Religion, Evolution, and Mental Health: Attachment Theory and ETAS Theory

• Published in: Journal of religion and health Vol. 49; no. 3; pp. 337 - 350
• Main Authors: Flannelly, Kevin J., Galek, Kathleen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer Science + Business Media 01-09-2010; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aging; Anxiety disorders; Attachment behavior; Biological Evolution; Brain; Brain - physiology; Brain - physiopathology; Clinical Psychology; Depressive disorders; Disorders; Evolution; Evolutionary biology; Evolutionary theories; Fear - physiology; Fear - psychology; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental Health; Object Attachment; Original Paper; Psyche, History and Culture: Studies in Creative Interpretation and Practice; Psychiatry; Psychological symptoms; Public Health; Religion; Religion and Psychology; Religious Studies; Social evolution; Systems theory; Religion; Brain; Evolution; Psychiatry; Mental health
• ISSN: 0022-4197; 1573-6571
• DOI: 10.1007/s10943-009-9247-9

This article reviews the historical origins of Attachment Theory and Evolutionary Threat Assessment Systems Theory (ETAS Theory), their evolutionary basis and their application in research on religion and mental health. Attachment Theory has been most commonly applied to religion and mental health in research on God as an attachment figure, which has shown that secure attachment to God is positively associated with psychological well-being. Its broader application to religion and mental health is comprehensively discussed by Kirkpatrick (2005). ETAS Theory explains why certain religious beliefs—including beliefs about God and life-after-death—should have an adverse association, an advantageous association, or no association at all with mental health. Moreover, it makes specific predictions to this effect, which have been confirmed, in part. The authors advocate the application of ETAS Theory in research on religion and mental health because it explains how religious and other beliefs related to the dangerousness of the world can directly affect psychiatric symptoms through their affects on specific brain structures.