Freud And Religion

Freud argued that religions originate in the unconscious needs, longings and fantasies of human minds. His work has served to highlight how any analysis of religion must explore mental life, both the cognitive and the unconscious. 'Freud on Religion' examines Freud's complex understanding of religious belief and practice. The book brings together contemporary psychoanalytic theory and case material from Freud's clinical practice to illustrate how the operations of the unconscious mind support various forms of religious belief, from mainstream to occult. 'Freud on Religion' offers a new way of understanding Freud's thinking and demonstrates how valuable psychoanalysis is for the study of religion.

In this outstanding book, originally published in 1997, and subsequently translated into many languages, Michael Palmer presents a detailed and comparative study of the two most famous theories of religion in the history of psychology: those of Freud and Jung. The first part of the book analyses Freud's claim that religion is an obsessional neurosis—a psychological illness fueled by sexual repression—and the second part considers Jung's rejection of Freud's theory and his own assertion that it is the absence of religion, not its presence, which leads to neurosis. Originally given as a series of lectures at Bristol University, this Classic edition of Freud and Jung on Religion is important reading for general and specialist readers alike, as it assumes no prior knowledge of the theories of Freud or Jung and is an invaluable teaching text.

Offers a revised psychoanalytic theory of religion by sifting through the history of psychoanalytic models in dialogue with their multidisciplinary critiques.

Choice Essential Read Did God create man or did man create God? In this book, Dianna Kenny examines religious belief through a variety of perspectives – psychoanalytic, cognitive, neuropsychological, sociological, historical and psychiatric – to provide a coherent account of why people might believe in God. She argues that psychoanalytic theory provides a fertile and creative approach to the study of religion that attempts to integrate religious belief with our innate human nature and developmental histories that have unfolded in the context of our socialization and cultural experiences. Freud argued that religion is so compelling because it solves the problems of our existence. It explains the origin of the universe, offers solace and protection from evil, and provides a blueprint about how we should live our lives, with just rewards for the righteous and due punishments for sinners and transgressors. Science, on the other hand, offers no such explanations about the universe or the meaning of our lives and no comfort for the unanswered longings of the human race. Is religion a form of wish-fulfilment, a collective delusion to which we cling as we try to fathom our place and purpose in the drama of cosmology? Can there be morality without faith? Are science and religion radically incompatible? What are the roots of fundamentalism and terror theology? These are some of the questions addressed in God, Freud and Religion, a book that will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychologists and psychotherapists, students of psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy and theology and all those with an interest in religion and human behaviour. Dianna Kenny is Professor of Psychology at the University of Sydney, Australia. She is the author of over 200 publications, including six books.

Compares and contrasts the beliefs of two famous thinkers, Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis, on topics ranging from the existence of God and morality to pain and suffering.

The psychoanalytic approach to religion has changed radically during the course of the twentieth century. In both clinical and theoretical work in psychoanalysis, developments have taken place that frequently are not noted by persons who assume that all that can be said has been said by Freud. The study of religious phenomena, persons, events and traditions has always been a substantial part of applied psychoanalysis and here also major developments have taken place. It is no exaggeration to state that the scientific study of religion has been revolutionized by the integration of psychological perspectives, including the field of psychoanalysis. This volume differs from other recent publications on the topic of psychoanalysis and religion in drawing upon the entire field of psychoanalytic involvement with religion. It is interdisciplinary in approach and unlike other books on the topic brings together an exceptional combination of theoretical, empirical and clinical studies. No other book provides integrated examples of all three types of work.

The book consists of three essays and is an extension of Freud’s work on psychoanalytic theory as a means of generating hypotheses about historical events. Freud hypothesizes that Moses was not Hebrew, but actually born into Ancient Egyptian nobility and was probably a follower of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian monotheist. Freud contradicts the biblical story of Moses with his own retelling of events, claiming that Moses only led his close followers into freedom during an unstable period in Egyptian history after Akhenaten (ca. 1350 BCE) and that they subsequently killed Moses in rebellion and later combined with another monotheistic tribe in Midian based on a volcanic God, Jahweh. Freud explains that years after the murder of Moses, the rebels regretted their action, thus forming the concept of the Messiah as a hope for the return of Moses as the Saviour of the Israelites. Freud said that the guilt from the murder of Moses is inherited through the generations; this guilt then drives the Jews to religion to make them feel better.