James Henry Leuba (1867-1946) was an American psychologist, best known for his contributions to the psychology of religion. His work in this area is marked by a reductionistic tendency to explain mysticism and other religious experiences in physiological terms. Philosophically, his position may be described as naturalism. His work points to analogies with certain drug-induced experiences. He argued for a naturalistic treatment of religion, which he considered to be necessary if religious psychology was to be looked at scientifically.

Bibliography

• Leuba, J. H. (1912). The psychological study of religion: Its origin, function, and future. New York: Macmillan.
• Leuba, J. H. (1916). The belief in God and immortality. Boston: Sherman, French.
• Leuba, J. H. (1925). The psychology of religious mysticism, New York: Harcourt, Brace.
• Leuba, J. H. (1978). The psychological origin and the nature of religion, Folcroft, Pa: Folcroft Library Editions.

See also

• Psychology of religion

American psychologists | 1867 births | 1946 deaths