BENEATH THE SACRED MIND: A PSYCHOANALYTIC INTERPRETATION OF RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN SELECTED PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT: This study investigates the psychoanalytic dimensions of religious practices observed in selected Pentecostal churches in Ogun State, Nigeria. Using a qualitative interpretive framework grounded in Freudian and neo-Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the research examines worship rituals, prophetic declarations, deliverance sessions, speaking in tongues, and healing ceremonies as psychological phenomena emerging from the unconscious mind. Data were gathered through ethnographic observation, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions conducted across six prominent Pentecostal churches: The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Deeper Life Bible Church, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Daystar Christian Centre, Foursquare Gospel Church, and Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), all located within Ogun State. The study argues that many religious practices in these churches serve as mechanisms of projection, sublimation, transference, and ego defense that help individuals manage anxiety, unconscious desires, and existential fears. The findings reveal that Pentecostal rituals operate as structured expressions of unconscious psychological processes, fulfilling emotional and social needs that secular institutions often fail to address. This paper contributes to the growing literature on psychology of religion in Nigeria and Africa by offering a culturally sensitive psychoanalytic lens that neither dismisses nor uncritically endorses these sacred practices. Keywords: Psychoanalysis, Pentecostalism, Unconscious Mind, Ego Defense, Religious Rituals, Ogun State, Nigeria