Further Links between Hope and Religious Imagination

Thus far we have discussed an important connection between imagination and hope in the context of healing. While this connection may seem obvious, I found little mention of it in the health care literature. The closest is Snyder's and Melges' work on futuring - the notion that hope is tied to being able to envision a positive future for oneself. Now we turn to an exploration of hope, religion, and imagination in the context of early childhood. If both the origins of hope and religiousness lie in early childhood, perhaps we can gain a better understanding of how hope is built into a religious worldview. As discussed, Erikson associates hope with early trust, the ontogenetic basis of faith. Theologically, hope is a redemptive concept, necessary for survival. Which, then, comes first: Is hope the basis for religion, or does a religious consciousness precede hopefulness? In this section three perspectives are presented concerning the related psychological origins of hope and a religious consciousness: in the attachment process, in separation-individuation, and the first of Erikson's psychosocial stages, basic trust. The first perspective draws upon the work of Bowlby, the second object relations theory, and the third Erikson and Fowler. Together the approaches support a positive connection between hope, religion, and imagination