Whilst the distinction between individual and social origin of concepts
is central to psychological accounts of religion, non-psychological accounts
of religion actually dwell on an interaction between the two. It is further
argued that some of the key issues in the study of religion -- origin of religious
concepts, core religious beliefs, and universality of religious beliefs --
can be most adequately tackled within the framework of cognitivedevelopmental
psychology. Possible explanations are suggested for hitherto
insufficient involvement of those psychological approaches in the study of religion.