--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In any discussion of religion and…" description: "\"In any discussion of religion and personality integration the question is not whether religion itself makes for health or neurosis, but what kind of re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/rollo-may-1295_compulsion_in-any-discussion-of-religion-and-person_1255586.jpg" --- # In any discussion of religion and personality integration… ![“In any discussion of religion and personality integration the question is not whether religion itself makes for health or neurosis, but what kind of religion and how is it used? Freud was in error when he held that religion is per se a compulsion neurosis. Some religion is and some is not.” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/rollo-may-1295_compulsion_in-any-discussion-of-religion-and-person_1255586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/rollo-may-1295_compulsion_in-any-discussion-of-religion-and-person_1255586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/rollo-may-1295_compulsion_in-any-discussion-of-religion-and-person_1255586.jpg) > “In any discussion of religion and personality integration the question is not whether religion itself makes for health or neurosis, but what kind of religion and how is it used? Freud was in error when he held that religion is per se a compulsion neurosis. Some religion is and some is not.” [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion’s impact on mental health depends on its type and use, not its mere existence; some faiths aid health, others may hinder **In simple terms:** Religion can be either helpful or harmful to mental health depending on its nature and application Key Takeaway Examine how your beliefs affect your well‑being Themes psychology religion health integration Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - therapy - spiritual counseling - self‑reflection - community support Key Concepts faith compulsion neurology personal development Questions to Reflect On - How does your personal faith shape your mental health? - Can you identify aspects of belief that support or hinder you? A Different Perspective Not all religious practices are beneficial; cultural context matters ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) [Compulsion Neurosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion-neurosis-3974031/) [Discussion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussion/) [Discussion Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussion-religion-3974030/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health Neurosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-neurosis-3974029/) [Integration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integration/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Neurosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurosis/) [Neurosis Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurosis-religion-3974028/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-personality-3974032/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [“Plain speaking is necessary in any discussion of religion, for if the freethinker attacks the religious dogmas with hesitation, the orthodox believer assumes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marshall-brooks/plain-speaking-is-necessary-in-any-discussion-of-religion-for-if-the/) [David Marshall Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marshall-brooks/) > [“I am the deepest of unbelievers. Every neurosis is a religion to its owner and religions is the universal neurosis of mankind. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/i-am-the-deepest-of-unbelievers-every-neurosis-is-a-religion-to-its/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [Creativity is neither the product of neurosis nor simple talent, but an intense courageous encounter with the Gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/creativity-is-neither-the-product-of-neurosis-nor-simple-talent-but/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [It is said that those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad. It may well be that a war neurosis stirred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyd-orr/it-is-said-that-those-whom-the-gods-wish-to-destroy-they-first-make/) [John Boyd Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyd-orr/) > [We carry our past with us, to wit, the primitive and inferior man with his desires and emotions, and it is only with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/we-carry-our-past-with-us-to-wit-the-primitive-and-inferior-man-with/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Novelists are people who have discovered that they can dampen their neuroses by writing make-believe. We will keep on doing that no matter what,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/novelists-are-people-who-have-discovered-that-they-can-dampen-their/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [When you are dealing with a serious compulsion or addictive pattern, then by definition self-will, self-discipline, and any other machinations of the conscious mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/when-you-are-dealing-with-a-serious-compulsion-or-addictive-pattern/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [And I think for me theres a lot of neurosis involved with where you should be or thinking about where you are all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liev-schreiber/and-i-think-for-me-theres-a-lot-of-neurosis-involved-with-where-you/) [Liev Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liev-schreiber/) > [About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and emptiness of their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/about-a-third-of-my-cases-are-suffering-from-no-clinically-definable/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [You can't escape history, or the needs and neuroses you've picked up like layers and layers of tartar on your teeth… Your every past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-escape-history-or-the-needs-and-neuroses-you-ve-picked-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, at high speed, her eyes fixed on the road, Abigail asked, a little loudly above the hum, 'Do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-hill/crossing-the-golden-gate-bridge-at-high-speed-her-eyes-fixed-on-the/) [Lindsay Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-hill/) > [Neurosis is an inner cleavage-the state of being at war with oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/neurosis-is-an-inner-cleavage-the-state-of-being-at-war-with-oneself/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“The fact that compulsive drives for success will arise only in a competitive culture does not make them any less neurotic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/the-fact-that-compulsive-drives-for-success-will-arise-only-in-a/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) ## More by Rollo May > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/political-freedom-is-to-be-cherished-indeed-but-there-is-no-political/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the effect which comes when we use our powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-effect-which-comes-when-we-use-our-powers/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or-those-who-cling-most/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-of-the-few-blessings-of-living-in-an-age-of-anxiety-is-that-we/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/intimacy-requires-courage-because-risk-is-inescapable/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Artists do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artists-do-not-run-away-from-non-being-but-by-encountering-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/technology-is-the-knack-of-so-arranging-the-world-that-we-do-not/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [By the creative act, we are able to reach beyond our own death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/by-the-creative-act-we-are-able-to-reach-beyond-our-own-death/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the zest that you get out of using your talents, your understanding, the totality of your being, for great aims...That's the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-zest-that-you-get-out-of-using-your-talents-your/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-must-have-at-least-a-readiness-to-love-the-other-person-broadly/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/evil-in-this-system-of-ethics-is-that-which-tears-apart-shuts-out-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [We receive love — from our children as well as others — not in proportion to our demands or sacrifices or needs, but roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/we-receive-love-from-our-children-as-well-as-others-not-in-proportion/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-opposite-of-courage-in-our-society-is-not-cowardice-it-is/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Explore all 259 Rollo May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## More Compulsion quotes > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I think it's in our nature to try to get beyond that next horizon. I think that when we as a species are scratching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-howard/i-think-it-s-in-our-nature-to-try-to-get-beyond-that-next-horizon-i/) [Ron Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-howard/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/you-develop-an-instant-global-consciousness-a-people-orientation-an/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I found myself compelled - like this weird, shameful compulsion - to draw cute animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-found-myself-compelled-like-this-weird-shameful-compulsion-to-draw/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Why am I always at war with myself? Why have I told, as if upon compulsion, what I knew all along I ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/why-am-i-always-at-war-with-myself-why-have-i-told-as-if-upon/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It is true that the virtues which are less esteemed and practiced now--independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/it-is-true-that-the-virtues-which-are-less-esteemed-and-practiced-now/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-merely-by-rules-of-conduct-and-religious-observances-nor-by-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I started off like everyone else does, slogging but having a compulsion to put words on paper. I didn't write or read horror or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-started-off-like-everyone-else-does-slogging-but-having-a/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [I have with me two gods, Persuasion and Compulsion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/themistocles/i-have-with-me-two-gods-persuasion-and-compulsion/) [Themistocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/themistocles/) > [When you are dealing with a serious compulsion or addictive pattern, then by definition self-will, self-discipline, and any other machinations of the conscious mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/when-you-are-dealing-with-a-serious-compulsion-or-addictive-pattern/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 513 Compulsion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In any discussion of religion and personality integration the question is not whether religion itself makes for health or neurosis, but what kind of religion and how is it used? 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