Religion Is A Product Of The Mind

Question 1

Freud fundamentals

Answer 1

• beloved normal people repressed their unconscious desires as theyre socially unacceptable
• they can be substituted satisfaction in dreams (wish fulfilment)
• he was close to his mum and possibly jealous of his father, thought it was universal so named it the Oedipus complex
• believed region was a psychological obsession

Question 2

Why is religion an illusion ?

Answer 2

Because there is no empirical evidence for the existence of God; religion can’t be proven + incomparable with what we know

Question 3

Freud said all features of a religion can be explained in terms of what?

Answer 3

Wish fulfilment

Question 4

What did Frued say in the book Totem and Taboo ?

Answer 4

All religious attitudes of primitives are similar to neurotic obsessions therefore concluded religion is a universal neurotic obsession

Religion is create in the mind to help us overcome; inner psychological conflict, conflict between nature and civilisation, helplessness and fear of natural forces

Question 5

Freud said religion creates a blissful hallucinatory…?

Answer 5

Confusion

Landy is gay

Question 6

Structure religion as a neurosis ?

Answer 6

Religions is illusion/ empirical talk

Wish fulfilment

Totem and Taboo

Blissful hallucinatory confusion

Development of the human mind and personality lead to deeper inner conflict invariably sexual in nature, minds solution to such trauma = lock it away which then re-emerges later in life as religion

Religion provides reason to submit to authority- religion explains our need for suffering (obeying omni God) which promises after life salvation (reward) and makes society seem bearable

Sublimation occurs when our most natural outlet is forbidden which forces libidos to other areas which then occurs in forms of religion and art

Question 7

What is a neurosis ?

Answer 7

Mental illness

Symptoms = obsessions
Causes are opted in the mind

Question 8

Why is religion a collective neurosis ?

Answer 8

Because is affects all people

Question 9

Freud worked with patients with hysteria, what did Freud come to believe as a result of this ?

Answer 9

Johnnie fucked Ruby

• lead F to believe the mind contains unconscious parts

Question 10

Unpleasant memories are trapped in the unconscious in a form neurotic behaviour… example a condition of this ?

Answer 10

OCD

Question 11

Why did Freud relate what he found in studying hysteria to religion? And what did he then conclude ?

Answer 11

Saw similarity in behaviour of his patients and religious people

Concluded therefore religion is a neurosis caused by trauma deep in the mind which includes conscious and unconscious components

Question 12

Religion is an infantile neurosis

Answer 12

Just a Freud quote

Question 13

Explain the Oedipus complex ?

Answer 13

Child is used to having mother’s sole attention, when their libido is transferred to the penis there is already a rival = father = jealousy and hatred to kill father

This hatred = guilt, can’t carry out murder so represses conflict and guilt to subconscious
- desire for mother and ambivalence for father = Oedipus complex

Question 14

How is Oedipus complex linked to religion ?

Answer 14

Belief in God is just a way of compensating for the negative feelings towards the father so religion is made up to help people come to terms with the Oedipus complex

Question 15

Explain Little Hans ?

Answer 15

5 Year old boy who was scared of a horse biting off his Weaner

• Freud concluded Hans fear of horses was a subconscious symbol for his dad who would chemically castrate him if he knew about his incestuous desire for his mum
• Hans phobia was an expression of the Oedipus complex

Question 16

What did F say about the psycho sexual stages ?

Answer 16

During the phallic stage 3-6 yo develops intense sexual love for mum and sees dad as threat so wants to rid of him

Father is bigger and stronger so kid creates
‘ identification with the aggressor’ and try’s to adopt their mannerisms so father sees him as similar and won’t act hostile towards him

Question 17

Critical evaluation of little Hans

Answer 17

• supports Oedipus C
• social desirability bias (father new of friends work)
• case studies lack population validity so may prove the OC exists but not how common it it

Question 18

Primal horde ?

Answer 18

F used Darwin’s work to speculate that in primitive societies the social unit was the ‘primal horde’

Primal horde was where
- groups of people arranged around single dominant male such as Johnnie, who has aim over all the females

Such power lead to

• feeling of ambivalence towards him
• eventually group killed the male but the ambivalent feeling was so strong he became idolised and transformed into the town of the group

Significance ?

• shows Oedipus complex isn’t just a permanent trauma but affected all societies at a historical level
• F said when suffering from extreme guilt the minds defence mechanism is to create totems to which and individual can redirect a feeling of guilt onto e.g prayer

Question 19

What are 3 things we are helpless about ?

Answer 19

Nature - natural disasters

Humans instincts- sexual desires conflicting with society rules

Longing for father- all humans face conflict between liking society and hating it, it protects us but doesn’t let u express desires = conflict = neurosis = helplessness = religion helps by saying god is watching over u and heaven will make it pay off

Question 20

Reaction agaisnt helplessness ?

Answer 20

• religion
• when you grow up you loose authority figure = father so make one up= God helps us believe we’re not powerless against natural forces
• desire to believe cancels out any doubt

Question 21

Scholar support for Freud ?

Answer 21

David Hume said humans constructed religion to help us deal with the misery of life

Feuerbach- stares religion is a childlike condition

Question 22

Explain redirection if guilt complexes ?

Answer 22

Ego uses range of defence mechanisms to deal with life’s problems

Ego is driven by Id which is confined by the superego to bring about harmony upon all the forces

Question 23

Defence mechanisms from the ego are normal but when they get out of proportion neurosis develops, what are the 2 main defence mechanisms ?

Answer 23

Displacement
- redirection of impulse onto powerless substitute target e.g frustrated by his superiors may go home and kick the dog

Sublimation
- same as displacement but knot constructive activity e.g maybe putting out aggression into the gym

Question 24

Who supported the idea of redirection of guilt complexes ?

Answer 24

Carl Roger and Ellis

Question 25

Challenges to Freud ?

Answer 25

• lack of anthropological evidence for primal horde
• been suggested there’s more variety in primitive societies then suggested
• guilt can’t be passed down through generations
• religion can’t be guilt based as this major source of guilt ‘ primal horde never occurred’
• lacks psychological evidence from Oedipus C
• Malinowski said OC can’t be universal as some societies are matrilineal meaning the father has nothing to do wit raising the children
• methodology issues
• psychoanalyst Donald Winicott said Religion is positive

Question 26

Religion is a neurosis ? Arguments for

Answer 26

Religious rituals sometimes similar to OCD ones

No empirical proof they aren’t illusions

People turn to religion for support

Many people believing in God have bad mental health issues e.g Yorkshire Ripper

Question 27

Religion isn’t a neurosis ?

Answer 27

Not always linked to trauma

Based on case studies

Not all religions have rituals

Some come to believe religion through logic

Malinowksi argues religion can cause neurosis and trauma, not other way around

Jung
- said religion can help maintain the balance in the mind called individuation

Jung said religion can’t be caused by repressed sexuality as SZ has no sexual component so religion can’t be a neurosis as Freud said neurosis need a sexual component

Question 28

Freud’s explanation is adequate for explaining religious belief ?

Answer 28

f said religion is illusion and based his theories on real life studies

F said humans must reject any human belief in order to mature, there is no firm proof of religion so it should be rejected

Believe religion results from or actions of primal horde showing God could be a human creation intended to ease our lives

Backed by scholars (name them) Rogers, Darwin, Feuerbach, and Ellis

Seems logical in places e.g in primal horde and jealousy occurs

Question 29

Freud’s explanation is inadequate ?

Answer 29

F provides no proof against God or religion and admits Gods could exist

Donald Winicott argues religion is positive

No firm psychological evidence for universal Oedipus complex (Malinoski)

Small evidence base

Religion can cause trauma not other way around

rizzuto
- religion is no mor elf an illusion than science

Jung rejected baby sucking was sexual so rejected Oedipus complex so explanation is inadequate

Question 30

3 types of conscious suggested by Jung ?

Answer 30

Consciousness- ego

Personal unconscious- underlying thoughts and feelings and urges

Collective unconscious
- inherited and common to all humanity

Question 31

Jung said religion was necessary for personal growth what is the conscious ?

Answer 31

Where we actively make descisions and choices

Question 32

Personal unconscious ?

Answer 32

Freud called this the unsconscious
- thoughts and feelings are difficult to bring into consciousness e.g car journey u take notice of thousands of irrelevant stimuli but it’s all stored here and you can access it through hypnosis

Question 33

Collective unconscious ?

Answer 33

Oldest part of the mind and is inherited- consists of psychological archetypes = identicle psychic structures common to all

Question 34

What are archetypes ?

Answer 34

Comes from Greek ‘arche’ = first and type means pattern

• each one of us is born with the tendency to form basic ideas, primordial images and principles which are created by archetypes e.g parallel between God and light is found in countless religious traditions
• Jung said God is one of these archetypes
• collective unconscious explains why any of our ideas about God will be shared with other people

Question 35

Why do archetypes count as religious experiences ?

Answer 35

Because they are ineffable

Question 36

6 types of archetype ?

Answer 36

The persona - mask we wear to cover our true natures and desires

Shadow

Animus- represent masculine side of a female

Anima- feminine side of a male

Self- guides us through life

God- ‘god within’ helps us create religious images of God as God is a psychological phenomenon

Jung therefore concluded archetype are religious as fit into Rudolph Ottos definition

Question 37

Concluding archetypes

Answer 37

God and the whole of religion exist as a psychic reality but to those experiences my these archetypes God is real but they can’t prove it

God therefore plays the role of maintaining balance of the mind and preventing neurosis through individuation

Question 38

What is individuation ?

Answer 38

‘ becoming ones Own self’- innate process

Associated with the self archetype

Rejected ads view about neurosis being caused by repressed sexuality

Question 39

Go through the process of individuation ?

Answer 39

Lives split into 2 parts

1) up to 35/40 we construct a socially acceptable persona and repress parts of our personality
2) over 40, embrace ourselves, faced with declining opportunities one must find new meaning in life e.g mid life crisis, beneficial but difficult process as may not want to accept parts of our personality
- Jung describes rel exp as numinous and individuation is governed by self archetype so individuation is a religious process
- individuation is about wholeness and unity which is part of religion

Question 40

Kings view on how a neurosis is formed ?

Answer 40

To maintain health all features f personality must be integrated, balance between conscious and unconscious and balance between archetypes, imbalance = mental disorder

Question 41

How do Jung’s theories challenge religious belief ?

Answer 41

Said religion is a positive phenomenon = good for mental health

• doesn’t believe religion = negative neurosis
• religion is constantly evolving help develop personality
• said fried was wrong to reduce religion to sexual libido
• said God is only real to those who experience his archetype
• said religious belief was a natural expression of collective unsconscious

Question 42

Supporting evidence for Jung ?

Answer 42

Donal Winicott a psychoanalyst said religion is positive

Religion is a necessary safety feature that helps prevent disparity between different archetypes

Can’t reject religion as main component in individuation so prevent neurosis

Question 43

Challenges to Jung ?

Answer 43

Similar ideas sent down to innate archetypes but due to humans sharing broadly the same experiences (not surprising we develop myths)

Jung tried to provide evidence for archetypes using Miss Miller study and a male SZ so claimed widespread nature of shared ideas must be innate - it’s not persuasive enough to argue when a phenomenon is found in far ranging places that it means they’re innate - cultural actors easily explain this phenomenon e.g spread of religion in pop culture and art

J claimed archetypal images are religious as external to person and can’t be accessed - been criticised for suggesting any vision is religious, Martin Buber claims collective unconscious isn’t external to the person and experiences arriving from collective unconscious can’t be described as religion

J suggested God is a subjective phenomenon
- damages religion saying God isn’t objective reality, therefore reducing religion to wish fulfilment and delusion