Zhou Puyuan and Li Ping: Content, Characteristics, and Methods of Sinicized Marxist Psychology of Religion
Since Wundt pioneered the study of experimental psychology, the study of the human psyche or consciousness has followed two developmental paths: the first is the line of philosophical-speculative research into psychology within the fields of the humanities and social sciences, which considers the person within a social environment and emphasizes qualitative research; the second is the line of quantitative research within the natural sciences, which utilizes scientific experiments, psychometrics, and other tools to conduct comprehensive data analysis. These two research paths have developed in parallel, and their flaws are evident: "psychological philosophy," which focuses on the study of human nature, and "psychological science," which objectifies the person, have no intersection. The two have failed to complement each other effectively and exhibit a trend of overemphasizing instrumental research while lacking concern for the humanistic spirit. Guided by Marxist stances, viewpoints, and methods, Chinese research into the psychology of religion has possessed a clear critical and combative character from the outset, taking a clear-cut stand in criticizing the idealist viewpoints and theistic trends of Western psychology of religion, thereby providing a solid theoretical foundation for the construction of a Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion [1]. Starting from practice, it explains the source of cognition and the operational process of exerting subjective initiative, unifying the understanding of the world with the transformation of the world. It emphasizes both the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods and the dual study of the rational and the irrational.
Since the New Culture Movement [2], Western psychology of religion has been introduced to China, and Chinese research in this field has passed through three major periods: inception, stagnation, and commencement [3]. The relevant research institutions, research teams, and policy support for Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion have become increasingly clear, and the disciplinary, academic, and discourse systems have been further established. In terms of research methodology, it has transcended the disciplinary system gradually established in the West during the second half of the 19th century. By adhering to the Marxist worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism and proceeding from the concrete realities of Chinese religion, it has proposed a series of subjective and original theoretical viewpoints [4]; it actively constructs an autonomous Chinese knowledge system for the psychology of religion, promotes the construction of a Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion, and has enriched the cause of our country's philosophy and social sciences.
I. The Content of Sinicized Marxist Psychology of Religion
Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion is a theoretical innovation that persists in combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s concrete realities. It is a major guiding ideology for the study of the psychology of religion in China and occupies an important position in the global research system of the discipline. The psychology of religion is an interdisciplinary field that applies psychological theories and methods to explore religious phenomena, laws, and characteristics. Because of the significant differences in research subjects, objects, and methods, the concepts within the psychology of religion are complex and numerous, and to date, no definitive definition exists. Researchers in the psychology of religion are generally distributed across three major fields: religious studies, religious theology, and psychology. Contradictions exist between religious theology and secular science, between applied psychology and philosophical speculation, and between theory and practice; how to achieve barrier-free communication and dialogue between them remains a difficult problem. Regarding the subjects of research, due to the different worldviews held by theists and atheists, religious figures, religious scholars, and psychologists adopt vastly different attitudes and cognitions toward religious phenomena based on their value biases. Regarding the objects of research, the uncertainty of the concept of religion and the diversity of its forms increase the difficulty of framing the research objects of the psychology of religion. For example, the object of study could be the individual life cycle and collective historical culture, it could be the regularities of theistic religious phenomena, or it could be the relationship between atheists and religion. Different perspectives also lead to different research methods. Regarding research methods, influenced by the inherent cognitive schemas of the research subjects, a dispute primarily exists between the "psychological" psychology of religion and the "religious" psychology of religion. Despite the conceptual ambiguity and the flaws of pluralization and blurred boundaries, as a systematized and theorized discipline, the construction of its theoretical edifice cannot do without the definition of basic concepts; otherwise, it would be an unbounded castle in the air.
(1) Psychology of religion research as psychology
The process of utilizing psychological theoretical tools to interpret religious phenomena is "psychology of religion research as psychology," which is a relatively rational research method of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion.
First, psychology is a "science of the person." Psychology is a discipline with the dual nature of both natural and social science. In the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Marx first proposed psychology as a study of the person, advocating that psychology must study "human nature" and the "human essence" to understand the psychological essence and laws of the person. As a unity of nature and society, the person possesses conscious initiative and can act freely and consciously to engage in productive labor. Through this activity, the person can not only know the world but also conquer and transform it—this is the unique nature and essence of the person. Consciousness bifurcates the world into the natural world and human society; human consciousness possesses both natural and social attributes. Psychology is a process of obtaining regularized knowledge of the internal psychological world through the interaction of subject and object. A debate exists as to whether the psychology of religion is a natural science or a humanistic discipline. In our country's disciplinary classification, psychology is categorized as a "natural science," and the psychology of religion thus acquires the attributes of a natural science. This dispute is essentially a divergence between quantitative natural science and qualitative humanistic science. If psychology is understood as a practical tool, it avoids the "incompatibility" between the quantitative and the qualitative; Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion unifies the two within practice.
Second, the psychology of religion is a sub-discipline of social psychology. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion is a science, and research conducted under its guidance is a scientific study that accounts for both the quantitative and the qualitative. Within the disciplinary system of psychology, only social psychology can resolve this issue [5], as only it can correctly answer the question of the relationship between "being and thinking." For one, the relations of individual religious believers are determined by the existence of social relations and are a subjective reflection of objective social relations. Therefore, by adopting a social-psychological perspective and studying the relations of religious believers alongside socio-economic relations and their relations with the superstructure—while considering individual internal interests, needs, and social class relations—one can scientifically understand and answer the question of religious psychology. For another, in the study of the attitudes and behavioral tendencies of religious groups, only by persisting in starting from the objective socio-economic base can the most important problems of social psychology—namely, the needs, behavioral motives, value standards, and social views of group members—be clarified. Finally, this helps methodologically to understand that the individual is both the object of cognition and social action, as well as the subject. Thus, the principles and methods of social psychology can solve the motives of individual and group thought and thinking from a scientific standpoint. Social psychology is the foundation of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion, and the latter is a branch of the former.
(2) Psychology of religion research as religious studies
Lü Dajie argues that religion in its complete sense must comprise religious concepts, religious emotions, religious behaviors, and religious systems; these are the four essential structures of religion [6]. The study of individual religious concepts, emotions, and behavioral motives, as well as collective ideology, constitutes the "religious studies" approach to the psychology of religion. This research perspective of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion emphasizes philosophical-speculative research in the humanities and social sciences. Its research content involves the laws of change in the movement of religion within the structures of historical time and space.
First, religious consciousness is a distorted, illusory reflection. Marxism's answer to the fundamental philosophical question of "being and thinking" reflects its materialist theoretical cornerstone. It holds that matter is primary, matter determines consciousness, and consciousness is the subject's active reflection of the object. This pairing reflects the materialism of Marxist ontology and, moreover, reflects the basic viewpoint of the theory of reflection [7] that Marxism adheres to: gnoseological optimism (the theory that the world is knowable). The Marxist theory of reflection is not a mechanical theory of reflection; humans can reflect the objective world correctly, but they can also reflect the objective world in a distorted manner—both are reflections of the objective world. As Engels pointed out: "Even the most absurd superstition has its basis in a reflection of the eternal nature of the human essence, even if the reflection is very incomplete and somewhat distorted..." [8] Marx’s revelation of the essence of religious consciousness is precisely a scientific judgment made from a psychological perspective. The fact that Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion adheres to and follows the viewpoint of the "essential theory of religion" determines its atheistic character.
Second, religious emotion is a subject of deep psychological research. The study of emotion belongs to the deeper levels of research in psychology; it is the link that sustains individual religious psychological tendencies and collective religion. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion can find relevant theories within psychological schools to explain the essence and causes behind the religious feelings, religious moods, and religious passions manifested by irrational factors in religion, further revealing that religion is "the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world." Regarding individual religious psychology, religious emotion can strengthen an individual's identification with religion itself and religious groups; it is a method of reinforcing religious identity. For example, Rudolf Otto’s The Idea of the Holy reveals the content and classification of religious emotions, arguing that the "holy" is a mystery (mysterium) that attracts believers to both fear and respect the Supreme Being through various emotional experiences. This irrational religious feeling plays an extremely important role in strengthening the religious community and enhancing its internal cohesion.
Third, religious behavior is the result of an individual's internal religious motivation. Religious behavior or activity is the behavioral-psychological process through which religious masses act upon the world of objects. It is a standardized mode of behavioral expression used by believers to communicate the relationship between humans and the divine, and it is also one of the four major elements constituting religion. People's needs, desires, and behavioral motives largely determine their general orientation, which includes their worldview and value orientation. Religious concepts (creeds, dogmas) or collective religious cultural forms use symbolic techniques to display the mysterious essence of supernatural beings. This process possesses a sense of sanctity and solemnity, creating an extremely serious and reverent religious atmosphere in people's minds, thereby cultivating religious feelings and the rationality of faith.
Fourth, religion is a special ideology in terms of its system. Marxism points out that "consciousness is from the very beginning a social product" [9]. Religious concepts are a specific form of social ideology; different religious concepts are reflections of different social existences. Wundt, the founder of experimental psychology, began his research into religious psychological phenomena with the study of collective psychology in clans and tribes, later expanding it to the study of social consciousness in religious organizations. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion can be described as a science that researches and explores the characteristics of individual or collective religious consciousness and social behavior, as well as the laws governing the development of religious psychology. In terms of ideology, religion is a theorized and systematized religious worldview. Compared to other ideologies such as philosophy, morality, politics and law, and literature and art, it possesses substantiality; it is a special ideology and a state in which collective consciousness continuously moves, changes, and develops through time and space.
(3) The Connotation of Sinicized Marxist Psychology of Religion
The definition of the concept of "psychology of religion" appears complicated due to the differences between religious studies and theology, between religion and psychology, and among various research subjects, objects, and methods; nevertheless, an underlying order certainly exists. Defining the concept clarifies boundaries and serves as the starting point for conducting research. We define the concept of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion as follows: Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion adheres to the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, combines them with China's concrete realities, and utilizes psychological theories and techniques to conduct research on the regular laws governing the constituent elements of individual or group religious consciousness, religious emotions, religious behavior, and religious systems. The research process involves both the study of religious developmental laws in time and the study of religious structures in space. In brief, Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion is primarily guided by Marxist stances, viewpoints, and methods. it encompasses the study of both individual and collective religious psychology [10], utilizes the positive research results and methods of scientific psychology to study actual religious beliefs and the actual people who hold those beliefs, and combines this with China’s specific historical conditions and cultural background to study the religious beliefs, customs, activities, interactions, behaviors, attitudes, motivations, and consciousness of specific groups—such as ethnic groups, social classes, and individuals.
Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion integrates the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional Chinese culture. By adhering to the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, and through the critical absorption of Western theories in the psychology of religion followed by processes of localization, systematization, and theoretization, a Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion with distinct characteristics has been formed. This field constitutes an important component of the Chinese knowledge system and is a vital part of the theoretical system of religion within philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, manifesting Chinese scholarship, Chinese style, and Chinese discourse.
II. Characteristics of Sinicized Marxist Psychology of Religion
As a cross-disciplinary field that explores the laws governing religious phenomena, the subject matter of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion dictates that its external characteristics are diverse, complex, and unified. It is characterized by a clear guiding ideology, criticality, interdisciplinarity, atheism, practicality, guidance-oriented nature, and its capacity to provide policy advice to the government.
(1) Clear Guiding Ideology The logical starting point and theoretical cornerstone of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion are the basic tenets of Marxism. That is, it is an interdisciplinary field that observes religious psychological phenomena using the methods of Marxist dialectical materialism and historical materialism to explore the laws and characteristics of religious psychological development. Since the October Revolution, Marxism has exerted a profound influence on Soviet psychology. Since Soviet psychologists first advocated for the establishment of a Marxist psychology, this field has existed for nearly a century. Represented by Blonsky, Kornilov, and Vygotsky, they resolutely advocated for Marxism-Leninism as the methodological foundation of Soviet psychology and proposed the programmatic principles for establishing a Marxist psychology [19]. Maintaining the guiding position of Marxism in the psychology of religion follows the same theoretical logic as maintaining its guiding position in general psychology. The series of expositions by the founders of Marxism scientifically, comprehensively, and rigorously elucidated the laws by which religion—as a form of social consciousness and social psychology—is constrained by social material conditions and the physiological foundations of the individual. They also proposed the mutually constraining relationships between social existence and social consciousness, and between the economic base, the superstructure, and ideology. In short, Marxism is the guiding ideology of the psychology of religion in our country.
(2) Criticality Critical spirit is the essence of Marxism; it is the iterative process of continuously testing understanding through practice. One of the most prominent features of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion is its criticality or struggle-oriented nature [11]. Without a clear critique of various theistic trends in Western psychology of religion, there can be no talk of cultivating and consolidating a scientific atheist psychology; without a systematic critique of Western theoretical schools in the psychology of religion, there can be no talk of the creative construction of a theoretical system for a Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion. For example, when constructing a theoretical system for a Sinicized Marxist view on individual religious psychological development, Researcher Chen Yongsheng of Zhejiang Normal University maintained high vigilance and offered a powerful critique of the defects of genetic determinism found in Western psychologists of religion such as Hall, Erikson, and Fowler [20]. A thorough critical spirit is a concrete manifestation of the revolutionary and scientific nature of Marxism and is the fundamental reason for its enduring vitality. Only by possessing criticality can Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion possess the impetus to break the old and establish the new, change old things and develop new ones, and construct a Chinese independent knowledge system of the psychology of religion.
(3) Interdisciplinarity Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion is rich in content, involving diverse disciplines, subjects, objects, and methods, covering a broad scope. Regarding disciplines, it involves researchers with backgrounds in religious studies, psychology, and brain science, correspondingly forming a cross-disciplinary research team bridging the humanities and sciences. Regarding research objects, it includes religious psychological research on both believers and non-believers. It is neither a pure theory of religious psychology nor a simple propagation of the Marxist view of religion; it is neither a pure introduction to the psychology of religious belief nor a simple education in scientific atheism. It involves the entire field of human studies, encompassing the internal world of the individual and the world of interpersonal relationships, which gives Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion a highly comprehensive nature. Simultaneously, in the research process, it is generally associated with the basic theories of Marxism, religious studies, psychology, ethnology, and folklore, borrowing principles and research methods from these disciplines and presenting the characteristic of interdisciplinarity.
(4) Atheism The worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism thoroughly deny the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, happiness in the afterlife, and other ghostly superstitions and various forms of sorcery as advocated by theism. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion is, in essence, a scientific atheist worldview and methodology. Correctly elucidating the "ontology" and "epistemology" of the world is the fundamental task of research in this field. By studying the religious life and activities of specific religious groups or believers under specific socio-historical conditions, it reveals the socio-psychological roots of religious beliefs and attitudes. By studying the interaction and influence between the religious life of specific religious groups and individuals and other aspects of social life, it explores and reveals the social-psychological impact of the origin, essence, and social role of religious consciousness. Through case studies, it reveals the characteristics of religious consciousness, religious experience, and religious emotion, as well as the patterns of individual religious psychological formation [21]. The rational tools of psychology can effectively explain religious psychological phenomena; they merit our in-depth research and the scientific popularization of these results among students and the masses to promote the scientific spirit and fortify our country’s socialist ideology.
(5) Policy-Oriented Nature (Zizhengxing) Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion is an important component of the theoretical system of Sinicized Marxism and an essential part of the knowledge system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. It possesses significant practical importance for guiding China's revolution, construction, and reform. Psychology of religion research guided by Marxism can provide decision-making consultations for the Party and the government. The formulation of religious policies and the handling of religious issues by the Party and government cannot be separated from the theoretical basis provided by Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion, nor can the promotion of scientific atheist education be separated from its scientific experiments. By providing psychological interpretations of religious phenomena and exposing the deceptive nature of religion, it can provide a theoretical basis and intellectual support for the management of religious affairs. Meanwhile, through scientific guidance, it enables the majority of religious believers to consciously accept science and advanced civilization, which helps safeguard the security of our country’s socialist ideological domain.
(6) Practicality Practice is the living source of Marxism; people understand and transform the world through practice. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion correctly understands religious psychological phenomena through social practice and forms theoretical, policy, and disciplinary systems. It guides practice through scientific atheist propaganda and education, revealing the idealist and agnostic essence of religion. The direct purpose of conducting such education is to instruct the broad masses of the people to remain firm in their scientific atheist stance, providing guidance for the masses’ life practices while serving the implementation of religious policies formulated by the Party and government. This dictates that Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion possesses a distinct practicality [22]. It is precisely through the struggle against various forms of religious theology, theistic views of religion, and superstitious heresies, and through the practice of handling various cognitive issues regarding religious thought, that Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion continuously acquires the momentum for development and achieves effective results.
(7) Guidance-Oriented Nature The fundamental "irreconcilable" [12] difference between materialism and idealism determines the different values held by adherents of these two camps. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion insists on using the standpoint of scientific atheism to analyze and solve religious issues, which inevitably forms a set of values in opposition to religious theists. For a long time, the "mass, ethnic, long-term, complex, and international" [13] characteristics of religion in China have not changed. That is to say, religion will exist in our country for a long time. Although socialist values and religious views are essentially different, the two can coexist and prosper together under the socialist system. This requires actively guiding religion to adapt to socialist society. In other words, although religion as theism is irreconcilable with the Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion which promotes atheism, irrationality can be guided by rationality, and a civilized lifestyle can be guided by science. In the process of guidance, sensitivities may arise due to differing "views of truth," leading to new religious issues.
III. Research Methods of Sinicized Marxist Psychology of Religion
A practical mediation [14] must exist between the subject and the object; this mediation is the means and method for achieving an objective. As a form of practical cognition, the theoretical formation of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion and its application to practice inevitably require a series of research methods. Chinese research in the psychology of religion must adhere to Marxism as the overarching guiding ideology and methodology. It must follow the Marxist road, the "Great Way" [15] of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. Under the guidance of this fundamental method, and by combining the logic of thinking with a problem-oriented approach, it must construct the "New Liberal Arts" [16] disciplinary grand pattern using specific disciplinary methods of practice, fully reflecting the distinct interdisciplinary nature of the field. Only in this way can the scientific nature of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion be improved and a knowledge system be constructed that possesses its own characteristics and is suited to our country’s socialist modernization.
(1) Adhesion to Dialectical Logical Thinking Research Methods Philosophy is a systematized and theoretized worldview; it is the reflection of the real world within the internal world of thought. The operation of the world of thought is a dialectical movement of internal thinking. The research methods of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion cannot be separated from dialectical logical thinking. The greatest characteristic of dialectical thinking is the recognition that the fundamental attribute of matter is motion, and that matter manifests itself in the forms of time and space. Its fundamental viewpoints are connection, change, development, and the driving force of contradiction. As Engels pointed out, without dialectical methods of thinking, it is difficult to connect even two simple facts. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion follows Marxist research methods, primarily including the method of contradictory dynamics, statistical methods, and classified research methods.
The method of contradictory dynamics is the essence of Marxist materialist dialectics; it recognizes that all matter is universally connected and in motion, and that the driving force of material motion comes from the process of the unity of opposites in contradictions. Through this method, Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion strives to scientifically reveal the causes (dynamics) behind the emergence of religious ideas and behaviors. For instance, the Freudian psychoanalytic school attributes the dynamics of individual human behavior to the psychological drive of libido; Jung's analytical psychology explains the dynamics of human collective historical and cultural operation as the movement tendencies of the collective unconscious; Adler emphasizes the guiding role of the superego, taking ideals and goals as the driving force of human action; Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory considers internal motivation as the guide for action, and so on. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion adheres to the methodology of materialist dialectics, using psychological theory to reveal the laws of the birth, development, and demise of religious psychological phenomena. It adheres to the theory of contradictory dynamics, such as the contradictory movements between "matter and consciousness" and "social existence and social consciousness," to analyze the changes in the movement of human religious belief psychology and the history of human religious belief.
The statistical method uses scientific statistics to study the laws of necessity within a large number of accidental individual events, dialectically unifying contingency and necessity. The emergence, existence, development, and change of any natural or social phenomenon have an objective law, manifested either through statistical laws or non-statistical laws. Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion maintains that practice is the source of knowledge. Only through statistical research methods in field investigations and the analysis of collected data can the psychological laws behind social life be discovered.
Categorical research is a methodology required by both the natural and social sciences; likewise, the psychology of religion—which straddles these two domains—cannot function without categorical methods. Regarding the study of religion, many classification methods exist, including hierarchical, morphological, historical, regional, and institutional classifications. Researchers may employ different categorical methods based on varying needs. Within psychological research specifically, there are classifications based on gender, the life cycle, and the distinction between individuals and groups. The content of the Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion is formed by the intersection of religion and psychology, and its research methods exhibit a corresponding complexity. Only through rational classification can researchers find order and regularity within the complex phenomena of religious belief.
(2) Adhering to the Macroscopic Guiding Methodology of Historical Materialism
The psychology of religion conducts research into the regularities of long-standing historical religious phenomena; it is a "science of man." The origins, existence, development, and transformation of religion all require the grand narrative methods of historiography. In the field of studying social phenomena, the general macroscopic research method is that of historical materialism. Historical materialism provides a worldview and methodology of universal macroscopic guiding significance for the study of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion [29]. The interdisciplinary nature of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion dictates a diversity of specific disciplinary research methods, yet this diversity must be consciously unified under the guiding ideology of Marxism and adherence to historical materialism.
The core tenet of historical materialism—and the fundamental distinction between it and historical idealism—is that social existence determines social consciousness. In studying the daily lives of religious masses or the development of group religious psychology, Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion consciously proceeds from such basic contradictions as the productive forces determining the relations of production, the economic base determining the superstructure, and social existence determining social consciousness. It uses the macroscopic level of the worldview to guide the study of religious belief phenomena; otherwise, it would sink into the quagmire of historical idealism. Without the guidance of historical materialism, research can, at best, stay at the level of describing vast amounts of social phenomena, making it difficult to summarize the regularities of these phenomena or reach scientific, holistic conclusions. For instance, Freud’s psychoanalytic view of religion committed the error of applying specific psychological methods to study holistic phenomena; it overgeneralized by reducing religious psychological phenomena to mere individual psychological phenomena, regarding religion as a type of neurosis or a subconscious phenomenon. Similarly, if one were to use only the empirical methods of natural science and negate comprehensive logical thinking to study the question of God, they would simplistically treat the existence of God merely as a philosophical problem.
(3) Constructing the "New Liberal Arts" Framework through Concrete Disciplinary Methods of Practice
Dialectical thinking and historical materialism are unified within concrete practice. The connotation and characteristics of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion determine the diversity and identity of its research methods. From the founding of Western psychology of religion to the formation of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion, the field has utilized extremely complex multi-method research due to its interdisciplinary nature, regional differences, and the diversity of its subjects. To comprehensively study and understand religious psychological phenomena, one must conduct multi-dimensional research. This necessitates using concrete methods from intersecting disciplines and different research subjects, analyzing religious psychological phenomena from various disciplinary perspectives. These basic disciplinary methods roughly include historical, philosophical, political science, culturological, folkloric, psychological, sociological, anthropological, geo-ecological, ethical, and theological methods. Through the extensive use of these specific disciplinary methods, a complete disciplinary discourse system with Chinese characteristics can be established. It could be said that while the diversity and complexity of the psychology of religion lead to theoretical dilemmas, it is precisely these dilemmas that give Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion a greater inclusiveness than other disciplines. At present, under the context of the "New Liberal Arts" [17] breaking through the "Small Liberal Arts" mindset to construct a "Grand Liberal Arts" framework, we must earnestly summarize the interdisciplinary experience of Sinicized Marxist psychology of religion, persist in centering research on specific problems, and enhance the capacity for multi-disciplinary resonance.
Online Editor: Tong Xin Source: Science and Atheism, Issue 3, 2023.