Freud - AO1

How did Freud view religion overall?

Freud saw religion as an illusion created by psychological needs, not a response to a real God.

What did Freud mean by calling religion an “illusion”?

An illusion is a belief driven by wish-fulfilment rather than evidence; it may be false or true, but is not based on reason.

What human needs does religion fulfil according to Freud?

Protection, comfort, justice, meaning, and relief from fear, suffering, and death.

Why did Freud think religion was harmful?

It discourages rational thought and emotional maturity by encouraging dependence on false comfort.

How does Freud explain belief in God psychologically?

God is a projection of the idealised father figure from childhood.

Why is the father figure so important in Freud’s theory?

The father represents authority, protection, and discipline, which humans continue to crave as adults.

How does childhood helplessness link to religion?

Humans feel powerless as children and later recreate this dependency through belief in a divine father.

How does Freud explain prayer?

Prayer reflects a childlike desire to communicate with a protective authority figure.

What is the superego?

The part of the psyche that internalises parental and social rules and enforces morality.

How does Freud link religion to the superego?

Religious moral laws mirror the authority of the superego, controlling behaviour through guilt and fear.

Why did Freud think religious morality was unnecessary?

Mature individuals should develop ethical behaviour through reason, not fear of punishment.

What is Totem and Taboo about?

Freud’s speculative theory about the origins of religion and morality in early human society.

What is the “primal horde” theory?

Early human societies were dominated by a powerful father who controlled women, and ate the best food.

What happens to the primal father?

The sons kill him out of resentment while feeling reverence towards him (ambivalence).

How does this link to religion?

The sons feel guilt and recreate the father symbolically through gods and moral laws.

What is the totem?

A symbolic animal representing the murdered father.

Why is guilt important in Freud’s explanation of religion?

Religion develops as a way to cope with collective guilt and regulate behaviour.

What happened to Moses according to Freud?

He was murdered by his followers.

How does his theory of Moses’ death support Freud’s theory of religion?

Religion develops from guilt over killing authority figures, reinforcing the father-God concept.

What is the Oedipus complex?

A stage in early childhood where a male child unconsciously desires their mother and feels rivalry and fear toward their father.

At what stage does the Oedipus complex occur?

During the phallic stage of psychosexual development (around ages 3–6).

What is castration anxiety?

The boy’s unconscious fear that the father will punish him for desiring the mother.

How is the Oedipus complex resolved?

The child represses desire for the mother and identifies with the father instead.

What psychological structure develops from this resolution?

The superego — the internalised moral authority of the father.

How does the Oedipus complex link to belief in God?

God represents the internalised father figure formed through resolving the Oedipus complex.

Why does Freud think God is both feared and loved?

Because the father is both a source of protection and punishment in childhood.