Religion as Delusion
Sigmund Freud, Psychoanalysis, and Religious Obsession
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Sigmund Freud is a seminal figure in the history of human thought. Humanity has suffered from three principle types of narcissism: the belief that we are the center of the universe, the belief that we are the center/goal of nature and the belief that we are always "master of our own house." Copernicus , Darwin and Freud, respectively, were certainly not the first people to dispel those notions, but their names will be forever linked with the progress away from narcissism and towards knowledge
Born on May 6, 1856 in Freiberg, he was later driven by a "greed for knowledge" to the faculty of medicine at the University of Vienna - hoping not to become a conventional physician, but to conduct philosophical-scientific investigations into some of the great riddles about human nature.
Freud, Atheism, and Judaism
At all times, Freud was an unrepentant nonbeliever. Although most people are aware of that essentially created the field of psychiatry, very few realize how much he crusaded against religion - something which he considered an obstacle to human intelligence and maturity.Freud's Historical Critique of Religion
The application of historical psychological critique to religious beliefs and religion is well exemplified in Totem and Taboo (1913) and Moses and Monotheism (1938), respectively. Both can be wildly speculative. One particular problem was that he relied not on Darwinian evolutionary theories, but instead on the since discredited ideas of Lamarck. Freud believed that primal events had left "ineradicable traces in the history of humanity."Psychological Analysis of Religion: Helplessness
A number of different psychological motives underlying religious impulses are discussed throughout Freud's works. A principle component for Freud was the feeling of helplessness, occurring in a number of different areas, namely external dangers, internal impulses, death, and society.Obsessions, Illusions and Delusions
An important form of helplessness against which religion acts is, according to Freud, our helplessness before our own internal and uncontrollable desires. Freud made much of the similarities between religious rituals and obsessional rituals (for example, the compulsive need to wash your hands in a specific pattern every time), the latter of which functioned to protect the ego from the emergence of fantasies, desires, and especially sexual impulses which were normally repressed.Freud's Response to Apologetics
At times, religious people do make an attempt, or as Freud saw it a pretense, of offering rational verification of wishful thinking in the form of "proofs" of their gods. Freud recognized this, and thus spent some time examining them.Responses to and Critiques of Freud
Although there have been many unjustified attacks on Freud's work, there are also many reasonable criticisms. For one thing, despite the fact that he framed his ideas about religion in a general way, the fact remains what he did say can only apply really to traditional monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Polytheistic religions, pantheistic religions, panentheistic religions, atheistic religions, and even religions which focus on a mother goddess simply are not susceptible to his commentaries.
Further Reading:
Freud, Sigmund. The Future of an Illusion
Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents
Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo
Freud, Sigmund. Moses and Monotheism
Gay, Peter. Freud: A Life for Our Time
Storr, Anthony. Freud
