摘要：Religious studies form an important part of research in several humanities. The “grand theory of religion” has to be capable to encompass all relevant characteristics observable in the religions both of tribal societies and civilizations. It has to refer these empirical elements such as belief in divinities, belief in the immortality of the soul, divine government of reality, punishment and reward on earth and in afterworld, prayers and sacrifices, etc. to common structures that can be deduced from one comprehensive theory. The following essay demonstrates that only developmental psychology has all the tools available in order to formulate the grand theory of religion that fulfils the necessary requirements. Developmental psychology can refer the main particularities of religiousness and religion to those characteristics, which are parts of certain psycho-cognitive structures developmental psychology has detailed. Thus, the grand theory of religion entails a full theory of agnosticism and atheism, too.
