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.

Please post your comment or reaction.

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. 

Science is not about "absolute" truth. In science, truth is always from a particular perspective, and there are competing truths. The validity of a scientific truth is established by its enduring and useful application across observable phenomena. A scientific truth's veracity comes from people in relationships who apply the ideas or come together to challenge the ideas with new and revolutionary possibilities. Science, like all understanding, comes from people making distinctions and then acting around those distinctions. 

The postmodern revolution provides a means for understanding that all truths are in relationships, not outside. It is irrelevant whether we make a distinction that a truth is scientific or religious. All truth involves agreement among people who subscribe to the principles of the truth and follow the principles with action. Postmodernism proposes that the distinction between science and religion is just that--a distinction. But postmodernism also holds that the interpersonal processes--the actual social activities that occur in religion and in science--are the same. 

I no longer view science and religion in opposition. I think science and religion address different domains of human interaction distinguished historically by the terms "physical" and "spiritual," but they are both still within the realm of human relations. Where others distinguish religious versus scientific truth, I see only people in relationships.

Please post your reaction or comment.