Seeing that the nature of religious experience as such is a psychological topic,
it is paradoxical that most of the thinking and writing about it has come from nonpsychologists.
One of the main reasons for this anomaly is an outdated conception
of psychology held by many scholars of religion. Three examples of such misconception
may suffice. The first is a widespread notion that psychology as virtually
synonymous with psychoanalysis. Freud and Jung are the most often cited sources
in any literature on religion where psychological factors are discussed (e.g., Segal,
1989, 2000).