma inflicted on them in the past. Recovery group therapy strokes the patient with self-pity thereby convincing the clients are victims. Once labeled, the "victim" now assumes the attitude of victimhood.
Values clarification has become the model taught in schools and begins with the assumption that man is naturally good. Since the developers of values clarification reject moral teachings, Vitz claims that if responsible adults, i.e., teachers, don't promote good values then someone else will. Providing a permissive environment supposedly nourishes the child by granting satisfaction for the child's desires and interests. However, this philosophy is bankrupt because kids will assume the values of irresponsible sources in lieu of responsible ones. This combined with the aforementioned teachings has produced a society of victims where everyone is pointing to blame someone else for their misfortunes.
Vitz takes three chapters to present a Christian analysis and criticism of humanistic self-theories. He gives the credit to our educational system for the transformation of our society into a culture of pure selfism. He notes that the New Age movement has many founders, but Abraham Maslow's theories have been the most influential. Vitz argues his Christian critique within a historical framework and the impact it has had on the evolution of our society. Unfortunately he gives scant attention to biblical references for his position, but does show how the selfism heresy affects teachings on depression, idolatry, and suffering. He closes his work with the observation, "never have so many people been so self-conscious, so aware of the self as something to be expressed...., the self has become an object to itself." (I think this may make the case that self-esteem has become a new barometric indicator to the question everyone asks, "How are you doing today?")
Overall, Vitz's book uses a cerebral approach in attempting to prove that self-worship is simply a religion. Biblical counselors looking for material to help their counselees break free of a selfish worldview of life will be disappointed. Then again, Vitz didn't write his book for that purpose. Moreover, he provides a wealth of information and a refreshing argument against those who say, "You can't teach religion in public schools." This leaves the reader with an irony: it's not a question of should we or should we not teach religion in public schools, but instead, what religion will we teach; selfism or Christianity?

In `Psychology as Religion' Paul Vitz criticizes the self-focused psychologies of Jung, Rogers, Maslow et al and their derivative popularizers. The following comments refer to the second edition of this text published in 1994 (original 1977).

Though Vitz raises some valid scientific and philosophical criticisms of contemporary self-focused psychologies his primary critique is from a religious perspective (largely Christian). He correctly notes that many of the assumptions that underlie these theories are contrary to the Christian worldview. For instance many self-theorists assume that human nature is essentially good, and, if left to their own devices such uninhibited individuals would produce a good, if not utopian society. This is obviously in stark contrast with the Christian view of fallen humanity and the need for salvation through God.

Though I tend to agree with the author regarding the non-Christian worldview of much modern self-help psychology, and, its unscientific nature, Vitz's approach seems overstated. The text has an anti-cultist feel, assuming that many modern Westerners have deeply bought into the underlying narcissistic (and often silly), suppositions of these theories. While there may be such people, it is contrary to my experience. I have used some of these tools, e.g. Transactional Analysis and Maslow hierarchy, and have rarely encountered anyone who wholeheartedly accepts their underlying presuppositions. Most individuals who have been exposed to these theories appear to view them as blunt paradigms occasionally helpful in understanding human behavior.

Overall, this is not an unimportant or uninteresting topic. Indeed in the hands of the right commentator it could make an interesting read. Vitz, however, I do not think is the person to do this. Even having a strong interest in these issues, and sharing a Christian worldview, I found it a tedious read.

"Psychology As Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship"

A very good book to read. Would be best read by those with (minimum) high school intelectual background. The book covers more on the misleading 'sef-centred/help' psychology which are very prevalent nowadays, along with it's potential negative/destructive effect to the society as a whole.

Since before 1980, in the book, the writer proposed some social & moral [degeneration] model/scheme which would be expected to happening in modern society beyond 2000 due to the 'Selfist Psychology'. Most of the scientific predictions made there are coming into existence today, along with its negative effects.

Best Regards:
Michael

In the mid 60s I had Paul Vitz as a psychology prof for three semesters at NYU. In those days he was a flag-waving atheist and Skinnerian behaviorist. If any students might challenge him on that, he would not only use his position at the podium to make a scathing spectacle of them in front of the whole class, but also to issue veiled threats that they could flunk the course if they persisted. Now he promotes Catholicism with comparable bile. Same Vitz, different fundamentalism.

I don't know where to begin deconstructing this idiotic book. Although the author certainly did his homework, detailing the history of Psychology with great accuracy, its entire premise is without merit. The oldest enemies of Science have always been Christians, and this book is just another attempt to reconcile the superstitious beliefs of Christianity with the FACTS Christians are presented with every day which refute their beliefs. And PLEASE don't start with that tired old argument of "Psychology is just a bunch of theories." From the heliocentric solar system, to gravity, to the origins of life on our planet, to the Big Bang, EVERYTHING is just theory...but we still have electricity, internal combustion engines, medicine, and countless other scientific marvels that make our lives incalculably more enjoyable and fruitful than they would be if we simply followed the Bible's explanations. Vitz is simply adding Psychology to Christianity's long list of the persecuted (Copurnicus, Galelio, Blacks, Gays, Women, etc., etc.)

Religion/Science battles aside, the whole idea of Psychology being a religion is preposterous. Religion is a philosophy based upon blind acceptance, not facts. Psychology is a SCIENCE, a totally different philosophy which requires tentative acceptance of the simplest correct explanation for an event based upon observation, AND willingness to accept new explanations when evidence suggests we are wrong. Religions are designed to be static, and their followers never admit to having "changed the rules," even though they often do so to fit their own needs as people become less and less naieve (read as "more and more educated").

In short, this book is ridiculous propaganda from a Right-Wing Conservative Christian who has written numerous books in an attempt to fend off the ensuing doom of his own superstitious beliefs. It's a "if you can't beat 'em, bash 'em" mentality that drives this author, and anyone with even a cursory understanding of Psychology will resist the temptation to buy this waste of paper.