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Attachment, Emotion, and Religion

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Issues in Science and Theology: Do Emotions Shape the World?

Abstract

This paper highlights how the development of emotion is intertwined with the development of attachment. I argue, also, that there are certain central emotions and affects associated with particular forms of attachment, which come to define the self in relation to others. Further, this emotion-attachment configuration is expressed in religion, especially in the religious individual’s perceived relationship with God. I describe pertinent findings from the scientific literature on the attachment-religion connection indicating that experientially based internal working models of self and other are generalized and lawfully expressed in the context of religion. Thus, attachment-related interactions will affectively color the individual’s perceived relationship with God. Yet, God and religion may also provide a source of surrogate attachments, which may aid in repairing negative working models of self and others. Finally, words of caution are offered to prevent misunderstandings of the implications arising from a consideration of how the emotion-attachment configuration is expressed in the context of religion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Pehr Granqvist

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  1. Pehr Granqvist
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Correspondence to Pehr Granqvist .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany

    Dirk Evers

  2. New College, University Of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Michael Fuller

  3. Trelleborg, Sweden

    Anne Runehov

  4. NLA University College, Volda University College and, Bergen, Norway

    Knut-Willy Sæther

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Granqvist, P. (2016). Attachment, Emotion, and Religion. In: Evers, D., Fuller, M., Runehov, A., Sæther, KW. (eds) Issues in Science and Theology: Do Emotions Shape the World?. Issues in Science and Religion: Publications of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26769-2_2

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