Sigmund Freud was a psychologist known as the "father of psychoanalysis" who believed that our sense of moral understanding is the result of a being's conditioning into full growth. the mind or “psyche” is divided into three parts; the id, which contains fundamental and primitive desires, for example hunger, thirst and lust; the ego, which involves perceptions of the external world that make us aware of the "reality principle", the most external aspect of our personality, and the superego, which contains the conscience that punishes bad behavior with guilt, and the ego-ideal which praises good deeds. Freud believed that for the psyche to be healthy, there must be a balance between the ego and the superego. Freud therefore asserted that beliefs based on religion were part of an 'adolescent stage in the development of the human race from which humanity should free itself.'Freud formulated a theory of religion which he explained in Totem and Taboo, which was influenced by works such as The Religion of the Semites by Robertson-Smith, The Descent of Man by Darwin and The Golden Bough by Frazer. He emphasizes that guilt plays a fundamental role in the psyche. Guilt must have an original cause. At some point in history there must have been a violation of the law that created an “inherent” sense of guilt. Freud continues to trace this back to when humans were a group called the “primitive horde.” In these groups of early humans, there was always a dominant male, for example, as in wolf packs. Furthermore, he centers his theory on guilt which originates in the Oedipus complex, where young men become jealous of the fact that the alpha male has a choice over the woman he has as a partner. This horde acts as an ideological state apparatus, force...... middle of paper ......ent? Based on Feuerbach's analysis, it is not simply Christianity, but atheism itself, which can be seen as a projection of human hopes. In conclusion, Freud (and subsequently his theories) approaches religion in a very biased way, viewing it as a crutch for the weak, a coping mechanism. This pessimistic outlook is actually paradoxical, in that many people are interested in religion as an informed choice, because they grew up with or based on a feeling. He makes some valid points regarding the Maverick Era and presents an excellent model of the mind that takes into account various biological, psychological, and social factors. However, in our modern age, society is too diverse and people have too many individuals. differences to make such comparisons, so the extent to which Freud contributes to the study of religion is limited, if not outdated..