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Psychoanalysis and Religion

Author	Erich Fromm
Language	English
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Yale University Press
Publication date	1950
Publication place	United States of America
Pages	119
ISBN	0-300-00089-8
Dewey Decimal	131.34 F932p

Psychoanalysis and Religion is a 1950 psychoanalytic treatise that attempts to explain the purpose and goals of psychoanalysis in relation to ethics and religion. It was the third book written by mid-20th Century social psychologist and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm.

Forward

In the forward to the first edition, Fromm explains that Psychoanalysis and Religion is a continuation of the thoughts he expressed in his 1947 book Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics. He states that he is not asserting that his thesis applies to all researchers and practitioners in the field of psychoanalysis.

In an updated forward to a 1967 printing, Fromm indicates that he believed the work had held up despite advances made over the intervening years, and he made no changes.

Psychoanalysis and Religion

According to an early reviewer, Fromm wrote Psychoanalysis and Religion in "an effort to reconcile the faith of the scientist with the ageless belief of man in the goodness and omnipotence of the Absolute...."

As evidenced by this and his other works, Fromm was fascinated by the psychological aspects of religion and what seemed to be a ubiquitous need for religion by humans. Fromm postulated an explanation for this phenomenon, that people respond to and are comforted by the structure and discipline of church authority. Religion helps people to find fellowship and some modicum of control over their lives, and is thus a defense against feelings of powerlessness and loneliness. "To some people return to religion is the answer, not as an act of faith but in order to escape an intolerable doubt; they make this decision not out of devotion but in search of security." (Fromm 1950, p. 4) Self-awareness, with its potential for causing acute emotional feelings, can be frightening and overwhelming. Religion may serve to help ameliorate such fears.

In discerning the positive and negative effects of religion on individuals, Fromm drew a distinction between authoritarian and humanistic religions. Authoritarian religious entities promulgate the belief that humans are at the mercy of an omnipotent God, whereas humanistic ones promote the belief that the power of God is visible in the mane of the individual. According to Fromm, authoritarian religions disserve the individual by denying their individual identities, while humanistic ones provide for personal validation and growth.

While Fromm provided for the possibility that religion could be a positive influence in an individual's life, perhaps facilitating happiness and comfort, his critique serves mainly to condemn, at a very basic level, most religious orders, especially those orders most commonly practiced in Western culture. Accordingly, Fromm's thesis is rejected by most theologians. Unfortunately, such rejection is mainly on theological rather than psychoanalytic grounds, and therefore not sufficient to discredit Fromm's critique.

See also

• Psychology of religion

References

1. Fromm, Erich (1950). Psychoanalysis and Religion. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300000898. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
2. Millet, John (1952). "Psychoanalysis and Religion" (PDF). Psychosomatic Medicine. XIV (3): 233–235. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
3. ^ Burger, Jerry (2007). Personality. Stamford, CT, USA: Cengage Learning. pp. 122–123. ISBN 0495097861. Retrieved 10 February 2010.

• 1950 books
• American psychologists
• Books about psychoanalysis
• Philosophical literature
• Philosophy of religion
• Yale University Press books
• Works by Erich Fromm