Faith, religion, and theology: definitions and relationships

Cultural and Political Impact of Medici Family

What is Freud's view of faith or his criticism of it? -- Sigmund Freud was a 19th century psychologist and philosopher, considered by many to be the father of modern psychiatry. Although he grew up Jewish, he was never really able to come to terms with the psychological basis for religion and spirituality. He was very honest about his atheism, but also very well aware that religion had a profound and dramatic effect upon society. For Freud, religion and faith in the supernatural were expressions of deeply buried neuroses and distress. Humans use religion, according to Freud, to organize the universe into understandable chunks and to give structure to social groups, wish fulfillment, explanation for delusions, and an attempt to control the self and the outside world (Palmer, 1997). A few of Freud's pertinent comments on religion can be found in:

"Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires." (1933, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis)

"Religion is comparable to childhood neurosis." (1927, The Future of An Illusion)

What is Marx's view of faith or his criticism of it? -- Karl Marx was a 19th century social philosopher, primarily concerned with the way the Industrial Revolution had spiked a brutal and inequitable society in which the worker was continually exploited. He was concerned with the way the upper classes, for him the property owners, or bourgeoisie, controlled the workers, or proletariat. One of his views on religion focuses on the way religion is often used to control the masses, make them feel better about their lot in life, work hard, and not question the central order of things. In other words, religion is something that makes one "feel good" about their suffering, and because we humans suffer so very much, we need our constant fix of this opiate (religion). Like a drug, religion not only makes humans feel better, but it is addictive, and shrouds the truth about exploitation and control from the minds of the masses. Additionally, he saw religion as not a construct in and of itself, but as a morphing creature, constantly undulating to mirror some sort of artificial reflection of the real world (Pals, 2006).

How can we respond to their criticism? Both Freud and Marx were attempting to define something that is not quantitative in a quantitative manner. Faith cannot be measured in dynamic terms, nor can it be universally quantified. We might also point out that there is a clear difference between faith and religion. Faith is a concept, a belief, a trust; religion is manmade, and as any student of history knows, variable over the course of time, society, and individual cultures.