This document summarizes a presentation on how religious attachment theory can help explain religious conflict and psychopathology. It discusses how individuals can form attachments to religious figures in the same way they form attachments to caregivers. Disruptions to these religious attachments through things like disrespecting religious symbols can trigger defensive responses of protest, despair, or detachment in some individuals. It provides examples of terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and actions of Pastor Terry Jones to illustrate how their violent acts could be interpreted as coming from a place of disrupted religious attachment and a desire to defend that attachment. The presentation concludes that religious violence may be a byproduct of disrupted attachment processes within a group.

1. RELIGIOUS
CONFLICT,
ATTACHMENT, AND
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
A PRESENTATION BY
VICTOR UDOKA
COUNTED AT THE
RELIGION, CONFLICT AND
PEACE SUMMER SCHOOL,
GRONINGEN (14 – 18
AUG. 2017)
Read full article: Counted, V. (2017). Attachment Theory and Religious Violence: Theorizing
adult religious psychopathology. Journal for the Study of Religion 30(1), 78 – 109

2. OUTLINE SUMMARY
• ADULT ATTACHMENT THEORY
• PROXIMITY TO THE ATTACHMENT FIGURE
• A RELIGIOUS ATTACHMENT FIGURE
• ATTACHMENT DISRUPTIONS
• PROTEST
• DESPAIR
• DETACHMENT
• CASE STUDIES
• CHARLIE HABDO VERSES AL QAEDA
• NIGERIA GOVERNMENT VERSUS BOKO HARAM
• PASTOR TERRY JONES AND ISLAMIC INVASTION

3. ATTACHMENT
THEORY
• ATTACHMENT THEORY EXPLAINS THE EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS THAT
BINDS INFANTS TO THEIR CAREGIVERS TO ENSURE INFANT SURVIVAL
(BOWLBY, 1969/1982)
• THIS EARLY CONTACT EXPERIENCE WITH A PRIMARY CAREGIVER FORMS
WHAT BOWLBY CALLS ‘INTERNAL WORKING MODELS’
• INTERNAL WORKING MODELS ARE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS OF SELF
AND OTHERS THAT INFLUENCE EXPECTATIONS FROM FUTURE
RELATIONSHIPS
• THIS WORKING MODEL OF ATTACHMENT IS A STRONG, ENDURING
EMOTIONAL BOND THAT CONNECTS AND BINDS TWO RELATIONAL
PARTNERS AND IS EMOTIONALLY ATTUNED TO MONITOR THE AVAILABILITY
AND PROXIMITY OF THE ATTACHMENT FIGURE.

4. ADULT
ATTACHMENT
THEORY
• AS INFANTS ADVANCE IN LIFE AND BECOME ADULTS, THEY STILL MAINTAIN ATTACHMENTS WITH
THEIR CAREGIVERS, AND MAY ALSO FORM FUTURE ATTACHMENTS WITH OTHER ATTACHMENT
SURROGATES
• SOME ADULTS MAINTAIN ATTACHMENT BOND WITH A GEOGRAPHICALLY SEPARATED PRIMARY
CAREGIVER (E.G., MOTHER) THROUGH ATTACHMENT BEHAVIOURS THAT AIM AT MAINTAINING
PROXIMITY WITH A CAREGIVER SUCH AS WRITING LETTERS, TELEPHONE CALLS, EMAILS, ETC.
• SOME ADULTS ALSO REPLACE THEIR PRIMARY CAREGIVERS WITH OTHER OBJECTS OF
ATTACHMENT THAT FULFIL THE ATTACHMENT FIGURE FUNCTION (E.G., A ROMANTIC PARTNER,
GEOGRAPHIC PLACE, A DIVINE ENTITY, AMONG OTHERS)
• OBJECTS OF ATTACHMENT HAVE THE QUALITY OF PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURES
• THEY ARE TARGETS FOR PROXIMITY-SEEKING BEHAVIOURS
• THEY CAN SERVE AS A SAFE HAVEN TO TURN TO IN TIMES OF DANGER
• THEY CAN FUNCTION AS A SECURE BASE FROM WHERE THE INDIVIDUAL EXPLORE THEIR
BROADER ENVIRONMENT AND FORGES IDENTITY
• LOSS OF ATTACHMENT WITH SUCH OBJECT MAY LEAD TO SEPARATION ANXIETY

5. “
”
THE GOAL OF ADULT ATTACHMENT IS THE
NEED FOR ‘FELT SECURITY’
ADULTS CAN DEPEND UPON THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WHEREABOUTS OF THEIR
SYMBOLIC ATTACHMENT FIGURES FOR THEIR ATTACHMENT SATISFACTION.
(Sroufe & WATERS, 1977; SROUFE, 2005)

6. A RELIGIOUS
ATTACHMENT
FIGURE
• A RELIGIOUS FIGURE CAN BE PERCEIVED AS AN OBJECT OF ATTACHMENT
• MOST MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS (E.G., CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM) PARTICULARLY
DEMONSTRATE THE IDEA OF A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DIVINE
• A RELIGIOUS BELIEVER MAY ATTAIN A SENSE OF FELT SECURITY THROUGH THE
KNOWLEDGE OF THE WHEREABOUT OF THEIR DIVINE ATTACHMENT FIGURE THROUGH
SEARCHING SACRED TEXTS, PRAYER, MEDITATION, RELIGIOUS PARTICIPATION,
AMONG OTHERS
• A RELIGIOUS FIGURE MAY SERVE AS A SAFE HAVEN FOR COMFORT IN TIMES OF
DANGER
• A RELIGIOUS FIGURE MAY ALSO SERVE AS A SECURE BASE FOR EXPLORING THE
WORLD OF DANGER AND FORMING IDENTITY
• LOSS OF ATTACHMENT WITH A RELIGIOUS ATTACHMENT FIGURE MAY TRIGER A
SEPARATION ANXIETY
• SEPARATION ANXIETY IN ATTACHMENT RELATIONSHIPS HAVE BEEN LINKED TO
ATTACHMENT DISRUPTIONS

7. ATTACHMENT
DISRUPTIONS
• ATTACHMENT DISRUPTION THEORY SHOWS HOW THE RECEIVER OF
ATTACHMENT MONITORS THE CAREGIVER’S WHEREABOUTS, AND,
THEIR PHYSICAL PROXIMITY TO THE OBJECT OF ATTACHMENT
• “THIS SHOWS A SHIFT FROM OBSERVING REACTION TO SEPARATIONS
TO OBSERVING PATTERNS OF EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION IN
[ATTACHMENT RELATIONSHIPS]" KOBAK ET AL. 2016, P.26)
• REACTIONS TO ATTACHMENT DISRUPTIONS MAY TAKE THE FORM OF
‘PROTEST’, ‘DESPAIR’, AND ‘DETACHMENT’ AS THE ATTACHED ‘MONITOR
DANGER IN THE ENVIRONMENT, EXPLORE NEW LEARNING
OPPORTUNITIES, AND... SOCIAL EXCHANGES’ (KOBAK ET AL. 2016,
P.27).

8. THE STORY OF LAURA, A 2-YEAR-OLD GIRL, WHO SPENT 8 DAYS IN
HOSPITAL AWAY FROM HER MOTHER FOR A MINOR OPERATION.
PHASE 1: PROTEST
AT THE FIRST PHASE, LAURA WAS SEEN
SIGNALLING HER SEPARATION DISTRESS
THROUGH CRYING LOUDLY, FRETTING,
FOLLOWING THE MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS
LEAVING THE HOSPITAL, SHOWING ANGER,
AND POUNDING THE DOOR.
PHASE 2: DESPAIR
AT THE SECOND PHASE, LAURA WAS SEEN
WITHDRAWN, SHOWING DEEP MOURNING
WHEN SHE REALISED THAT SHE HAS LOST HER
MOTHER. LAURA WAS ALSO SAD AND IN
AGONY, AND SHOWING HOSTILE BEHAVIOURAL
PATTERNS TOWARDS OTHERS (NURSES, AND
MEDICAL STAFF)
PHASE 3: DETACHMENT
THE THIRD PHASE MARKED THE FINAL PHASE
OF LAURA’S EMOTIONAL SIGNALS IN WHICH
SHE WAS SEEN WARMING UP TO STRANGERS
AND SHOWING POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD
ALTERNATIVE CLOSE OTHERS AS A WAY OF
SURVIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Laura was showing three emotional defensive signals in her separation anxiety. These
signals were patterned into three forms: protest, despair, and detachment.
Adapted from Bowlby, Roberton, and Rosenbluth (1952).

9. CAN ATTACHMENT
DISRUPTIONS INCREASE THE
RISK OF RELIGIOUS
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND
PREDISPOSE AN INDIVIDUAL TO
PERPETRATE ACTS OF
RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE?

10. DEFENSIVE SIGNALS IN RELIGIOUS
ATTACHMENT DISRUPTIONS
DISRUPTING THE ATTACHMENT BOND IN RELATIONSHIP EXPERIENCES WITH
RELIGIOUS ATTACHMENT FIGURES MAY BECOME THE GENESIS OF ADULT RELIGIOUS
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, ESPECIALLY IN ASPECTS OF RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE THAT ARE
OFTEN INTERPRETED AS ‘PROTEST’ = ‘DESPAIR’ = ‘DETACHMENT’

11. TWO RATIONALE
DEFENDING AN EMOTIONAL BOND
• EVERYONE WANTS TO PROTECT THEIR SOURCE OF SAFETY
AND SECURITY
• IN A SITUATION WHERE A RELATIONSHIP WITH A RELIGIOUS
FIGURE IS UNDER THREAT, OR THE EMOTIONAL BOND
DISRUPTED, THIS SEPARATION EXPERIENCE MAY INITIATE
DEFENSIVE PROCESSES THAT ARE MOTIVATED BY A DESIRE
TO RE-ESTABLISH CLOSENESS WITH THE RELIGIOUS FIGURE
AND RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN THE RELATIONSHIP.
DEFENDING A SOURCE OF IDENTITY
• BECAUSE DIFFERENCES IN IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT ARE OFTEN
FORMED BASED ON ATTACHMENT EXPECTATIONS.
• A RELIGIOUS FOLLOWER IS LIKELY TO MODEL THEIR IDENTITY AND
PERCEPTION OF SELF BASED ON THE VALUES OF THE RELIGIOUS
ATTACHMENT FIGURE TO WHOM THEY ARE DEVOTED.
• FOR EXAMPLE, A CHRISTIAN IS LIKELY TO MODEL THE LIFE AND
TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST. THE SAME WAY A DEVOUT MUSLIM MAY
FORM HIS OR HER IDENTITY BASED ON THE TEACHINGS OF PROPHET
MOHAMMED.

12. PROTEST: CASE EXAMPLES
• CHARLIE HEBDO VERSUS AL-QEADA
• NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT VERSUS BOKO HARAM
• PASTOR TERRY JONES AND THE ISLAMIC INVASION OF THE WEST

14. “
”
ATTACKING ALL RELIGIONS IS THE BASIS
OF OUR IDENTITY
GEORGE BIARD
(SENIOR EDITOR, CHARLIE HEBDO)

15. “
”
‘WE HAVE TO CARRY ON UNTIL ISLAM
HAS BEEN RENDERED AS BANAL AS
CATHOLICISM’
STEPHANE CHARBONNIER IN 2011
CHIEF EDITOR OF CHARLIE HEBDO

17. “
”
WE, AL-QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA (AQAP), CLAIM
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS OPERATION AS VENGEANCE FOR THE
MESSENGER OF ALLAH … THE LEADERSHIP OF AQAP WAS THE PARTY
THAT CHOSE THE TARGET AND PLOTTED AND FINANCED THE PLAN ... IT
WAS FOLLOWING ORDERS BY OUR GENERAL CHIEF AYMAN AL-
ZAWAHIRI … THE HEROES WERE CHOSEN AND THEY ANSWERED THE
CALL … TODAY, THE MUJAHIDEEN AVENGE THEIR REVERED PROPHET,
AND SEND THE CLEAREST MESSAGE TO EVERYONE WHO WOULD DARE
TO ATTACK ISLAMIC SANCTITIES
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM AL-QAEDA BY NASR AL-ANSI, A TOP RANKING AL-QAEDA COMMANDER

18. AL-QAEDA
• THE CARICATURE OF THEIR RELIGIOUS FIGURE (PROPHET
MOHAMMED) WAS NOT PERCEIVED AS A FRIENDLY
GESTURE, BUT RATHER WAS SEEN, AS NAR AL-ANSI PUTS IT,
AS “AN ATTACK ON ISLAMIC SANCTITIES”
• SUCH ‘ATTACK’ IS A THREAT TO UNDERMINE THEIR SOURCE
OF ATTACHMENT AND ISLAMIC IDENTITY
WHAT WE KNOW

20. “
”
WE WANT TO REITERATE THAT WE ARE WARRIORS WHO ARE CARRYING OUT JIHAD
(RELIGIOUS WAR) IN NIGERIA AND OUR STRUGGLE IS BASED ON THE TRADITIONS OF THE
HOLY PROPHET. WE WILL NEVER ACCEPT ANY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT APART FROM THE
ONE STIPULATED BY ISLAM BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY WAY THAT THE MUSLIMS CAN BE
LIBERATED. WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN ANY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT, BE IT TRADITIONAL OR
ORTHODOX, EXCEPT THE ISLAMIC SYSTEM WHICH IS WHY WE WILL KEEP ON FIGHTING
AGAINST DEMOCRACY, CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM, AND WHATEVER. WE WILL NOT ALLOW
THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION TO REPLACE THE LAWS THAT HAVE BEEN ENSHRINED IN THE
HOLY QUR’AN, WE WILL NOT ALLOW ADULTERATED CONVENTIONAL EDUCATION (BOKO) TO
REPLACE ISLAMIC TEACHINGS. WE WILL NOT RESPECT THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL. WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT ITS MILITARY AND THE POLICE
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT PROTECTING ISLAM. WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE NIGERIAN
JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND WE WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO ASSISTS THE GOVERNMENT IN
PERPETRATING ILLEGALITIES (SALKIDA 2009).
OFFICIAL BOKO HARAM STATEMENT IN 2011

21. BOKO HARAM
• BOKO HARAM GROUP SEEMS TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS
SOME SORT OF ‘DEFENDERS’ OF THE ISLAMIC IDENTITY
• THERE SEEM TO BE AN UNDERLYING BOND WITH THEIR
FAITH AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS TO THEM, AND ANYONE
WHO STANDS CONTRARY TO THIS SENSE OF IDENTITY OR
POSE A THREAT TO THEIR ATTACHMENT IDENTITY WILL BE
TARGETED AS THE ENEMY
WHAT WE KNOW

23. “
”
WE WANT TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THEM THAT RADICAL ISLAM, SHARIA LAW, OR
WHAT THEY WISH TO INSTITUTE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME IS NOT ACCEPTED IN
AMERICA ….WE ALSO WANT TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE MODERATE MUSLIMS TO
STAY PEACEFUL AND MODERATE ... BUT WE DO NOT WANT, AS IT APPEARS TO BE IN
SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD, AFTER THEY GAINED SOME NUMBERS IN THE
POPULATION THEY BEGIN TO PUSH FOR SHARIA LAW AND THAT TYPE OF
GOVERNMENT ... WE EXPECT THE MUSLIMS THAT ARE HERE IN AMERICA TO
RESPECT AND HONOUR AND OBEY AND SUBMIT TO OUR CONSTITUTION
PASTOR TERRY JONES
WATCH ONLINE HERE: HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/HQTRYRAEOTM

24. TERRY JONES
• JONES’ FEAR OF AN ISLAMIC INVASION MAY HAVE GIVEN
RISE TO HIS DEFENSIVE PROTEST TO BURN THAT WHICH HE
TRANSLATES TO BE A THREAT TO HIS SAFE HAVEN AND
SECURE BASE IN TERMS OF HIS CHRISTIAN FAITH AND HIS
COUNTRY AMERICA.
• THE RATIONALE FOR WANTING TO BURN HUNDREDS OF
KORANS, ACCORDING TO JONES, WAS TO DEMONSTRATE
THAT ISLAM WAS A THREAT TO HIM, HIS CHRISTIAN
BELIEFS, AND HIS ‘BELOVED’ COUNTRY.
WHAT WE KNOW

25. PROTEST
• AT THE PROTEST PHASE, THE RELIGIOUS ADHERENTS ARE
OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HAVING THE RELIGIOUS ATTACHMENT FIGURE
BACK WHILE DISPLAYING DOMINANT EMOTIONS SUCH AS FEAR,
ANGER, AND DISTRESS.
• INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS COULD EXHIBIT DEMONSTRATIONS THAT
ONLY SIGNAL A POTENTIAL SEPARATION DISTRESS AND A
DISRUPTION OF ATTACHMENT WITH THEIR RELIGIOUS FIGURE.

28. DESPAIR
• AT THIS PHASE, THE INDIVIDUAL INTERPRETS THE SEPARATION EXPERIENCE AS A
LOSS OF THE ATTACHMENT FIGURE
• BOWLBY (1973) CALLS THIS ‘DEEP MOURNING’.
• THE INDIVIDUAL SHOWS SIGNS OF SADNESS AND AGONY AND EXHIBIT ABNORMAL
BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS TOWARD THE RELIGIOUS ‘OTHER’.
• THIS SECOND PHASE IS WHERE ACTS OF EXTREME VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM ARE
ADOPTED TO MAKE A STATEMENT ABOUT THE HOPELESSNESS OF LOSING AN
ATTACHMENT BOND OR A RELIGIOUS FIGURE UPON WHICH IDENTITY IS FORMED.
• THE INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP BECOMES ALIENATED FROM THEIR TRUE VALUES TO
PERPETUATE HORRIFIC ACTS OF TERROR AND VIOLENCE.

29. DESPAIR

31. DETACHMENT
• THE CASE OF THE NIGER DELTA EX-MILITANTS
• NIGER DELTA MILITANTS FINALLY ABANDONED
THEIR WEAPONS AND SOUGHT FOR CLOSURE
BY AGREEING TO THE AMNESTY PROGRAM
OFFERED TO THEM BY THE NIGERIAN
GOVERNMENT AS A WAY OF SURVIVING IN THE
NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENT

32. IN CONCLUSION
RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE CAN BE REINTERPRETED AS THE BY-PRODUCT OF ATTACHMENT BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES
AND A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM, ONE THAT IS INTERNALISED AND CREATED WHEN A GROUP OR AN INDIVIDUAL,
OVER TIME, DISRUPTS THE ATTACHMENT PROCESS OF ANOTHER GROUP. THE ORGANISED DEFENSIVE RESPONSES
TO THIS VIOLATION OF ATTACHMENT IN THE FORM OF PROTEST, DESPAIR, OR DETACHMENT IS A REASONABLE
FORM OF THERAPY, ALBEIT A NEGATIVE ONE, THAT IS USED AS A REPARATIVE PROCESS FOR RESTORING
CONFIDENCE IN THE ATTACHMENT BOND. THE STARTING POINT TO RESOLVING THE ISSUE OF RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE
WOULD BE TO AMPLIFY THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE HUMAN BRAIN IN CREATING TOXIC PREJUDICES AND
EXPECTATIONS FROM WHICH DEFENSIVE RESPONSES ARE INITIATED. TO THIS END, THERE IS A NEED TO IDENTIFY
THE WAYS IN WHICH ATTACHMENT DISRUPTIONS ARE EXECUTED IN THE MODERN WORLD IN ORDER TO
UNDERSTAND THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE CAN CONCEPTUALISE AND PROBLEMATIZE THE CONFLICTS THAT HAVE
NOW BEEN LABELLED ‘RELIGIOUS’, ‘POLITICAL’, AND ‘VIOLENT’ (ADAPTED FROM: COUNTED, 2017, P.102)
“
“

33. THANK YOU
VICTOR UDOKA COUNTED
victor@counted.org.uk
www.counted.org.uk