Welcome to Religion on the Couch, by Matthias Beier
Welcome to my Religion on the Couch Substack, with a special focus on analyzing God talk. God talk is often harmful. Politicians invoke God to sanctify absolute claims to power and control and to make war. Religious and spiritual leaders frequently use God talk to make people feel bad about themselves and to support oppressive policies.
I put religion on the couch. Psychological insight is needed to understand what happens when religion goes rogue - and how to make religion sane again. This Substack will offer such insight on current events and the culture wars. It will also explore more personal questions of the deepest human longings for meaning, mattering, and love, which actually are at the heart of why humanity has religion and God talk in the first place.
I am starting this Substack at a time when half of the U.S. (it seems), as well as high-profile politicians and religious leaders, claim that God saved Trump in an assassination attempt. The monstrous implication of their claim is that this same God apparently did not care enough to save Corey Comperatore, who was fatally struck by one of the bullets meant for Trump, nor the two other critically injured rally attendees. Check out my next post for more on this.
What is going on when God talk is used in harmful ways? How can belief in God be psychologically and culturally healthy? God talk needs to be put on the couch. If religion spreads fear rather than trust, it is not healthy. Religion needs therapy!
What qualifies me? I am a therapist. But not just any therapist. I have researched and written about uses of God talk and religion for over two decades. Some of my articles are available for free here. I have learned much in my spiritually integrated psychotherapy practice from people who have recovered from harmful religion. And I have benefited tremendously from the clear-eyed wisdom of German peace activist and rebel priest Eugen Drewermann who argues that the primary function of religion is to be a therapy for the anxiety that inevitably comes with being a finite human. In one of my books, A Violent God-Image, I show how fear corrupts religion and what to do about it. In a new manuscript titled Beyond the God Delusion, to be published soon, I have developed ways of healing centuries-old harmful patterns of religious thought and practice, especially in Christianity. I hold a PhD in Religion and Society with a specialization in Psychology and Religion from Drew University and have completed postgraduate training in psychoanalysis. For over twenty years, I have taught courses on psychology and religion that focus on how to discern the difference between harmful and healthy religion or spirituality.
At this critical time, when theocratic tendencies in the US are on the rise, with far-reaching implications for the wider world, I believe it is time to share my insights with a wider audience. I invite you to join and support me in this endeavor.