Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship by Paul C. Vitz
It seems everyone you meet these days is a self-proclaimed
psychologist. From radio talk shows, television interviews,
romance novels, weekly magazines, to cliques at work; everybody
has an opinion on the latest “mental illness.” I was first
introduced to practical psychology when I joined the United
States Air Force in 1970. It was expected that Non-Commissioned
Officers (NCOs) would become counselors to their subordinates.
Profession military education devoted entire chapters and
lectures on non-directive or eclectic counseling techniques.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was drilled into our heads. We were
sternly warned to avoid any mention of religion, but instead to
make ample use of psychological techniques.
Paul Vitz in his book “Psychology as Religion” attempts to
expose psychology for what it really is, i.e., religion. He
begins by giving the reader a brief biography on the fathers of
the modern psychology movement along with some of their
theories. The opening chapter was dry reading but I suppose
necessary as a historical backdrop. My interest peaked when I
immediately recognized Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow since I
was forced to study them for 26 years while in the military.
Vitz also discusses Carl Jung, Erich Fromn, and Rollo May as
being significant contributors to the movement.
Vitz quickly transitions into explaining the concept of
self-esteem which he promotes as the center of the entire
selfism movement. This became important to me as it seems no
matter where you turn, a lack of or poor self-esteem appears to
be the cause of every ill known to mankind. For a movement to be
so widespread to the point where psychology has been woven into
the gospel message, Vitz says that the self-esteem concept has
“no clear intellectual origins.” That’s a surprising claim
considering the impact selfism has had on academia and the
practice of counseling.
Vitz states that self-esteem should be understood as an
emotional response and not a cause. He says it is a reaction to
what we have done and what others have done to us. High
self-esteem is a desirable feeling to have (like happiness), but
the feeling itself isn’t the cause of anything. In trying to
obtain a feeling of self-esteem, the only successful way is to
do good to others or accomplish something. In so doing, you’ll
get all the self-esteem you want. However, the downside is
people begin to pursue happiness as a far greater goal than the
goal of obtaining personal holiness.
Not only is selfism a self-defeating goal for the Christian,
Vitz goes on to make the case that it is also simply bad science
and a warped philosophy. The little clinical evidence that does
exist is mostly based on empirical observations and doesn’t
stand the test of solid scientific problem solving. He exposes
flaws in each step of the process, from stating the problem,
forming and testing the hypothesis, to testing the conclusion.
He also identifies several philosophical contradictions and in
some cases, actual misrepresentations. The spread of this bad
science and faulty philosophy is believed by the author to have
contributed to the destruction of families. Additionally, the
entire recovery group mentality convinces the person with “low
self-esteem” that their ills are due to trauma inflicted on them
in the past. Recovery group therapy strokes the patient with
self-pity thereby convincing the clients are victims. Once
labeled, the “victim” now assumes the attitude of victimhood.
Values clarification has become the model taught in schools and
begins with the assumption that man is naturally good. Since the
developers of values clarification reject moral teachings, Vitz
claims that if responsible adults, i.e., teachers, don’t promote
good values then someone else will. Providing a permissive
environment supposedly nourishes the child by granting
satisfaction for the child’s desires and interests. However,
this philosophy is bankrupt because kids will assume the values
of irresponsible sources in lieu of responsible ones. This
combined with the aforementioned teachings has produced a
society of victims where everyone is pointing to blame someone
else for their misfortunes.
Vitz takes three chapters to present a Christian analysis and
criticism of humanistic self-theories. He gives the credit to
our educational system for the transformation of our society
into a culture of pure selfism. He notes that the New Age
movement has many founders, but Abraham Maslow’s theories have
been the most influential. Vitz argues his Christian critique
within a historical framework and the impact it has had on the
evolution of our society. Unfortunately he gives scant attention
to biblical references for his position, but does show how the
selfism heresy affects teachings on depression, idolatry, and
suffering. He closes his work with the observation, “never have
so many people been so self-conscious, so aware of the self as
something to be expressed…., the self has become an object to
itself.” (I think this may make the case that self-esteem has
become a new barometric indicator to the question everyone asks,
“How are you doing today?”)
Overall, Vitz’s book uses a cerebral approach in attempting to
prove that self-worship is simply a religion. Biblical
counselors looking for material to help their counselees break
free of a selfish worldview of life will be disappointed. Then
again, Vitz didn’t write his book for that purpose. Moreover, he
provides a wealth of information and a refreshing argument
against those who say, “You can’t teach religion in public
schools.” This leaves the reader with an irony: it’s not a
question of should we or should we not teach religion in public
schools, but instead, what religion will we teach; selfism or
Christianity?
