Psychoanalysis and Religion

Psychoanalysis and Religion is a 1950 book by the social psychologist and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, in which he seeks to explain the purpose and goals of psychoanalysis in relation to ethics and religion. Fromm presented it as a continuation of the ideas he had set out in his 1947 book Man for Himself. In the foreword to the first edition he clarifies that he does not claim his thesis applies to all researchers and practitioners of psychoanalysis; in the foreword added to the 1967 printing he notes that, despite advances in the intervening years, he still considered the work sound and made no changes.

Fromm wrote the book in an effort to reconcile the faith of the scientist with humanity's ageless belief in the goodness and omnipotence of the Absolute. His fascination with the psychological aspects of religion and with what seemed a pervasive human need for it leads him to a explanation: people are comforted by the structure and discipline of church authority, and religion offers them fellowship and some control over their lives, serving as a defense against powerlessness and loneliness.

To assess religion's effects he distinguishes authoritarian religions from humanistic ones. The former teach that human beings are at the mercy of an omnipotent God and deny individual identity; the latter locate the power of God within the individual and foster personal validation and growth. Although he allows that religion can be a positive influence, his critique mainly condemns, at a basic level, most religious orders, especially those most common in Western culture, and most theologians reject his thesis.