Freuds Personal Position and Understanding of Religion - Essay Example

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 penalties and that even up to the present, society criticizes anybody who questions religion.

According to Freud, 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 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 doctrine, 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 as the ones in the present generation.
Personal Standpoint and Reflection

Nevertheless, the above discussion concerns Freud’s 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. These religions have a philosophy that transcends loyalty to socio-cultural norms: good citizenship is commended but not when the laws of the land are in opposition to the divine will.

Again, Freud, in dismissing the law as man’s construct, fails 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]. Read More