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Symbolism of the Eucharist: a phenomenological study

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. / Carl Gustav Jung has devoted specific attention to religion and the Christian Eucharist. The individuation process is central to his system and he identifies the Eucharist as a rite of individuation. The dissertation investigates the theories of analytical psychology pertaining to this sacrament. Comparisons are made between Christian and non-Christian sacramental rites as a means of clarification and illustration. An essay written by a counselee after termination of a therapeutic relationship with a pastor is presented to illustrate how individuation may function in the Eucharist and to give a basis for a critique of Jung's theories.
Jung holds that religion as a deeply rooted phenomenon of human psychic life is founded in the collective unconscious and is archetypal in nature; the archetypes are symbolized when they manifest themselves to consciousness. When the self archetype which is very similar to the God archetype becomes more highly differentiated and synthesizes other archetypes around itself a person experiences individuation which is a natural process tending toward union of personality. The change from a segmented to a unified psyche is effected via the process of transformation. The Eucharist is seen as a general therapeutic system which leads toward individuation [TRUNCATED]

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/27202
Date January 1961
CreatorsFinch, William Edward
PublisherBoston University
Source SetsBoston University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation
RightsBased on investigation of the BU Libraries' staff, this work is free of known copyright restrictions.

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