- Published: October 4, 2022
- Updated: October 4, 2022
- University / College: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- Level: Undergraduate
- Language: English
- Downloads: 16
Insert Introduction From a casual standpoint, it will appear as if all faiths and spiritualities are ultimately about, or concerned with the same thing. This is especially the case when one considers the Freudian school of thought on religion.
Thesis Statement
It is only man’s fear of the unknown that makes all faiths or spiritualities ultimately about or concerned with the same things; apart from this fear, all religions and faiths observe totally different targets and philosophy.
According to Sigmund Freud, there seems to be indications to the effect that religious or spiritual teachings seem to have a harmonized point of origin and were believed by the present civilization’s primal ancestors. Again, there is the aspect of religions being traditions that have been handed down from old times. Similarly, Freud seems to agree that all religions are the same since it is forbidden to question the authentication of religion. Because of this, Freud points out that any presumptuous thing was met with severest of penalties and that even up to the present, the society criticizes anybody who questions religion.
According to Freud, the society is aware of the shortcomings of religions and this is why it does not tolerate the questioning of religious doctrines. The only reason for obeying religious doctrine is because the ancestors believed in the religious doctrines and ideals. Freud seems to indirectly and cleverly say that religion is a mythical affair founded upon ignorance when he says that people simply obey religion because their forefathers believed in them and that these ancestors were far more ignorant than the current generation is (Freud, 33-5).
Freud continues that he does not deny the truthfulness of religion and the ability to prove the truth of religious doctrine. By the truth of religious doc trine, Freud means that religion contains values that when disobeyed can lead to social breakdown and that the doubts and fears that ancestors had are the same with the ones in the present generation.
Personal Standpoint and Reflection
Nevertheless, the above discussion concerns Freud’s personal position and understanding of religion. It is interesting how Freud, a psychologist develops a standpoint so wide and authoritative on religion, a field that concerns metaphysical beings.
Far from the average idea that all religions are a social construct meant at maintaining and securing social order, not all religions are about the same thing [if the same thing is about maintaining social order]. Some religions such as the Abrahamic faiths [Judaism, Christianity and Islam] are too forward-looking to be concerned about social order. Being good and adhering to social norms cannot be substituted for religious doctrines, in these three faiths. In fact, these religions have a philosophy which transcends loyalty to socio-cultural norms: good citizenship is commended but not when the laws of the land are in opposition to divine will.
Again, Freud, in dismissing the law as man’s construct, fails to take to take to account the reality of the supernatural which accompanies religion. While supernatural occurrences at the micro level may be subject to manipulation, the supernatural at the macro level is not. It takes common sense to note that an entity who declares the rebirth of a nation [in Isaiah 66: 8] into existence, 2, 600 years in advance, to see its fulfillment on May 14, 1948 [in the rebirth of the nation of Israel] is more than the construction of human beings [ancestors] or the society.
Perhaps the only credibility that can be given to Freud’s claim that religions have been founded upon suspicion and fears is the consideration of the fear of the unknown [tomorrow, fate and what lies beyond the grave].
Works Cited
Strachey, James [Trans]. Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion. NY/ London: W. W. Norton & Company, (n. d), 33-5 Print