This article examines the relationship between psychology and religion in the 1920s through a consideration of the careers of Goodwin Watson and Carl Rogers. Both men began their professional lives in the ministry but later switched to psychology. Their decision to go into psychology and their subsequent research program is discussed in relation to the religious and social context of the early 20th century. For Watson and Rogers, psychology was not an abandonment of religious ideals but an assimilation of religion into a scientific framework. Their experience suggests that psychology's growth in the 1920s is partly attributable to the perception that the field could bring certain religious ideals to fruition.
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