In this study the psychological structures of two categories of religious and schizophrenic experience were examined from a phenomenological- existential perspective. Existing theories describe schizophrenia as an unfree, rigid experience with limited possibilities for selfhood. Some theorists believe, however, that some forms of schizophrenia can be seen as potential growth experiences which could facilitate existential renewal. These forms of schizophrenia are mystical, mythical or spiritual in nature. Religious experiences are, according to the literature, essentially renewal experiences facilitating existential growth and transformation through a particular system of thought and devotional relationship shared by a group of people. The Duquesne phenomenological- psychological method was used to analyse seven case studies, four of which involved schizophrenic experiences and three which involved religious conversion experiences. The general psychological structure which emerged through this analysis showed both schizophrenia and religious experience to have specific implications for the personal, social, material and mystical dimensions of being. The description of a specific psychological structure of experience which could optimally facilitate existential growth and transformation was attained by examining psychological structures where the subject's experience culminated in existential growth and transformation (such as religious experience and certain schizophrenIc experiences). As both these categories of experience displayed a strong mystical component, a psychological structure of experience which facilitates a transformative mystical experience was described. It can be concluded that an experience involving a mystical dimension could be transformative if the general psychological structure of the person displays (a) an openness towards reality as it presents itself (b) an experience of oneself as having a measure of existential freedom (c) a certain sense of security in one's own selfhood and (d) a social world which could understand, support and reflect inner experiences.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study, religiously heterogeneous households refer to households where the parents practice entirely different religions. These households are becoming more common and whilst the literature focusses on what this means for the married couple in terms of marital satisfaction, marital conflict and religious participation it largely neglects the influence that growing up in such a household may have on the child. This poses a potential problem in the therapeutic setting because there is no existing knowledge to work with. This study sought to narrow the gap in the literature by describing the lived experiences of young adults who grew up in religiously heterogeneous households. Through the use of snowball sampling, six young adults (aged 18-24) who grew up in religiously heterogeneous households agreed to be interviewed for this study. Of the participants four were male and the remaining two were female. The semi-structured interview yielded many reports of the participant’s experiences growing up in a religiously heterogeneous household. These experiences have been grouped into three types of themes. The themes include: (1) over-arching themes which deals with issues such as making sense of religion, making the decision as to which religion to affiliate with and idealizing the religiously homogeneous household whilst valuing the lessons gained from the religiously heterogeneous household; (2) an explicit theme which discusses how the experiences that the participants report about their households can be used to make tentative inferences about religiously heterogeneous marriages and divorce and; (3) peripheral themes include discussions about feeling judged and ostracised, negotiating a religiously heterogeneous background outside of the immediate family, tolerance and the value of a name. An Ecological Model is employed in the interpretation of these findings. Finally, the limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie verwys godsdienstige heterogene huishoudings na huishoudings waar die ouers aan heeltemal verskillende godsdienste behoort. Hierdie tipe huishoudings word al hoe meer algemeen en alhoewel die literatuur fokus op wat dit beteken vir die getroude paartjie in terme van huweliks tevredenheid, huweliks konflik en godsdienstige deelname, versuim dit om te kyk na die invloed wat dit het op die kind wat groot word in sulke huishouding. Dit hou ‘n potensiële probleem vir die terapeuties omgewing in, want daar is geen bestaande kennis om mee te werk nie. Hierdie studie poog om die gaping in die literatuur kleiner te maak, deur die beleefde ervaringe van jong volwassenes wat groot geword het in ‘n godsdienstige heterogene huishouding te beskryf. Deur gebruik te maak van sneeubalsteekproefneming, het ses jong volwassenes (tussen die ouderdomme van 18-24), wat groot geword het in godsdienstige heterogene huishoudings, ingestem om deel te neem aan ‘n onderhoud vir hierdie studie. Vier van die deelnemers was manlik en die oorblywende twee was vroulik. Die semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude het verskeie verslae gelewer van die deelnemers se ondervindinge van hoe dit was om groot te word in ‘n godsdienstige heterogene huishouding. Hierdie ondervindinge word in drie tipes temas gegroepeer. Die temas sluit in: (1) oorkoepelende temas wat te doen het met kwessies soos om sin te maak van godsdiens, die keuse te maak oor watter godsdiens om te volg en om die godsdienstige homogene huishouding te idealiseer, terwyl jy die lesse waardeer wat jy gekry het deur die ervaring van in ‘n godsdienstige heterogene huishouding groot te word; (2) ‘n uitdruklike tema wat kyk na hoe die ervaringe wat die deelnemers geraporteer het oor hulle huishoudings gebruik kan word om tentatiewe gevolgtrekkings te maak oor godsdienstige heterogene huwelike en egskeiding en; (3) perifere temas sluit in besprekings oor om geoordeel en uitgesluit te word, om ‘n godsdienstige heterogene agtergrond buite die onmiddellike familie te onderhandel, verdraagsaamheid en die waarde van 'n naam. ‘n Ekologiese model word gebruik in die interpretasie van hierdie bevindinge. Ten slotte, is die beperkings en aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing bespreek.

O ser humano continua sendo a espécie diferenciada em meio a uma natureza tão vasta. Seu destaque lhe advém da sua capacidade de abstrair-se do dado imediato, de refletir sobre o mesmo e de lhe conferir significados. Esta sua posição, no entanto, não lhe coloca num lugar privilegiado de centralidade, ou ainda de primazia frente aos outros seres com os quais convive. Impõe-lhe, ao contrário, uma responsabilidade de cuidado sobre todo o cosmos. Por isso, ele está sempre buscando sentidos para o que lhe está em derredor. Entre os inúmeros caminhos trilhados pelo homem nesta busca de significação do mundo, tem sobressaído na contemporaneidade, como um elemento cada vez mais presente e atuante na vida das pessoas, a dimensão religiosa espiritual. Para além de todas as profecias de sua gradativa, mas inexorável, superação/eliminação da história humana e, também, contradizendo as muitas afirmativas feitas a seu respeito pelos vários processos de secularização, ela se encontra em nosso meio com nuances algumas vezes mais intensos e, em outros momentos, menos significativos. No entanto, sempre está presente. Nosso trabalho se apresenta como uma proposta de releitura psicanalítica deste fenômeno, a Religião, que ocupou na construção teórica de Sigmund Freud um lugar bastante significativo, revelando-se como uma realidade que lhe era verdadeiramente inquietante, o que se demonstra pelo número de suas aparições desde os seus primeiros construtos psicanalíticos até às vésperas de sua morte. Ainda que, declarando-se um ateu convicto, S. Freud sempre buscou uma compreensão mais acurada do fenômeno religioso e suas implicações na vida dos sujeitos humanos. Será possível à Religião constituir-se ao ser humano contemporâneo como um caminho sublimatório, em meio a tantos outros, que lhe auxilie na construção de sua subjetividade? O presente estudo foi realizado através de uma pesquisa de cunho bibliográfico dos principais textos de Sigmund Freud referentes à sublimação e ao fenômeno religioso, bem como de estudos realizados por importantes psicanalistas atuais e alguns sociólogos da religião. Nossa pesquisa pretendeu alcançar uma maior compreensão do conceito de sublimação na metapsicologia freudiana tendo em vista sua aplicação na releitura da experiência religiosa nos escritos de Sigmund Freud, superando, desta forma impasses entre as áreas da Psicanálise e da Religião e construindo, ao mesmo tempo, espaços de diálogo e mútuo enriquecimento entre os referidos campos de conhecimento do sujeito humano. / The human being remains as the differentiated species among such a vast nature. Its distinction comes from its ability to abstract itself from the immediate data, to reflect about it and give it meanings. This position, however, does not place him in a privileged place of centrality, or even of primacy over other beings with whom he coexists. It imposes, on the contrary, a responsibility of care over the whole cosmos. Therefore, he is always searching for meanings to what is around him. Among the countless paths that men have gone through during this search for meaning of the world, nowadays there is an element that is getting more and more present and active on the daily lives of people: the religious spiritual dimension. In addition to all the prophecies of its gradual but inexorable overcoming/elimination from human history, and also contradicting the many affirmations made about it by the various processes of secularization, it finds itself in our midst with nuances sometimes more intense and, at other times, less significant. However, it is always present. Our work is presented as a proposal of psychoanalytic re-reading, based on the concept of sublimation, of the religious phenomenon, which occupied very significant place in the theoretical construction of Sigmund S. Freud, revealing itself as a reality that was truly disturbing to him, which is demonstrated by the number of appearances since his first psychoanalytic constructs until the eve of his death. Even declaring himself a "convicted atheist," Freud has always sought a more accurate understanding of the religious phenomenon and its implications in the lives of human subjects. Is it possible for Religion to constitute the contemporary human being as a sublimatory way, among so many others, to assist it in the construction of its subjectivity? The present study was carried out through a bibliographical research of Sigmund Freud's main texts referring to sublimation and religious phenomena, as well as studies carried out by important current psychoanalysts and some sociologists of religion. Our research aimed to reach a greater understanding of the concept of sublimation in Freudian metapsychology in view of its application in re-reading religious experience in Sigmund Freud's writings, thus overcoming impasses between the areas of Psychoanalysis and Religion and, at the same time, Spaces of dialogue and mutual enrichment between the mentioned fields of knowledge of the human subject.