Religious views on the self

Religious views on the self vary widely. The self is a complex and core subject in many forms of spirituality. In Western psychology, the concept of self comes from Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Carl Rogers where the self is the inner critic. Two types of self are commonly considered - the self that is the ego, also called the learned, superficial self of mind and body, "false self", an egoic creation, and the Self which is sometimes called the "true self", the "Observing Self", or the "Witness".

Some Eastern philosophies reject the self as a delusion. In Buddhist psychology, the attachment to self is an illusion that serves as the main cause of suffering and unhappiness.

Human beings have a self—that is, they are able to look back on themselves as both subjects and objects in the universe. Ultimately, this brings questions about who we are and the nature of our own importance.

Christianity sees the self negatively, distorted through sin: 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?' (Jeremiah 17:9) Alternately, each human self or spirit is a unique creation by God. The "desperately wicked self" is the sinful self that has chosen to be "curved back upon itself", but ever with the potential of changing and (by God's grace) turning toward "'new life', opened out to love of God and neighbor" See Albert Outler as quoted in "Outler on the Holy Spirit" by George Aikinson, Bristol House, 2004 p. 54. and p. 87.

According to psychologist James Marcia, identity comes from both political and religious views. Marcia also identified exploration and commitment as interactive parts of identity formation, which includes religious identity. Erik Erikson compared faith with doubt and found that healthy adults take heed to their spiritual side.

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