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Introduction
Religion exists in every recognized global civilization, yet not all faiths hold a similar system of doctrines. The case for the presence of God can be made using the religious experience defense. According to this theory, the most plausible justification for religious encounters is that they represent a true view or perception of a heavenly presence. Many arguments have been made in favor of and opposing adopting this claim. A miracle restoration or a dream or revelation in which God appears to an individual are both examples of religious experiences. Sociologists research spirituality as a societal entity and a set of beliefs. Religion influences how individuals behave and see the universe as a belief structure. This paper analyzes how Sigmund Freud and William James viewed and defined religion and the methodologies for studying religion they argue for. Furthermore, the differences and possible overlaps between the two authors are also discussed.
Sigmund Freud
Definition of Religion
Individuals do not practice religious belief in a vacuum; rather, it governs behavioral choices and is the greatest reliable source for figuring out the fundamental purpose of existence. While the psychoanalysis style of thinking made Sigmund Freud best known, the neurologist also had a strong fascination with religion. Although Freud declared himself an agnostic as an adult, his Jewish upbringing and background significantly impacted how his thoughts developed. In one of his best-known articles, Freud stated that religious ideology was a delusion, a sort of neurosis, and potentially an endeavor to exert dominance over the outside world. The neurologist proposed that religion is an illusion that gains power through its capacity to conform to peoples irrational wishful emotions (Freud, 1928). An effort to define religions position in human evolution is seen as a contrast to the neurosis civilized men experience as they grow from children to adults rather than as a permanent possession.
People defend themselves against different types of dangers and hardships via religion. This defense, in Freuds opinion, is a facade. The gods do not shield humans; this is only how they are perceived to have been. A notion that a wish will come true because individuals desire it to happen rather than whether reality enables it is known as an illusion. In Freuds view, the illusion is childish since it is typical for children to anticipate their true desires to be met, which causes them to experience genuine difficulties due to a wishful thought process (Freud, 1928). Therefore, Freuds viewpoint is that religions impair people since rather than discovering a method to seek it themselves and build their strengths, they anticipate the passive redemption of God or gods. Freud believed that religion offers protection from the oppressively powerful authority of life and the need to make up for the painfully perceived flaws in society.
Methodologies of Studying Religion
Sigmund Freud offers a naturalistic explanation of religion that is improved by theories and insights drawn from the field of psychoanalysis, which he helped to found. Perhaps appropriately, Freuds views on religion are fairly nuanced and conflicted. The psychiatric ideas and therapy techniques that makeup psychoanalysis find their sources in the writings and concepts of Sigmund Freud. According to Freud, the essential principle of psychoanalysis is that each individual has unconscious wants, feelings, experiences, and ideas (Freud, 1928). Psychoanalysis treatment aims to liberate suppressed feelings and experiences to bring the unconscious to consciousness. An individual can ultimately be assisted and healed via a therapeutic experience (Freud, 1928). Freud views the Oedipus complex as essential to a proper comprehension of human growth psychologically and several of the most significant and vital complex realities in daily life, such as religious thinking and conduct.
William James
Definition of Religion
Several people believe William James to be the greatest perceptive and inspiring American philosopher. Religious belief should be based on human experience if it intends to avoid being reduced to irrational desire. James describes religion generally as peoples feelings about how they perceive their relationship with the supernatural. According to this definition, religious ideology does not entail the societal aspect of religious community or belief in a transcendental, monotheism God (James, 1903). James distinguishes between two different forms of religious understanding: the healthy mind and the ill soul. The healthy-mindedness is described by hopeful delight and the sick soul by a morbid pessimism. Instead of the doctrines of established religions, James thought that the fundamentals of religious life worldwide were personal religious experiences. This theory is supported by the philosophers analyses of conversion, repentance, mysticism, saintliness, and insights into genuine, personal religious experiences.
James thinks there is much to live beyond the physical universe, and this invisible realm has real-world implications. If humans refer to the supreme deity as God, they have good cause to believe that their connection with God is active, and God offers assurance that the moral principles they endeavor to uphold will endure. Even considering the polytheistic idea that the Almighty is a group of godly personalities, James is hesitant to accept the idea that God is either one or unlimited (James, 1903). The philosopher makes judgments about three religious doctrines that are based on experience. The beliefs include: the individuals purpose is accomplished by establishing harmonic unity with it; the individual senses the world is a component of and draws its importance from a higher spiritual reality; that divine communion and meditation are effective. James extends his theory to religion, focusing on the possibility that individuals salvation relies on acknowledging God before there is any evidence that God exists.
Methodologies of Studying Religion
James examined religion from a psychological perspective. The philosopher used pragmatism, a psychological method that gauges a concepts veracity via testing and looking at its application in real-world situations. James interest in religious practice is among his greatest significant contributors to the research of pragmatism. According to James, the influence of truth on human conduct should be considered; as a result, ones religious beliefs can be justifiable if it improves their quality of life (James, 1903). Additionally, the pragmatic method views it as a question of practice rather than judgments about what is true and false. James pragmatism contends that ultimate ideas typically lack logical underpinnings and calls for theory accountable to experience (James, 1903). James believes that religion should only refer to a completely structured system of emotions, thinking, and institution to differentiate between institutionalized and individual religion.
Differences between Freud and James
James and Freud both found the phenomena of human awareness to be fascinating. They both firmly believed in the fundamental, unchangeable will of human behavior. James, unlike Freud, did not concentrate on the roots of religious thought; instead, James was concerned with the person, not the organization. Freud was a fervent atheist, but James had a strong intellectual enthusiasm for religious ideology. In contrast to Freud, who thought religious faith was childish reasoning, James thought medical materialism was a label for the overly simple-minded. The disagreement between the two thinkers arises from their shared conviction that their interpretation of the collective unconscious concerning spirituality is superior and their failure to consider alternative interpretations. James was unmistakably a pluralist, unlike Freudian psychoanalysis, which saw sexuality as the only emotional center of the human experience. James was a wide, anti-dogmatic philosopher who could never be seduced by a belief system focused on a single reason because he thought life was sufficiently broad for that.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although many peoples lives are impacted by religion and spirituality, it is unclear how these factors contribute to sometimes favorable and sometimes detrimental effects. According to Freud, the most significant component of a civilizations psychical inventory is religion, which he describes as an illusion. According to James, religion belongs only to the fully developed system of institution, feeling, and thinking. Freud and James studied religion using a variety of methodologies and produced results that benefited their research. To awaken the unconscious, Freud utilized psychoanalytic therapy that intended to free repressed emotions and experiences. On the other hand, James used the pragmatic approach to examine religions validity and consider how it might apply in actual scenarios. The two authors have several differences and overlap in their writings on how they viewed religion. James disagreed with Freud, who believed that religious belief was based on naive thinking and that physiological materialism was a term for the excessively naive.
References
Freud, S. (1928). The Future of an Illusion. London. Hogarth Press and Institute of Psychoanalysis.
James, W. (1903). The varieties of religious experiences. New York, London, and Bombay. Longmans, Green, and Co.
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