1. Theme 2 Philosophy of Religion
Challenges to religious belief
Religious belief as a product of the human mind – booklet 2

2. Religious belief as a product of the human mind – Sigmund Freud:
Religion as an illusion and/or a neurosis with reference to collective neurosis; primal horde; Oedipus complex; wish fulfilment and reaction against helplessness.
Supportive evidence including reference to redirection of guilt complexes and reference to instinctive desires deriving from evolutionary basis (Charles Darwin).
Challenges including lack of anthropological evidence for primal horde; no firm psychological evidence for universal Oedipus complex; evidence basis too narrow. c

3. RELIGION AND PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology - the scientific study of the human mind
Religion - the God of Classical Theism is the creator of the world. Psychology leads to a different conclusion- God is a construct of the mind
Psychologists ask not, “Does God exist?” but “Why are people religious?” Religious belief can be explained without requiring God.
RELIGION AND PSYCHOLOGY

4. Sigmund Freud ( )
Carl Gustav Jung ( )
These two men knew each other, and in fact Jung had been a follower of Freud. They shared many theories in common. They both, for instance, believed that the human mind contained ‘unconscious material’ , of which we are mostly unaware on a day-to-day basis, and they were interested to explain why human beings are religious.

5. Reductive and non-reductive explanations for religion
REDUCTIVE EXPLANATIONS: Try to show why humans engage in such meaningless activity which has no basis in reality - religion is a function or product of the human mind.
NON-REDUCTIVE: People are religious as a result of revelation, religious experience and enlightenment. Although religious people may accept that the mind plays a part in religion, they would be unlikely to accept that religion can be ‘explained away’ simply in terms of how the human mind works.

6. Sigmund Freud (The Father of Modern Psychology) (1856 - 1939)
Born into Secular Jewish family (a Jew but by culture only – an atheist).
Studied in Vienna – specialised in neurology
1886 opened a medical practice. Developed treatment of psychoanalysis.
He has a peaceful family life with wife and six children, despite being a neurotic and obsessive character.
Much of his work burned by the Nazis as it went against their thoughts that insane people were impure – Freud believed they could be treated and disagreed with the T4 programme (Nazi euthanasia for mentally and physically disabled)
Said memories locked away in the unconscious mind can later surface as neurosis

7. Religious belief as a product of the human mind
The human mind creates beliefs and images to satisfy basic longings
These beliefs are created in our unconscious mind

8. The unconscious mind:
Is, the part of the mind we cannot always access We hold many of our unwanted thoughts in our unconscious mind i.e. Guilt, shame, trauma and desires

9. Defence mechanisms:
We use forms of defence mechanisms to protect ourselves psychologically
This creates an inner conflict, which then causes neurosis (anxiety)
We need to overcome this inner conflict

10. Psychological conflict is within ourselves,
So, religion is seen as a collective neurosis (anxiety caused by unconscious thoughts)
Helplessness and fear of natural forces
God thus becomes a:
“Projected Father figure”
We need him as a source of protection, but also as a source of fear and guilt

11. So, we create the illusion of God and religion to help us deal with the problems in our unconscious mind
So believing in God is a form of:
“wish fulfilment”

12. Why does this happen? Because…people look for meaning in life
Difficult to accept death will come
So it’s comforting to believe there is an after life
Freud suggests the illusion of religion is no better than creating an imaginary friend
A collective neurosis is a neurotic illness that afflicts all people
So, religious behaviour i.e. going to church is like a form of mass hysteria

13. Applying some of Freud’s concepts: The libido:
is our unconscious sexual drive
It forms our basic urges such as sex, satisfaction and gratification
Problems arise in childhood where the child (especially males) forms a deep bond with their mothers
Problems develop later due to guilt and fear of the Father

14. Religion as an illusion and/or neurosis; Primal hordes
The theory is based on the principle of: “primal hordes”
Based on “Darwinism”
These were groups of people/societies based around a single dominant male – the alpha male
He had dominance over the group and priority over all the females
Over time- younger members of the horde would have resentment towards him
When older, they would group together to kill him
The relationship is ambivalent (love/hate)
Freud believed this concept affected early human societies

15. Animism: When suffering from extreme guilt
People create idols (totems)
Totems were often natural phenomena i.e. animals, rocks and trees, which were perceived as divine entities
The unconscious mind can project the feelings of guilt onto the idol (or the totem)

16. Animism cont..
Eventually, when the idea of totems became unsatisfactory
Totems were transformed into gods of religions
An example of this is the Christian God
He is worshiped in the same way as the totems were-with reverence but also fear

17. Freud, part 2: Oedipus complex

18. The relevance of Oedipus complex
So, the Oedipus complex is a sexual trauma caused by guilt Freud’s belief is that the guilt has some how been genetically passed on to modern societies Q: But- how does this explain away religion or religious behaviour?

19. Theme 2 D Freud’s theory of religion

20. Instinctive desires deriving from evolutionary basis
Supportive evidence including reference to redirection of guilt complexes and reference to instinctive desires deriving from evolutionary basis (Charles Darwin).
Instinctive desires deriving from evolutionary basis
Evolution – natural selection – Primal horde
Darwin – high sexual drive passed on genetically
Redirection of guilt complexes – Freud’s case studies
hans.html
hans-freud-case.php
Brown (1965) examined the case of Little Hans in detail and provided support for Freud's interpretation – use website above to complete task 16

21. Research:
There have been studies that aim to compare the perceptions of God to perceptions of parents (Father figure)
Hertel & Donahue (1995) found that God was seen as a loving Father, especially with girls; (this relates to the image of the father in the family)
Ullman (1982) found a link between absent Fathers and children who later convert to Christianity
These studies support the concept of God as a “projected Father figure”
See study by Carroll (1983) next slide

22. Carroll (1983)
Found that visions of the Virgin Mary are more common in cultural areas where Fathers tend to be absent
These visions are also far more common among the celibate or unmarried
Creating the assumption the people who have visions are sexually frustrated and therefore religion can be explained as the result of sexual trauma.
This study supports the idea of God as a projected Father figure

23. All the above research appears to support Freud’s explanation of religion and religious behaviour as it illustrates the role of the unconscious mind as the source of the religious beliefs.
The University of Michigan

24. Key Criticisms
Historical and anthropological evidence regarding primal horde
The psychological evidence regarding the Oedipus Complex
Freud’s dependence on a narrow selection of evidence
Freud’s conclusion that religion should be overthrown

25. Essay activity – use sheet Explain the challenges to Freud’s ideas about religion
Freud held a reductionist view of religion, this means that
Freud’s ideas can be challenged and many have been rejected. . .
Freud claimed .. Primal hordes .. Challenged by . . .
Freud stated … Dominate male… Challenges by
Freud believed religion was due to… Oedipus … Challenged by
Freud used a narrow selection of evidence
Freud saw religion as a negative … Challenged by . . .

26. Criticisms of Freud Lack of evidence for the Primal Horde Theory
Some research has supported the idea of repression, but Primal Horde has been totally rejected. Freud’s theory depends on the idea that characteristics are inherited from one generation to the next. There is no evidence for primal patricide (killing of fathers), or for genetic inheritance of guilt and fear.
Have a funny pic here!

27. Anthropological Evidence for Primal Horde
The whole theory of the horde was based on Darwin’s mere speculations. It is now not accepted that people were groups exclusively in hordes. Instead, it is likely that there was much greater variety. Not all societies had totem objects, whom they worshipped, and there is no evidence for the guilty totem meal; the British anthropologist E E Evans-Pritchard ( ) doubts that this ever happened. The idea that guilt is handed down from generation to generation has likewise been discredited.
This criticism damages Freud’s claim that religion is guilt-based because it removes the major source of guilt. The primal crime never happened and could not transmit guilt even it if did. It also weakens the Oedipus Complex theory, since the primal crime was an important illustration of its effects on society.

28. Psychological Evidence for Oedipus Complex page 17
The major critic for Freud’s theory of the Oedipus Complex is Bronislaw Malinowski, in his book Sex and Repression. Freud needed the complex to be universal for it to be the cause of all religion, and needed it to be caused by our natures for it to precede religion and be the cause of it.
Malinowski attacked both these points. First, he pointed to the Trobriand race, where the role of the father is more that of a weak nurse. In this race there is no evidence of the Complex. Their religion, therefore, must have originated elsewhere.
Second, looking at the animal world, he found nothing inherent in the nature of animals that could cause such a complex. The role of both father and mother is one of support. Malinowski argued instead that the Complex is caused by the strict rules of religion – rather than being the cause of them.
This attack on the Oedipus Complex leads to the conclusion that sexual guilt is not in fact the cause of religion. As a result, Freud’s attack on religion does not contain the force it was once believed to have.

29. It is particularly difficult to claim that a repressed Oedipus Complex is behind religion which is focused on a female deity, or in a matrilineal society (were women have authority). Freud is criticised for his male-orientated view of society and religion. He described women as suffering from penis envy, because they were effectively men without a penis!
Part of the Oedipus Complex suffered by men involved fear that they would be castrated in retribution for their sin (i.e. The original killing the father of the Primal Horde). Freud thought that young boys would see women simply as castrated men, thus confirming the boys’ fears!

30. A Narrow Selection of Evidence
Freud’s theories relied on the importance of the father figure, which is developed by the mind into the male God of Judaism or Christianity. They therefore failed to take into account of religions based upon female deities, such as the Egyptian Isis cult, or religions which do not have any single dominant object of worship, such as Buddhism.
They also failed to take into account societies like the Trobriand race, where the father plays an insignificant role in the development of the child. In societies such as these, religion could not be attributed to the tensions with the father, since no such tensions occurred.
Freud can therefore be criticised for constructing a theory to explain the societies and religions with which he was familiar, and ignoring those of others. In a similar way, we can criticise the way he generalised the results of his five cases, assuming that the Oedipus Complex that he detected at work in those instances was in fact at work everywhere.
Biased because atheist.
Cited most of his criticisms on conservative expressions of religious belief

31. Criticisms of Freud Circular and reductionistic
Some people object to Freud’s theory because his starting point is biased – atheism. He is accused of a circular argument, which is biased from the very beginning and seeks to prove its own hypothesis without being objective.
His theory is also reductionistic: it attempts to explain religion away (i.e. To explain why people indulge in this mistaken behaviour) in terms of a discipline which is completely outside of religion (psychology).
A non-reductionistic theory, which tried to look at religion in its own terms, would be preferable.
Freud’s promotion of atheism is in itself a rejection of the father figure (God), in which case his criticism is contradictory and self- defeating!

32. An unjustifiably negative view of religion -18
The British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott ( ), for example, has argued that religion is an essential buffer between the mind and external reality. Religion is useful in that it helps humans develop adapt to their environment by providing a source of comfort and familiarity. The role and value of religion are similar therefore to those of art and music.
Ana-Maria Rizzuto argued that religion is no more of an illusion than science. Both disciplines require us to interpret data and impose order on the world. Freud’s assumption that science has the sole claim to the truth is unacceptable. Rizzuto has therefore argued that Freud has not so much removed the illusion of religion but, rather, replaced religion with an illusion.
Ignored benefits of religion (stimulating social altruism, maintaining morality, developing human potential, sense of contentment)

33. Criticisms of Freud Religion as illusion
Freud may be right and religion may well be illusion – there is no accepted universal truth.
However, Freud is criticised for his simple assumption that illusion is bad and should be abandoned.
Many would argue that ‘illusion’, say in the form of art, imagination and creativity are all positive.
Religion might be a story, but perhaps it is for the good of a culture.
Such ‘illusion’ or ‘hope’ or ‘dreams’ aren’t necessarily madness.
Illusory theory was supported by studies of children’s concepts of God. However, this does not take into account the ‘maturing’ of religious beliefs

34. Criticisms of Freud Religion as universal neurosis
Research has shown that religious people are less neurotic than others (Beit-Hallahmi and Argyle’s book ‘The Psychology of Religious Behaviour, Belief and Experience’ surveys much of this research. Religious people are actually less likely to suffer mental illness, to feel depressed or suicidal, or to be psychotic.
If religion is universal, then it cannot be abnormal. It makes no sense to say ‘most people are abnormal’. ‘Most’ people must define the norm!
Freud is criticised for reducing religion to ritual. Religion is about so much more than ritual observance. In fact in most religions, the performance of rituals in the belief that these will protect from damnation is strongly criticised (1 Cor. 13:2)
He ignored benefits of religion – stimulating social altruism, maintaining morality, contentment

35. Criticisms of Freud Religion as wish fulfilment
Freud saw religion as providing a comfort-blanket. Whilst religious people would argue that religion is at times a great source of comfort, it is not the reason for being religious, at times provides no comfort but in fact encourages persecution Religion also requires facing up to ultimate questions about who we are and what happens when we die – not comforting to all people!
It could also be said that those with their heads in the sand just living lives of pleasure and materialism are really those seeking the comfort-blanket – Maybe we all seek purpose/comfort in something and religion is only one focus for humans to fulfil their wishes?

36. Explain the challenges to Freud’s ideas about religion
Freud held a reductionist view of religion, this means that
Freud’s ideas can be challenged and many have been rejected. . .
Freud claimed .. Primal hordes .. Challenged by . . .
Freud stated … Dominate male… Challenges by
Freud believed religion was due to… Oedipus … Challenged by
Freud used a narrow selection of evidence
Freud saw religion as a negative … Challenged by . . .

37. Challenges to Freud
“Almost all the evidence that Freud presents has been discredited in one way or another” (Palmer in Freud and Jung on Religion)

38. Freud’s conclusion:
In his follow up writing: The future of an illusion; Freud (1927) concludes: “If men are taught that there is no almighty and all just God, no divine order and no future life, they will feel exempt from obligation to obey the precepts of civilisation. Everyone will follow his asocial instincts… and chaos will come again.” Activity: What do you think Freud means by this? Write down in your own words

39. Essay planning – three possible questions to plan
Examine Freud’s ideas view of religious belief. –Explain the evidence used to support Freud’s ideas about religion Explain the challenges to Freud’s ideas about religion – Done Explain Freud’s idea that religion is a neurosis (sample answer on A3 sheet) All summarised on the A3 sheet
How to approach an AO1 question. Box around the trigger word Underline the focus of the question Glance back at the question as you are answering it.

40. Essays Examine Freud’s explanation of religious belief (20)
To what extent can it be said that ‘Freud simply misunderstood religious belief’? (30)

41. In pairs – listen to each song and explain the link to Freud’s theory of religion.

42. Both reductionist but very different!
Despite their close working relationship, Freud and Jung came to disagree with each other profoundly on certain issues, including the question of whether or not religion was ‘a good thing’, and they finally went their separate ways.
Both Freud and Jung (to some extent) gave reductive explanations of religion, but in different ways.
For Freud religion was an illusion and it was neurosis
For Jung the source of religion was in the human unconscious, but this did not mean that religion was an illusion or that a greater power was not involved in the source of this religion
Therefore, Freud is much more clearly reductionist than Jung.
Freud’s thought is given the label of Psychoanalysis and Jung’s is called Analytical Psychology