Compares and contrasts the beliefs of two famous thinkers, Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis, on topics ranging from the existence of God and morality to pain and suffering.

Choice Essential Read Did God create man or did man create God? In this book, Dianna Kenny examines religious belief through a variety of perspectives – psychoanalytic, cognitive, neuropsychological, sociological, historical and psychiatric – to provide a coherent account of why people might believe in God. She argues that psychoanalytic theory provides a fertile and creative approach to the study of religion that attempts to integrate religious belief with our innate human nature and developmental histories that have unfolded in the context of our socialization and cultural experiences. Freud argued that religion is so compelling because it solves the problems of our existence. It explains the origin of the universe, offers solace and protection from evil, and provides a blueprint about how we should live our lives, with just rewards for the righteous and due punishments for sinners and transgressors. Science, on the other hand, offers no such explanations about the universe or the meaning of our lives and no comfort for the unanswered longings of the human race. Is religion a form of wish-fulfilment, a collective delusion to which we cling as we try to fathom our place and purpose in the drama of cosmology? Can there be morality without faith? Are science and religion radically incompatible? What are the roots of fundamentalism and terror theology? These are some of the questions addressed in God, Freud and Religion, a book that will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychologists and psychotherapists, students of psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy and theology and all those with an interest in religion and human behaviour. Dianna Kenny is Professor of Psychology at the University of Sydney, Australia. She is the author of over 200 publications, including six books.

Vitz psychoanalyzes Freud's motivation to reject religion.

While psychiatry is not much interested in existential pain, and Christian theologians are not concerned with disorders of the brain, Dan Blazer thinks they should be. "Freud vs. God" aims to rekindle the debate between the soul and the mind, between Christianity and psychiatry. This important and provocative book is a "must" read for all psychiatrists, theologians, pastors, counselors, and interested laypersons.

In this highly acclaimed book, one of the most prominent theologians in the world offers a theological and psychoanalytic assessment of Freud’s atheism and of its implications for current psychoanalytic practice. In the original section of the book, now entitled "God--An Infantile Illusion?,” Hans K�ng traces Freud’s views on religion and religious longing, compares Jung’s and Adler’s attitudes toward religion, shows that Freud’s arguments against the existence of God are theologically unsound, and concludes with a frank and provocative discussion of what psychoanalysis may be able to teach the Christian Church. In a new section, "Religion--The Final Taboo?,” K�ng points out that religions still plays a negligible role in the practice of psychoanalysis, despite its increasing importance in the lives of most people. Has religion replaced sex, K�ng asks, as an integral facet of human experience ignored or repressed by the very profession that seeks to enlighten? Reviews of the first edition: "This should stand as one of Dr. K�ng’s finest works.”--Edmund Fuller, Wall Street Journal "A balanced, thorough, and very readable discussion of Freud’s critique of religion... A model of the clarity, honesty, and fairness we can always expect to find in K�ng’s writings.” -John F. Haught, America "An honest, sympathetic pro-and-con assessment of specific elements of Freud’s critique by a well-known German Catholic theologian, easily accessible to the interested layperson and valuable for both theologians and psychologists.”--Library Journal "K�ng carefully, sympathetically investigates Freud’s interpretations of religion, both within his clinical theories and personal history.” -Lisa Mitchell, Los Angeles Times

The book consists of three essays and is an extension of Freud’s work on psychoanalytic theory as a means of generating hypotheses about historical events. Freud hypothesizes that Moses was not Hebrew, but actually born into Ancient Egyptian nobility and was probably a follower of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian monotheist. Freud contradicts the biblical story of Moses with his own retelling of events, claiming that Moses only led his close followers into freedom during an unstable period in Egyptian history after Akhenaten (ca. 1350 BCE) and that they subsequently killed Moses in rebellion and later combined with another monotheistic tribe in Midian based on a volcanic God, Jahweh. Freud explains that years after the murder of Moses, the rebels regretted their action, thus forming the concept of the Messiah as a hope for the return of Moses as the Saviour of the Israelites. Freud said that the guilt from the murder of Moses is inherited through the generations; this guilt then drives the Jews to religion to make them feel better.

The psychoanalytic approach to religion has changed radically during the course of the twentieth century. In both clinical and theoretical work in psychoanalysis, developments have taken place that frequently are not noted by persons who assume that all that can be said has been said by Freud. The study of religious phenomena, persons, events and traditions has always been a substantial part of applied psychoanalysis and here also major developments have taken place. It is no exaggeration to state that the scientific study of religion has been revolutionized by the integration of psychological perspectives, including the field of psychoanalysis. This volume differs from other recent publications on the topic of psychoanalysis and religion in drawing upon the entire field of psychoanalytic involvement with religion. It is interdisciplinary in approach and unlike other books on the topic brings together an exceptional combination of theoretical, empirical and clinical studies. No other book provides integrated examples of all three types of work.

Over the last few decades, vibrant debates regarding post-secularism have found inspiration and provocation in the works of Sigmund Freud. A new interest in the interconnection of psychoanalysis, religion and political theory has emerged, allowing Freud’s illuminating examination of the religious and mystical practices in “Obsessive Neurosis and Religious Practices,” and the exegesis of the origins of ethics in religion in Totem and Taboo, to gain currency in recent debates on modernity. In that context, the pivotal role of Freud’s masterpiece, Moses and Monotheism, is widely recognized. Freud and Monotheism brings together fundamental new contributions to discourses on Freud and Moses, as well as new research at the intersections of theology, political theory, and history in Freud’s psychoanalytic work. Highlighting the broad impact of Moses and Monotheism across the humanities, the contributors hail from such diverse disciplines as philosophy, comparative literature, cultural studies, German studies, Jewish studies and psychoanalysis. Jan Assmann and Richard Bernstein, whose books pioneered the earlier debate that initiated the Freud and Moses discourse, seize the opportunity to revisit and revise their groundbreaking work. Gabriele Schwab, Gilad Sharvit, Karen Feldman, and Yael Segalovitz engage with the idiosyncratic, eccentric and fertile nature of the book as a Spӓtstil, and explore radical interpretations of Freud’s literary practice, theory of religion and therapeutic practice. Ronald Hendel offers an alternative history for the Mosaic discourse within the biblical text, Catherine Malabou reconnects Freud’s theory of psychic phylogenesis in Moses and Monotheism to new findings in modern biology and Willi Goetschel relocates Freud in the tradition of works on history that begins with Heine, while Joel Whitebook offers important criticisms of Freud’s main argument about the advance in intellectuality that Freud attributes to Judaism.

Freud argued that religions originate in the unconscious needs, longings and fantasies of human minds. His work has served to highlight how any analysis of religion must explore mental life, both the cognitive and the unconscious. 'Freud on Religion' examines Freud's complex understanding of religious belief and practice. The book brings together contemporary psychoanalytic theory and case material from Freud's clinical practice to illustrate how the operations of the unconscious mind support various forms of religious belief, from mainstream to occult. 'Freud on Religion' offers a new way of understanding Freud's thinking and demonstrates how valuable psychoanalysis is for the study of religion.