We seem at odds with ourselves, and feel somewhat uncomfortable about the state of both our psyche and spirit. But a further complication is that man finds it hard to pinpoint their very definitions. Throughout history, numerous and diverse religions such as animism, shamanism, and sun worship, as well as philosophical perspectives such as humanism and materialism have sprung up. Despite these trends, the Bible is still the best-selling book of all time. Yet Freud's works and that of a multitude of his colleagues, both past and contemporary, compete for space on library and bookstore shelves.
Psychology is a science, concerned with the intricacies of human character and human behavior.
While the practice of religion denotes a commitment and service to God, perhaps in a broad sense, it could be considered as focusing on man's spiritual character and behavior. Yet today psychology neglects researching the spiritual realm as a way to detect causes of human behavior, or to find solutions for any resulting disorders. It seems most psychologists negate the existence and influence of the spiritual world as an avenue to discover the cause for illness and behavioral deviations, or as a means to explain evil, the fear of death, etc. Since these theories quite possibly exclude the belief that man is made in the image of God and should function as a divine being, they are quite lopsided, and do not tell the whole story. A psychologist assumes his patient has tensions, and as a means of treatment, may trigger certain questions in an attempt to detect the source of those pressures.