Theories of Religion: psychological theories

What are the 3 core elements of Freud's psychological theory?

1. The discovery of the unconscious (Freud's model of the unconscious). 2. Freud's model of personality (Id, Superego, and Ego) 3. The Oedipus Complex

Summarizing religion according to William James

A strong feeling of reality is of something unseen. This unseen in general is something good. James never commits to if this unseen is real or not. He argues that we need to see it to believe it though.

What is Freud's model of the unconscious?

According to Freud the mind/mental apparatus consists of three different parts: 1. Conscious: the contents of this system are conscious 2.Preconscious: the contents of this system are unconscious, but can be recalled if necessary 3.Unconscious: contents of this system are unconscious and cannot be recalled normally

Why has religion survived when: Many of our anxieties about nature have disappeared We can easily realize that gods and our relations to them are projections A better way of thinking, science, has arrived to replace

According to Freud, religion must have powerful resources that are stronger and different from reasoning alone.

In the Future of an Illusion reading what did Sigmund Freud try to show?

Freud tried to show that religious ideas have arisen from the same need as have all the other achievements of civilization: from the necessity of defending oneself against the crushingly superior force of nature.

What ideas did Freud borrow from earlier enlightenment thinkers about religion?

Religion does not originate from god, but individual emotions such especially anxieties. (David Hume) Gods and our imagined relationships to them our projections of our family relationships.(Ludwig Feuerbach) Religion is the result of philosophical evolutionary development and is the stage before that of science.(Tylor Frazer) However, in contrast to these thinkers, Freud took religion very seriously and viewed religious beliefs not as errors but as illusions.

Summarizing Religion according to Jung.

Religion is an existential psychological necessity deeply embedded in the individual and collective unconscious. Only by connecting to these deep unconscious layers can we fully realize ourselves.

What are the reasons Freud believes religion has no future?

Religion is disappearing among the educated, and if we make morality dependent on religion it will disappear with religion When we realize that religious social rules are necessary and not merely imposed on us in order to control and manipulate us, we can regard these rules in a more friendly way. Religion is a stage in the history of mankind like neurosis is in that of a child. To turn away from religion entails the maturing of humanity.

What do James and Jung believe compared to Freud?

Religion is not an illusion Religion is not something we should outgrow Religion is real therefore we should regard it as real

What is the oedipus complex?

in psychoanalytic theory, a desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex and a sense of rivalry with the parent of the same sex; a crucial stage in the normal developmental process. Sigmund Freud introduced the concept in his Interpretation of Dreams

Summarize the future of an illusion

In the future of an illusion Freuds refers to religion as an illusion which is perhaps the most important item in the psychical inventory of a civilization. Freud adds that religion serves as a defense against the crushingly force of nature. Freud concludes that all religious beliefs are illusions and cannot be proven. , religion is an outshoot of the Oedipus complex, and represents man's helplessness in the world, having to face the ultimate fate of death, the struggle of civilization, and the forces of nature.

Explain Moses and Monotheism

Is a book with 3 consecutive title which Freud wrote in the late 1930s. He talked about the first monotheist Amenhotep who changed his name to Akhenaton and got rid of all the other gods in order to worship one god. Moses was a close follower of Akhenaton, and after his death the Egyptian world started following multiple gods again, so Moses turned to a bunch of emigrants (the Jews). After a rebellion the Jews killed Moses. However they later on readopted monotheism because they felt guilty for murdering Moses 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.

What are Jungs beliefs on the unconscious (similarities with Freud)?

Jung believed that only part of our mental life is conscious: the ego. Jung claimed that the unconscious houses repressed ugly material. Jung believed that we connect to the unconscious in different ways.

Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) and its similarities to Freud (William James)

Most of what we do is not driven by reason, but comes from an unconscious drive. What religion really is should therefore be sought in the analysis of this drive rather than in religion's capacity to explain nature.

What is the Id?

The Id is one of three contents making up Freud's model of personality. It is a bundle of instincts aimed only at pleasure and avoiding pain. It is the spoiled brat in our personality. It's selfish, aggressive, and not at all rational. It can never be fulfilled.

What is the superego?

The Superego like the Id is completely irrational because it sets itself impossible standards of moral perfection. It represents the opposite of the Id. It must oppose pleasure in order to establish morality. Parents and society are mostly responsible for it.

Psychology and Freud

The basis of religion is individual psychology Understanding religion is therefore similar to understanding individual psychological phenomena

What are Jungs beliefs on the unconscious (different from freud)?

The characteristics of the personal unconscious form a bridge with the collective unconscious The collective unconscious contains inherited capacities to form symbols, known as archetypes. To get the true creative nature of the unconscious, one must go all the way down into the collective unconscious. The modern man needs psychotherapy because we have lost touch with religion, and have lost the symbolic contact with our unconscious. The only way to achieve mental health is to reconnect with spiritual roots.

What is an archetype?

The concept of a psychological archetype was introduced by Carl Jung. According to Jung, archetypes are innate universal prototypes for ideas and may be used to interpret observations.

New thinking about religion in the modern period was triggered by what two things?

The early modern reformation conflicts and increased contact with other religions due to colonial expansion

What is the ego?

The ego is sensible. It is concerned with the external world of objective reality. Its goal is to find the right balance between the id and the superego. The ego feels threatened by all the pressures put on it, and also feels anxiety. Psychotherapy tries to strengthen the ego within us

How does the modern academic study of religion analyze religion?

The modern academic study of religion analyzes religion as a human phenomenon.

What are the main characteristics of the unconscious?

The unconscious' nature is that it is always repressed, but at the same time it wishes to surface, by pushing up towards the surface. Freud called this the return of the repressed. However, in order to be able to surface, it must undergo certain transformations.

What are these resources?

These resources should be found in event that all groups and persons experience throughout their developments.