RLG200H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Nature One, Mysterium Tremendum, Cannibalism
Document Summary
Focus on one theory, and a particular part of the theory. Wrote several books about religion such as totem and taboo, the future of an illusion, Created a method of treating patients with mental disorders. Tried to understand religion through psychological approach. Explained what he considered to be the origin of religion and religious beliefs and how they have become established. Religious beliefs function by personifying or humanizing nature and give us the feeling that we can have some control over the forces of nature. According to freud, this involves giving the forces of nature a paternal quality. Human beings would crave the security of their father in childhood, who would reassure their children about the world freud. Religious beliefs are influential because they seem to protect the individual from the forces of nature, which represent some of the oldest and most basic desires of humanity.
