Sigmund Freud And Machiavelli's Role Of Religion And Society

As the longest lasting Empire in history to date, Machiavelli had great admiration for the Roman Empire and believed that it was virtuous in all things. Machiavelli held a strong belief in the importance of religion to the formation of a republic or any other type of governing power. According to him, no laws were good enough, by themselves, to make people good. Only through religion and religious oaths could a power structure hope to stay secure for extended periods of time. He says, “it is necessary to whoever disposes a republic and orders laws in it to presuppose that all men are bad, and that they always have to use the malignity of their spirit whenever they have a free opportunity for it” (D1 3.1). The Roman religion focused on the glory of the world, and the “strength of the body, and all other things capable of making men very strong” (D2 2.2). He viewed religion solely as a tool to make more ignorant people malleable to the wishes of the great

Rather, he would see both groups, and religion in general, as useful only as a means to an end. Appearing to be part of an organization such as religion can help a leader gain respect and appeal to a larger demographic. But behind closed doors, a leader’s ability to dissociate from the public’s perception of them and solely pursue political gain gives them an edge. Moreover, while More acknowledges that total trust is unrealistic through the meaning of the word “utopia,” Machiavelli extends this idea, characterizing betrayal as an irremovable part of mankind. In regards to religion, he says that “because [men] are wicked, and they would not observe faith for you, you too do not have to observe it for them” (Machiavelli 92).

Religion is universal. Although people may have different ideologies and practices, everyone believes in something, whether they deem it their religion or not. In this way, religion is a powerful connection between all of humanity; thus, it is important to understand the people behind religion and how their unique characteristics correlates with and influences religion—whether that be their social class, ethnicity, gender, or politics. However, ethnicity and gender, along with the closely linked topics of sexuality and politics, are the most significant concepts to understand religion in our modern world.

Religion is a species-specific human universal phenomenon, complex, full of paradoxes, and found in all cultures. Social scientists and anthropologists since the late 17th century have attempted to rationally answer questions about religion, and while we can't evaluate the veracity of religion’s claims, we can attempt to understand its functions.

The meaning of religion is something that scholars, along with society at large, have attempted to define for centuries. Although the term cannot truly have one solid meaning, it is clear that religion is much more than a set of beliefs and practices. In Religion: The Basics, author Mallory Nye discusses his approach to studying religion. In arguing that culture and religion strongly influence each other, he explains that those studying religion must make people and culture their focus, as variations even within the same religions exist and must be considered. Moreover, Nye explains how religion is, essentially, a universal concept, as it takes form in an array of shapes across the globe. With Nye’s argument, I have developed new insights

In Machiavelli’s model, the church was not going to be a factor. He believed that you should love the state more than your soul. At times, it is necessary to do a morally bad thing in order to preserve the state. It is in these times, Machiavelli believed, that it was more important to preserve the state than your own morality.

Since the dawn of time, religion has been the staple of humanity. It has been our explanation for the unexplainable, as well a way for us to form a community with those around us. Due to the natural diversity of humans, a varied set of separate religions has formed throughout the world. Religions continue to adapt and inspire each other, however, they all have their differences, as well as internal differences through the observations of each believer.

Religion is meant to be a solid force, helping society to bond better and progress in a civilized manner. For the same purpose, religion, with its laws and codes of conduct, monitors peoples’ way of life to ensure that humanity remains

His book criticized the church by discrediting the church as a divine power and claiming it is a state power. He begins to write about the French and how they "do not understand the state because if they understood, they would not have let the Church come to such greatness" (Machiavelli 16). Machiavelli states how the state should be the most powerful authority and not the Church. Rather than seeing the Church as a partner, Machiavelli advises princes how they should see the Church as competition. Past leaders have claimed the Church as partners, such as Theodosius I, who made Christianity the state church of Rome. He does not credit the Church as a divine power, but a state. In addition, Machiavelli continues to criticize and question the Church's authority when speaking about Pope Alexander VI. Machiavelli states "Then Alexander VI arose; of all the pontiffs there have ever been he showed how far a pope could prevail with money and forces" (Machiavelli 46). Machiavelli goes on to state how Pope Alexander VI highlighted the Church's ability to gain power the same way a state gains power. He discredits the Church as a divine power, for which God granted the power, and credits it as a state, for which money and forces granted the power. The Church's criticism was influenced by the Renaissance, for which individuals wanted to create texts where the reader can become

Religion has been a powerful force in human history because mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods

Religion supports the political authority and social elites through enabling fear to the lower classes of society. It provides the leaders of these civilizations the ability to produce fear in the lower classes of religious retribution, painting their idols as ruthless beings who when summoned, would end one's life at the hand's of the leader(s). Only the social elites have the ability to provide this religious retribution, thus allowing them to have control over the lower classes. However, this is not always the case. The adoption of certain religions by political leaders actually limited their restrictive rule over the lower classes.Many of the elite followed the demands of their religion, thus not allowing themselves the opportunity to more

Sigmund Freud was a psychologist known as the ‘father of psychoanalysis’ who believed that our sense of moral understanding is a result of the conditioning of a growing being.

Religion has been a powerful force in human history. Mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep-seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods that people envisioned, imagined or invented. Religious belief systems have been a powerful force for good and bad...good in the sense that it provided a measure of individual behavior and order in society for the wellbeing of the whole, but bad in the sense that men of ambition who craved power and control over others would often use religion as a tool of manipulation and fear. A casual glance of history tells us that complete civilizations have been built, grown and maintained around elaborate religious systems, ancient Egypt being a prime example.

Niccolò Machiavelli thoroughly discusses the importance of religion in the formation and maintenance of political authority in his famous works, The Prince and The Discourses. In his writing on religion, he states that religion is beneficiary in the formation of political authority and political leaders must support and endorse religion in order to maintain power. However, Machiavelli also critiques corrupt religious institutions that become involved in politics and in turn, cause corruption in the citizenry and divisions among the state. In the following essay, I will examine Machiavelli’s analysis of religion and discuss the relationship between religion and politics in Machiavelli’s thought.

This brings my analysis to the subject of religion and its relationship with political authority. Machiavelli feels religion is a double edged sword where an excess of it in government is harmful but the appearance that it is part of government is not only beneficiary, but necessary. Machiavelli writes that a political leader, "…should appear, upon seeing and hearing him, to be all mercy, all faithfulness, all integrity, all religion. And there is nothing more necessary than to seem to possess this last quality." (The Prince Chapter XVIII) Machiavelli's argument centers around his assertion that having all these qualities and employing them at all times is harmful because a leader often has to resort to contradictory measures in order to