The Future of an Illusion

In The Future of an Illusion, Freud’s psychoanalysis of religion is the culmination of a lifelong thought pattern that started in the early eighteenth century. Freud examines human nature and the role of religion in society, proclaiming that human instincts are destructive to civilization and must be restrained to maintain an orderly society. Religion, viewed as a set of false beliefs based on human desires, manifests as a God-like father figure to a helpless child, whose survival is dependent upon delusional beliefs for independence, security, and incentives for good behavior. Declaring religion and science as mortal enemies, Freud concludes that civilization can only be redeemed through new constructions of existence and ideas motivated by science.