Drew Cunningham

Dr. Barnsley
REL-1014
2 October 2015
Freud Response
Sigmund Freud was a foundational thinker in the field of psychology, and in particular
psychoanalysis. Freuds assessment of religion is one that is not positive in the slightest. He
actually goes so far as to say, Religion wouldbe the universal obsessional neurosis of
humanity (Pals 87). This neurosis is the underlying anxiety of society and religion is an illusion
that is used to placate the masses. Freud believes that the neurosis of religion grew out of the
primeval oedipal complex of groups. In ancient societies the small bands of humans were
centered on an alpha male that was the father. This father would suppress the males of the group
and possess the women only for his sexual activity. The other males being repressed would
overthrow the father and kill him to liberate themselves from the tyranny of the father, and thus
fulfill their repressed desires for their mothers.
How this plays out in the way of religion is that the overcoming of the father becomes
celebrated as the sacrifice of a totemic animal. This commemoration is used to alleviate the
collective anxieties of the group after the killing of the father. Religion grew out of this totemism
and it is continued suppression of societal woe. For Freud, the priesthood is the way in which
this neurosis has been continued throughout the ages. Each religion has its own way of
perpetuating itself, but Freud believes that regardless of the individual religion, it grows out of an
Oedipus complex. Ultimately, religion is an illusion that has suppressed anxieties for the masses
through the ages.