mcgehee

While nearly half of Americans identify themselves with a fundamentalist brand of religion, and a sizable minority has rejected religion altogether, there is a vast middle ground. This book is aimed at that huge group of people who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious. In other words, people who are open to encountering the divine and the transcendent, and indeed actively seek these experiences. The authors help readers improve their understanding of the religious nature of the psyche, the origins of myths and religions in the collective unconscious, and the ways in which organized religion has often worked to infantilize its followers. They leave the reader with an empowered ability to claim his or her own spiritual authority and lead a more abundant, authentic life.

Many of those who have left organized religion have done so because it has hurt them in some way or because it failed to address their needs, yet they maintain a strong yearning to reconnect with the divine and transcendent level of human existence. As religious fundamentalism continues to influence so much of our national discourse, and as atheistic books rank high on bestseller lists, the time has never been more crucial for a book to address a third way between fundamentalism and atheism - a way that encourages readers to connect with their true religious nature, while at the same time maintaining their intellectual integrity and claiming their own authority. McGehee and Thomas offer that third way.

J. Pittman McGehee is a private-practice analyst. He teaches at University of Houston and is the director of The Institute for the Advancement of Psychology and Spirituality. He served, for 11 years, as Dean of Christ Church cathedral in Houston. He has held many distinguished lectureships, including the 1987 Harvey Lecture at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, the 1988 Perkins Lecture in Wichita Falls, the 1990 Woodhull Lectures in Dayton, and the 1991 St. Luke’s Lectures in Birmingham. He was the 1994 Rockwell Visiting Theologian at the University of Houston and 1996 Carolyn Fay Lecturer in Analytical Psychology also at the University of Houston.

Damon J. Thomas is a writer and editor living in Houston, Texas. He is the co-author of Speaking from the Heart: Transforming Stage Fright and Telling Your Own Story (co-written with Sandra Zimmer). An experienced journalist and public relations executive, Thomas has published numerous newspaper and magazine articles.