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Originally Posted by Rosondo
I have only anecdotes so no. And I don't know if there is actually a real way to find out. But I think therapy itself is fundamentally secular. I think Freud used to see God as a father figure type illusion. How could a therapist or analyst recommend going to church or go to church himself/herself, when one is trained to view religious orientation in these terms? It's like how homosexuality used to be viewed as a mental illness. It depends on your frame of thought.
I think psychological way of looking at life is in direct rivalry with religious views. A therapist who also happens to be religious is likely not seen as "scientific minded" by colleagues. Because psychology "reduces" essentially all religious feelings and beliefs to psychological phenomenon. The only way I can imagine a therapist taking part in religious practices would be either the person living a double life or the person focusing on some other aspect of the religious practice (e.g. going to church to see old friends and enjoy social interactions, not actually believing in anything said or done over there).
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To me that's like saying that cardiology or carpentry or engineering is fundamentally secular. Of course it is. But individual engineers or carpenters or cardiologists have their own views which generally are not directly expressed in their professional lives. I don't think therapists have more disdain for religion than anyone else but unless they are specifically practicing a kind of religious psychotherapy, their religion really has no place in session. Unless you are seeing them in their capacity as clergy or something, it would be wholly inappropriate and potentially quite offensive to recommend going to church or joining a particular denomination.
The congregation I was part of as a child and adolescent was full of therapists and psychiatrists. Seriously there were lots! They often gave talks (at synagogue) about biblical themes from a psychoanalytic perspective, about suffering from religious and psychological points of view, about existential anxiety as a spiritual issue etc. And it would absolutely shock me if any one of them ever initiated discussions about god or were in any way proscriptive about religion in their sessions with clients.
Psychoanalysis as a field draws heavily on mythology (including the bible) for insight into human nature and the universal themes illustrated in those stories. The rivalry between science and religion is only there if your interpretation of religion is very literal. It's true that no one will take you seriously as a scientist if you claim that the world is 6000 years old. But that's not the only way to "do" religion. You can believe that god reveals things through myth and metaphor. You can believe that god has given us the brains to find solutions. You can look at the ways in which science and religion both embrace the quest for truth and marvel in the mystery of existence.
Plus I think it's important not to confound people's religious affiliation with belief in god. God is not necessarily the main point in every religion and certainly can be quite irrelevant to any individual's religious identity or spiritual practice.