The Future Of An Illusion Analysis

Julio Casillas

Dr. Stephen Campagna-Pinto

Religious Studies 290, Section 1

16 February 2015

Adults are like Children, Lost

According to some, religion is the drive of civilization, but to others, it is what holds back an improving society. Socially, religion is counterproductive to a society who is in pursuit of improvement according to psychologist Sigmund Freud. Freud states in his book, The Future of an Illusion, multiple theories as to why religion is a core belief in society. One of his theories explains the differentiation between Nature and Fate, and how society has constructed the two in human terms. If there were no restrictions against acting to appease one’s instinctive needs, and one could kill whoever they wanted to or abduct anyone

This transforms the apprehending ideal of inevitable, celestial phenomenon into beings which can be negotiated with, spoken to, and satisfied (21). These divine entities or ethereal beings are also given several rights and pleasures, which can be stripped from them (22). In retrospect, gods were one of society’s earliest inventions, since, like a weapon, they were tools for doing, believing, and feeling. For instance, a police officer will use their gun whenever a criminal is endangering the lives of many. The officer will shoot the suspect, people will then believe they have survived another day, and in result society is feeling confident that they are protected from crime. Similarly, an invention of god(s) permits society to justify killing, for people to believe they’re protected, and to receive a false hope about the religious world. So, by pinning human characteristics on these divine beings in order to allow people to persuade themselves of communication with Nature and Fate, these humanistic forces ceased to be so alarming (22). Similar to the adult who looks to the anthropomorphic Nature and Fate for solace, compassion, self-esteem, purpose, and empowerment, so too does the child look to the father for equivalent importance. This is where the natural forces translate the divine, or the gods or demons, into a father

Religion can answer questions about some of the most important issues in a person’s life which is seen as a satisfactory response to the individual (23). Historically, this conversion toward morality means that the impact of god(s) or of religion has altered toward the interaction between the individual and society (23-24). In result of this conversion: the rules concerning communication within society were revealed as undisputable, and the difficulties of civilization were used by religionists in order to advertise their god(s) as an answer that offers a complete religious world-view (23-25). When someone is learning something whether it be in school or just a lesson in life, there is usually a presentation of reasoning as to why a person should believe it. A source of knowledge is also a way of regulating a