The 16 Strivings for God: The New Psychology of Religious Experiences

by Steven Reiss

This ground-breaking work will change the way we understand religion. Period. Previous scholars such as Freud, James, Durkheim, and Maslow did not successfully identify the essence of religion as fear of death, mysticism, sacredness, communal bonding, magic, or peak experiences because religion has no single essence. Religion is about the values motivated by the sixteen basic desires of human nature. It has mass appeal because it accommodates the values of people with opposite personality traits. This is the first comprehensive theory of the psychology of religion that can be scientifically verified. Reiss proposes a peer-reviewed, original theory of mysticism, asceticism, spiritual personality, and hundreds of religious beliefs and practices. Written for serious readers and anyone interested in psychology and religion (especially their own), this eminently readable book will revolutionize the psychology of religious experience by exploring the motivations and characteristics of the individual in their religious life.

Genres: Psychology, Religion

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2015

About the author

PhD

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A new psychology of religious experience that argues that religions enjoy such a wide embrace because they offer repeated opportunities to satisfy sixteen basic motivations or "strivings" common to all human beings.

St. Augustine of Hippo in The Confessions wrote, "Thou has made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee." Steven Reiss, a psychologist whose most recent work has been in the area of motivation, argues that this striving, restless heart, expressed in a multi-faceted variety of ways, is the basis for the continuing appeal of religion and indeed that any major religion worth its salt appeals to all of sixteen strivings or motivations.

This contention is rooted in Reiss's work in motivation theory. Through a series of large scale surveys, Reiss and his associates discovered sixteen basic desires that he would argue are common to all human beings. Individuals have their own pattern of strong and weak desires, the interplay of which is important for self-understanding. The Reiss Motivation Profile® is a standardized assessment and is best understood with the assistance of a qualified coach.

In this book, he brings that research to bear in proposing a new psychology of religious experience based not on a single factor such as those of Tylor, Fraser, Freud, James, or others, but a multiple set of factors unique to each person that also may be predictive of the features in a religion which will most resonate with that person. People embrace religion on the basis of their particular pattern of strivings.

Reiss, while touching on teachings of all the major religions at various points, seems most familiar with Judeo-Christianity. He contends in one chapter that the Judeo-Christian idea of God reflects the ultimate expression of thirteen of the sixteen strivings (excluding romance, eating, and saving, although I might see ways to include even these!). What I most appreciated about Reiss is that he does not see this, unlike Feuerbach or Freud, as a support for atheism. He leaves the theological question of God's existence open, but observes that, "If our concept of God did not express our deepest desires and needs, he would be meaningless to us" (p. 57).

Reiss then applies these ideas to discussions of what motivates asceticism and mysticism. He proposes an ascetic profile in which persons have strong desires for honor, and low desire for eating, social contact, family, romance, status, and tranquility. He would characterize the mystic as gentle, humble, visionary, unambitious, and aesthetic.

The longest chapter, chapter 7 explores the contradictions of human nature and how both strong and weak desires of each of the sixteen strivings are addressed in religious experience. Here again, he focuses most on the Judeo-Christian tradition, including numerous quotes from the Christian scriptures. In so doing, he demonstrates the explanatory power of his theory of religious experience.

I do find his argument persuasive overall, although I also wonder about the falsifiability of his theory. His thesis resonates well with the argument Jamie Smith has made recently in Desiring the Kingdom, that we are "desiring agents", that we are what we love. Reiss touches on how we may sometimes be drawn to aspects of a religion that address a desire that one perceives too weak or strong (for example, the practices of fasting that may address gluttony). Yet Reiss also sees motivational patterns as relatively immutable. One of the contentions of Christian formational practices is that our encounters with God through practices and liturgies may "re-order" desires that are inordinately weak or strong. These two ideas seem in tension and I would be curious how Reiss would address this.

My sense in reading this book was one of listening to a sympathetic bystander giving his observations of the faith in which I dwell. It is interesting to consider why particular things about the Christian faith, such as bringing together the love of God and the life of the mind, that are so much a part of my life and I think are intrinsic to faith also may be reflective of the particular mix of desires and motivations that make me who I am. It seems this can serve as a tool for understanding why others differ from us and yet identify with the same faith and might be a helpful tool for understanding across our differences within our religious communities.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing and often brilliant look at the psychology of religion. While I came away with some feeling that Reiss is trying to quantify the unquantifiable, he has made an important contribution to the field. He make this contribution with genuine humility, inviting further research which would either enhance or counter his hypotheses.

[Jose Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. A little repetitive.

In general an excellent book. The chapter 7 is a bit repetitive and some ideas are already discussed in previous chapters but the core message of the book)the theory) is refreshing.

[James R · Rating 1 out of 5]

He sees the world through a lens of psychology that clouds his thinking. The concept of "religion" is so vast, that the word doesn't really mean anything. You have to talk about specific groups, such as the orthodox version of the Roman Catholic Church of the 18th century. You'll see these systems heavily tied up with politics and many people are forced into it. For much of history, warlords forced their subjects to join the religion of choice, so there was no "striving for God" for all these people, it was simply, "do this or die." Ultimately the explanations are a lot more simple, you first have warlords, and once they gain power, they surround themselves with lawyers and priests in order to give themselves legitimacy. Very few people have spiritual curiosity, that's something forced onto people from elites. When you don't introduce a people to "religion" they don't inherently look for it. It's only when you come in touch with empire that you see all these people striving for something they'd never been interested in previously.

[Timo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I read the book to mine the underlying motivations for religious activity. On that level, I was appreciative of the information. But this system of understanding motivation wasn't produced in a religious context or with religious questions at the heart of it, and it felt like the author was working very hard to shoehorn his psychological study into a religious context.