Excerpt from "Toward a Positive Psychology of Religion: Belief Science in the Postmodern Era" (in press), by Robert Rocco Cottone. Scheduled for publication in the Fall of 2010, by John Hunt Publishing, Ltd., of Hampshire, UK, under the imprint of O-Books. 

I have completely made the switch from viewing individuals and their concerns from the perspective of the psychology of the individual to viewing them as relational. I no longer see people (as odd as that may sound). When I look at someone, I see the embodiment of his or her parents' biological relationship. I see all of his or her social relationships reflected in dress, language, dialects, grammar, attitudes, and behavior. I see people as extensions of their biological and social networks. I view people as perceptual phenomena for the transmission of relationships. I see right through people (not literally) to the social and biological webs that connect them in the present and the past. And I see them with all of my relationships affecting my vision. The switch has gone off. There is no going back for me. I have been affected by the postmodern tidal wave--relationships are everything, and everything is relationship.

I no longer view religion out of context. I see Jesus with his disciples embracing the ideals of the Jewish prophets. I visualize Buddha with his students arising from the traditions that came before. I imagine Muhammad with his people standing strong against aggression in the harsh environment of the Middle East. I imagine the Jewish prophets relaying their ideals to a struggling populace under rule. I see a Hindu guide communicating the message of Krishna to those who will listen. I imagine all of this because I have come to understand that truth derives from relationships.

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