How Does Sigmund Freud View Religion As An Illusion

Freud contradicted everything I had ever learned…. Danny didn’t seem to have rejected what Freud taught” (184-185). Although Freud’s concept of man does not fit Danny’s religious views, he does not decline them.

Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity allowed me to comprehend fully the past occurrences of psychology and theology. The book displayed the faith and confidence that both psychology and Christianity must be combined in order for it to have a better understanding and allowing the client a better chance of healing. In order to do this there must be a complete understanding of each component in and of itself. Entwistle’s (2010) book presented all the facts from history as it has shaped society today (pp. 18-34). As he discussed these historic events, it shows just how the wisdom that is held today is a reflection or reaction of what happened then. Christianity has always had a huge impact on world history

As Nicholi states , “Freud calls his worldview ’scientific’ because of its premise that knowledge only comes from research.” (37) Also, Freud writes that the existence of human suffering is an argument against the existence of God.

Freud's most risky argument deals with the topic of good versus evil. While dealing with the subject of suffering, Freud argues, “And if good is to be chosen then your god who created it also created evil. Allowed Lucifer to live, to flourish, even to compete with him, when logically he should have been destroyed” (33). This is one of the hardest questions a Christian deals with. Not knowing why God would bring such terrible hardship into this world is almost merciless.

Much of organized religion sees a separation of the body and the soul; the body being temporary and the soul being eternal. While that may or may not be the case, in order to cope with impending death, many people use religion as a way to alleviate their fears. As Freud so eloquently notes, “The religions of mankind must be classed among the mass-delusions of this kind. No one, needless to say, who shares a delusion ever recognized it as such.” (Freud 54).

Psychoanalytic criticism originated in the work of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who pioneered the technique of psychoanalysis. Freud developed a language that described, a model that explained, and a theory that encompassed human psychology. His theories are directly and indirectly concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind. Through his multiple case studies, Freud managed to find convincing evidence that most of our actions are motivated by psychological forces over which we have very limited control (Guerin 127). One of Freud’s most important contributions to the study of the psyche is his theory of repression: the unconscious mind is a repository of repressed desires,

Consequently, it is apparent that though Freud is in no way campaigning for religion, the very

from wrong even if they did not believe in a God. According to Freud, humans belonged

In his book Future of an Illusion, Sigmund Freud utilizes his method of psychoanalysis on religion by comparing the relationship between human and religion to that of a child and his parents. Freud effectively demonstrates that religion is a product of the human mind. After exposing religion as a an illusion, Freud concludes that humanity will be better off when it has forgone religion. This paper will argue that Freud's assertion that religion is an illusion is correct because of it's blatantly traceable evolution through the history of the human civilization and psyche.

They both see the values of society as being a result of and necessary for civilization, rather than natural phenomena. Both theorists see guilt as stemming from a restriction of humanity’s natural urges, Nietzsche believing that it was a tool used by the priests to control the masses. Freud on the other hand thought it developed from a repression of humanity’s aggression towards one another. Equally, Freud and Nietzsche show a similar disdain for religion, the former seeing it as a delusional, infantile way to limit the pain and suffering that existence brings with it and the latter, due to what he sees as the transvaluation of values that the Judeo-Christian religions have brought about and the perceived cultural inaction that stems from this. As well as this, Nietzsche disliked the apparent inherited debt that comes with Christianity and the obligated guilt from Christ’s

Freud’s view of human nature from a psychoanalytical stand point was he believed that the contents of an individual’s matters consciousness were determined by psychological, individual and biological motivations Freud, S. (2001).. His worldviews presented interpretations of who the individual was, where they came from, and what their destiny was. On the other hand, Rogers believed the psychoanalytical view humans as never free from primitive passions, childhood fixations, and only the product of powerful biological drives was not flexible enough. Rogers’s foundation of

Sigmund Freud was a well known psychologist whose theories have founded the understanding of the human psyche. Freud’s theory of personality is one of his most known theories. It details that there are three segments of consciousness. The id is desire, immorality and is what drives us to do wrong. The superego exists to counteract and overpower the id, as it is morality, commonly known as our conscious. The ego exists to balance out both extremes and devises a solution to sate each segment. Then there are the defense mechanisms, repression, denial, projection, displacement, regression and sublimation. These are employed by the ego to keep the balance between the id and the superego and to protect the psyche, especially in traumatic times. Last, the Oedipus complex which Freud believed, only exists in children from the ages of 3-5, when they become attracted to

Freud in his writing suggests that religion is an “illusion.” Not your typical deception of something, rather misapprehension of religion. Additionally, Freud provides brand new eyes to look at religion and its construct of civilization. He further provides evidence of his own, as well as suggesting a psychoanalytical approach to religion.

     Ralph Hood (1998), a major figure in American psychology of religion, suggests six psychological schools of thought regarding religion. The psychoanalytical schools draw from the work of Freud, and attempt to reveal unconscious motives for religious belief. Although Freud reduced religious belief to a natural, if ultimately flawed, attempt to cope with life’s stresses; contemporary psychoanalytic interpretations are not necessarily hostile to religious faith. Analytical schools find their inspiration in Jung’s description of spiritual life. Most psychologists, however, consider such descriptions to be undemonstrated by scientific research, and therefore it plays a limited role in psychology. Object relations school also draws from psychoanalysis, but focus their efforts on maternal influences on the child. Each of these three schools rely on clinical case studies and other descriptive methods based on small samples, which runs counter to the prevailing practice of psychology in America. Transpersonal schools attempts to confront spiritually directly, often with the assumption that spiritual phenomena are real. They utilize a variety of methods in an attempt to study transcendent experience. Phenomenological schools focus on the assumptions underlying religious experience and on the commonalties of the experiences. They favor description and critical reflection over experimentation and measurement.

In this text, Freud portrays religions as an obsessional neurosis, in which every human usually experiences. He also compares this obsession with the idea of the Oedipus complex in children. Freud believes that people will eventually grow out of their religious belief, just like a child grows out of his neurotic complex. From my standpoint, I consider believing in religion as an obsession and a tool to overcome any doubt and fear one might have. Human generally wants an answer for everything. Therefore, when people have doubts, they will seek to uncover the truth behind it. But then, religious belief comes in and gives them the desirable answer. Afterward, people become obsessed and take religion passionately. However, science takes place,