James Henry Leuba  | |
|---|---|
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| Born | April 9, 1868 Motiers, Neuchatel, Switzerland  | 
| Died | December 8, 1946 (aged 78) | 
| Spouse | Bertha Aline Schopher | 
| Children | 7 | 
| Era | 19th/20th century philosophy | 
| Region | Western Philosophy and Psychology | 
| School | Naturalism | 
| Academic advisors | G. Stanley Hall | 
Main interests  | Naturalism, psychology, psychology of religion, mysticism | 
James Henry Leuba (April 9, 1868 – December 8, 1946) was an American psychologist best known for his contributions to the psychology of religion. His son Clarence James Leuba was also a psychologist and taught at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.[1]
Career
Leuba was born in Neuchâtel Switzerland, and later moved to America. He took his Ph.D. at Clark University under G. Stanley Hall.[1] His work was marked by a tendency to explain mysticism and other religious experiences in psychological terms. Philosophically, his position may be described as naturalism.[2] His work points to similarities between religious mysticism and yoga or drug-induced mysticism; he does accept differences between these in terms of moral motivation and to what uses mysticism is put.[3] His psychological study of religion aroused opposition from churchmen.[1] He argued for a naturalistic treatment of religion, which he considered to be necessary if religious psychology was to be looked at scientifically. He was an atheist.[4]
Bibliography
- Leuba, J. H. (1909). The Psychological Origin and the Nature of Religion.
 - 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. (1925 UK edition. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Trubner).
 - Leuba, J. H. (1933). God or Man? A Study of the Value of God to Man. New York: Henry Holt and Company. (1934 UK edition. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Trubner).
 
See also
References
- 1 2 3 McBride, Katharine E. (1947). James Henry Leuba: 1867-1946. American Journal of Psychology 60 (4): 645-646.
 - ↑ Atheist Scholar
 - ↑ PsycNET
 - ↑ Martin, Michael. (2007). The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press. p. 310. ISBN 9780521842709. "Among celebrity atheists with much biographical data, we find leading psychologists and psychoanalysts. We could provide a long list, including...James Leuba..."
 
External links
- Works by James H. Leuba at Project Gutenberg
 - Works by James H. Leuba at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) 

 - Works by or about James H. Leuba at Internet Archive
 
