The Individual and His Religion

Gordon W. Allport - The Individual and His Religion: A Psychological Interpretation. Macmillan Publishing, 1970. 170 lk

Sotsiaalteaduste osakonna raamatukogust pärit väike vana raamatuke on taskuraamatu formaadis ja kirjutatud 50ndal aastal. Paljud asjad raamatust on common knowledge, mis on lihtsalt vahvasti sõnastatud. Näiteks:
"The universe is simply incomprehensible. Fragments of it may be fairly well understood, but not interrelation of these fragments, and certainly not the design as a whole. Every man wonders at times about the void which gave way to creation, and about the successive links that connect this original void to his own momentary state of wonder. To many men, religion is primarily a search for complete knowledge, for unfissioned truth.
This appetite for meaning differs from person to person, and owing to nature's preference for diversity, some are satiated earlier than others. Furthermore, the capacities of individuals for comprehension differ, as do ability and inclination to make use of scientific explanations or of poetic metaphor. No two people have identical intellectual difficulties or powers, and hence no two reach identical solutions."
Mulle meeldis märgi tõlgendamist puudutav katkend, milles kirjeldati väikese Tommy kirikukogemust. Nimelt arvas Tommy, et rist kirikus omab tähendust "T for Tommy". Hiljem võis Tommy tõlgendada seda sama märki kui "the I, crossed out".
Raamatuga populatsioonikasvust ühildub sellest raamatust mõte, et tänapäeva meditsiini võimega eluiga pikendada kaasneb ka negatiivseid nähtusi: "Prolonging life is a dubious blessing indeed to those who will develop serious mental disorders that they would have otherwise have been spared."
Kunagi lugesin midagi selle kohta, et religioonist huvituvad ateistid (eriti militantsed) on ikkagi religioossed tänu faktile, et nad huvituvad religioonist. Allport ütleb selle kohta oma tarkusetera: "By acting so violently against religion, an ardent atheist in reality betrays a deep intrest in the religious mode of life. "Reaction formation" is the term psychologists apply to people who disguise real intrest with violent protest."
Kõige tabavam asi religiooni kohta selles raamatus kõlab: "Over and over again in a multidude of ways, the religion of the individual brings to focus the mingled motives and desires of an unfulfilled life." Minu arvates ütleb see üks lause religiooni kohta kõik, mida religiooni kohta üldse teada tasub.