The Life Cycle of a British Islamist: A Jungian Perspective
Edward Edinger, in 'Ego and archetype: Individuation and the religious function of the psyche,' designates as "unconscious religion" the psychological role played by political movements when religious institutions cease to provide containers for the spiritual strivings of individ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
2014-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Social and Political Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/272 |
| _version_ | 1797967035394686976 |
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| author | Lawrence Alschuler |
| author_facet | Lawrence Alschuler |
| author_sort | Lawrence Alschuler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Edward Edinger, in 'Ego and archetype: Individuation and the religious function of the psyche,' designates as "unconscious religion" the psychological role played by political movements when religious institutions cease to provide containers for the spiritual strivings of individuals. I include Islamism as a political movement. Edinger's description of unconscious religion closely resembles the experience of a young British-born Muslim, Ed Husain, in 'The Islamist: Why I joined radical Islam in Britain, what I saw inside and why I left.' Husain follows a path from being a traditional Muslim to a fanatical Islamist to a spiritual Muslim. Edinger applies Jungian psychology to describe four alternative consequences for persons whose religious institutions respond inadequately to their "religious instinct." These alternatives are: Adherence to an unconscious religion, psychological inflation, alienation, and individuation. In the case study, surprisingly, Ed Husain experiences all four of these alternatives in sequence, constituting a life cycle. The article concludes, optimistically, that this may be a natural sequence for those who embrace fanatical Islamism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:23:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6bf7924c9b1041eea4e1e41983d02a2a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2195-3325 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:23:44Z |
| publishDate | 2014-02-01 |
| publisher | PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Social and Political Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6bf7924c9b1041eea4e1e41983d02a2a2023-01-02T23:00:36ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for PsychologyJournal of Social and Political Psychology2195-33252014-02-0121314210.5964/jspp.v2i1.272jspp.v2i1.272The Life Cycle of a British Islamist: A Jungian PerspectiveLawrence Alschuler0Professor of Political Science (retired 2001), Department of Political Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, CanadaEdward Edinger, in 'Ego and archetype: Individuation and the religious function of the psyche,' designates as "unconscious religion" the psychological role played by political movements when religious institutions cease to provide containers for the spiritual strivings of individuals. I include Islamism as a political movement. Edinger's description of unconscious religion closely resembles the experience of a young British-born Muslim, Ed Husain, in 'The Islamist: Why I joined radical Islam in Britain, what I saw inside and why I left.' Husain follows a path from being a traditional Muslim to a fanatical Islamist to a spiritual Muslim. Edinger applies Jungian psychology to describe four alternative consequences for persons whose religious institutions respond inadequately to their "religious instinct." These alternatives are: Adherence to an unconscious religion, psychological inflation, alienation, and individuation. In the case study, surprisingly, Ed Husain experiences all four of these alternatives in sequence, constituting a life cycle. The article concludes, optimistically, that this may be a natural sequence for those who embrace fanatical Islamism.http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/272IslamismEd Husainunconscious religionEdward Edingerfanaticism |
| spellingShingle | Lawrence Alschuler The Life Cycle of a British Islamist: A Jungian Perspective Journal of Social and Political Psychology Islamism Ed Husain unconscious religion Edward Edinger fanaticism |
| title | The Life Cycle of a British Islamist: A Jungian Perspective |
| title_full | The Life Cycle of a British Islamist: A Jungian Perspective |
| title_fullStr | The Life Cycle of a British Islamist: A Jungian Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Life Cycle of a British Islamist: A Jungian Perspective |
| title_short | The Life Cycle of a British Islamist: A Jungian Perspective |
| title_sort | life cycle of a british islamist a jungian perspective |
| topic | Islamism Ed Husain unconscious religion Edward Edinger fanaticism |
| url | http://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/272 |
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