The article considers whether religion in general can be viewed as adaptation and if medieval Catholicism in particular can be seen as a reflection of the human necessity to be emotionally attached to a primary caregiver, especially in the early stages of people’s lives. It observes that in a period of high instability and often regressive child-rearing practices, God and/or a special saint could represent a stable and adequate attachment figure, facilitating relationships which contributed to mental well-being of the devotees. The article also suggests that, due to historic circumstances, the proportion of insecure attachment was probably higher among medieval populace than among modern people, and traces the evidence of such attachment style in The Book of Margery Kempe (late 1430s), arguably the first vernacular biography in English.

中文翻译：

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达尔文大教堂，鲍尔比修道院：依恋理论在中世纪宗教研究中的应用，以《玛格丽·肯佩之书》为例

文章考虑了一般宗教是否可以被视为适应，尤其是中世纪的天主教是否可以被视为人类在情感上依附于主要照顾者的必要性，尤其是在人们生命的早期阶段。它观察到，在高度不稳定和经常倒退的育儿做法的时期，上帝和/或特殊的圣人可以代表一个稳定和足够的依恋形象，促进有助于奉献者心理健康的关系。文章还表明，由于历史环境，中世纪民众中不安全依恋的比例可能高于现代人，并在《玛格丽·肯佩之书》（1430 年代后期）中追溯了这种依恋风格的证据，该书可以说是第一个白话文英文传记。