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The books and papers which have tried to explain religious phenomena psychologically are first classified under a half-dozen main categories. These
are called the rational-naturalistic, economico-sociological, anthropological, classic-psychological, libidinal and eclectic, respectively. Under each of these headings mention is made very briefly of the earlier writings, unless their importance demands more consideration. To most of the more recent works greater space is given, amounting to a condensed book-review of each.
The summaries of psycho-analytical writings follow a paragraph on the early phallic interpretations of religion and are followed by mention of some modified analytic writings, all these being jointly placed under the head of 'libidinal', since the editor had requested that the number of separate groupings should be reduced.
Attention is first given to Freud's Totem and Taboo, and Future of an Illusion. Then are considered Theodore Reik's Ritual and Surprise and the Psycho-analyst, and his papers in Imago on 'Dogma und Zwangsideen', and in the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHO-ANALYSIS on 'Mysticism and Occultism', 'The Therapy of the Neuroses and Religion', 'Mythology', and 'The Strange God and One's Own God'. E. Harms' 'Die Struktür des Religiösen Menschen' is also mentioned, and a chapter in Otto Pfister's Some Applications of Psycho-Analysis.
These were originally written in German. The only paper in French noted is Marie Bonaparte's 'La pensée magique chez le primitif' in the Revue Française de Psycho-Analyse.
In English we have had first of all Ernest Jones' 'Symbolic significance of Salt' and 'Impregnation of the Blessed Virgin through the Ear' in his Essays in Applied Psycho-Analysis, part of a symposium on Christianity, the second and fourth quarters of his work on The Nightmare. Next in importance have been Roger Money-Kyrle's The Meaning of Sacrifice and Melitta Schmideberg's papers in the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHO-ANALYSIS, and pa