Donald Capps

The Biographical Process: Studies in the History and Psychology of Religion

Sinceits founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.

The Lessons of Art Theory for Pastoral Theology

This essay applies art theory to pastoral theology, using Rudolf Arnheims views on the compositional structure of paintings to propose models for expressing the relationship of theology and psychology. From a structural feature of paintings, namely, their possession of a depth dimension and a frontal plane, two primary models are derived, convergence and juxtaposition. The viability of a third, structural uniformity, is also recognized. The larger purpose of the essay is to contend for a recovery of pastoral theologys mid-century emphasis on perception.

Publication Trends in the Psychology of Religion to 1974

This study analyzes publication trends in the psychology of religion for the purpose of identifying the recent history and current status of the more prominent research areas in the discipline. Based primarily on publications since 1950, it classifies the publications according to six dimensions of religion. It then compares the dimensions in terms of total number of publications at five year intervals to 1974. The directional dimension is found to be the leading area of publication, followed in order by the dispositional, social, mythological, experiential, and ritual dimensions. The paper then analyzes shifts of emphasis in the discipline over the past twenty-five years, and assesses the current strengths and weaknesses of the psychology of religion.

Mother, Melancholia, and Humor in Erik H. Erikson’s Earliest Writings

Erik H. Erikson wrote three articles when he was in his late-twenties and an up-and-coming member of the psychoanalytic community in Vienna. At the time he wrote these articles, he was in a training psychoanalysis with Anna Freud, teaching at the Heitzing School in Vienna, and learning the Montessori method of teaching. These articles focus on the loss of primary narcissism and the development of the superego (or punitive conscience) in early childhood, especially through the child’s conflict with maternal authority. They support the idea that melancholia, with its internalized rage against the mother, is the inevitable outcome of the loss of primary narcissism. I note, however, that the third of these articles makes a case for the restorative role of humor, especially when Freud’s view that humor is a function of the superego is taken into account.

John Nash's Predelusional Phase: A Case of Acute Identity Confusion

This article uses Erik H. Eriksons concept of “acute identity confusion” to provide a psychoanalytic explanation for why John Nash, the mathematical genius, experienced a mental breakdown at age thirty. Particular emphasis is given to the problem of intimacy, a central feature of identity confusion, especially as this manifested itself in bisexual confusion. Special note is taken of the traditional psychoanalytic emphasis on the “regressive pull” in cases of preschizophrenic illness, together with Eriksons own emphasis on commitment pressures and consequent psychosocial and psychosexual foreclosures.

John Nash's Postdelusional Period: A Case of Transformed Narcissism

This article concludes the psychoanalytic study of mathematical genius John Nash begun in previous articles (Capps 2003a, 2003b) by focusing on his “recovery” from paranoid schizophrenia after more than a decade of being under control of his delusions. I develop the idea that Nash was a highly narcissistic personality, the primary focus of which was his “beautiful mind,” in the years preceding his mental breakdown. I attribute his “recovery” primarily to the transformation of his narcissistic personality and support this attribution by means of Heinz Kohuts identification of five major expressions of transformed narcissism in his classic essay on the forms and transformations of narcissism.

From Masturbation to Homosexuality: A Case of Displaced Moral Disapproval

I argue that the decline in moral disapproval of masturbation in the American religious culture over the last half-century is directly responsible for increased moral disapproval of homosexuality. Moral disapproval previously directed toward masturbators is being redirected instead toward homosexuals. Since masturbation has been practiced by the overwhelming majority of individuals who self-identify with the American religious culture, while homosexual acts have been engaged in by a significantly smaller number of individuals who self-identify with this culture, the displacement of moral disapproval from masturbatory behavior to homosexual behavior leads to the stigmatization of those who engage in homosexual behavior, and an attitude of moral superiority and personal condescension inevitably follows. Nineteenth and twentieth century writings on the perils and evils of masturbation are cited in support of this argument.

Sex in the Parish: Social-Scientific Explanations for why it Occurs

Places Karen Lebacqz and Ronald Bartons ethical perspectives on sexual relations between pastors and their parishioners in the context of congregational processes and dynamics, and advocates the use of social-scientific theories to explain these processes and dynamics. Criticizes recent practical theological works which advocate “thick description” of congregations, contending that “thick description” has failed to unearth the underlying causes of the “sex in the parish” phenomenon. Presents Erving Goffmans theory of total institutions and Rene Girards theory of scapegoating as useful theories to explain why pastors have sexual relations with their own parishioners.

Sin, narcissism, and the changing face of conversion.

Noting that current psychological discussions of conversion give far less attention to the “sense of sin” than did William James and his contemporaries, this article argues for renewed attention to sin and its role in the conversion experience. Using data from a survey of Christian laity on their attitudes toward the traditional deadly sins, the author concludes that the sins that trouble men and women today involve their narcissistic needs. As many seek relief from the “tyranny” of their narcissistic needs, the author contends that what would constitute conversion for them is the “transformation” of narcissism. Typical candidates for such conversion are adults, not adolescents.

Erikson's "Inner Space": Where Art and Religion Converge

This essay explores ways in which Erik H. Eriksons interests in art and religion converge in his psychology of religion. By associating EriksonsYoung Man Luther with portraiture and his essays on “womanhood and the inner space” with still life, the author employs artistic genres to resituate the interpretation of Eriksons key texts on religion. By way of Eriksons image of the “inner space,” connections are drawn betweenYoung Man Luther and his essays on womanhood. His late essay on Jesus is also linked to the earlier “inner space” essays, demonstrating that a central feature of Eriksons psychology of religion is its reformulation of traditional psychoanalytic theory of ritual.