An essay on psychotherapy and religion.

Cultural innovation by thinkers of the early twentieth century created an intellectual impasse between competing understandings of religion. Religion was understood as either transcendence and the sacred (e.g., Otto) or as fantasy and projection (e.g., Freud). Whether a cooperative symbiosis of these orientations toward religion can be achieved is the central and unresolved issue of this paper. "Examined experience" is considered within religious studies and psychotherapy. Although not conclusive, the argument is that examined experience is a means by which the desired symbiosis can be achieved. The essay is personal in that it reflects the author's struggle for understanding, especially as Western (e.g., Christian) and Eastern (e.g., Zen) experiences are examined.