The Psychological Origin and the Nature of Religion

This work analyzes religion from a psychological perspective, arguing that religion arises from combined cognitive, affective, and volitional capacities rather than from any single faculty. It distinguishes types of behavior, including magic and religious practice, traces the mental origins of beliefs in ghosts, nature-spirits, and gods, and examines how magic and religion interact while remaining distinct. It surveys the emotional roots of early religious life, considers magic's contribution to the development of science, and concludes by defining religion's nature and its functional relation to non-religious life.