The Endangered Self as a Challenge to Religion

Resilience to crisis and catastrophic events are conditioned partially by psychological elements. These elements, in turn, may be enhanced or reduced due to how religious symbols function in the development of the self. Such symbols contribute to stability and orientation, but they are not unaffected themselves by such events. Hence, the interplay between empirical events, psychological conditions, and religious resources is complicated and needs further consideration. The present article is an attempt to address some of the topics related to this area by integrating elements from a psychology of religion approach based on Heinz Kohut with elements of a 'maximalist' theory of religion.