The Influence of Feuerbach on Freud's Philosophy of Religion: A Psycho-Anthropological Analysis

Abstract

This article analyzes the influence of Ludwig Feuerbach on Sigmund Freud’s understanding of religion within a psycho-anthropological framework. By interpreting theology as the “externalization of human essence,” Feuerbach conceives God as the exalted symbol of human qualities such as love, justice, and wisdom; thus, religion emerges not as a supernatural but as a human phenomenon. Freud translates this framework into psychoanalysis: God becomes the unconscious projection of the father image and repressed desires from childhood; religion is “an illusion grounded in wish-fulfillment” and a cultural defense mechanism. From the totemic triad of guilt-prohibition-sacredness to the fear of death and longing for justice, many of Freud’s central themes appear as clinical counterparts to Feuerbach’s anthropological intuitions. Both thinkers acknowledge the historical and functional significance of religion, yet they diverge in locating its source: Feuerbach emphasizes conscious projection, while Freud focuses on unconscious dynamics. Freud’s theory of religion transfers Feuerbach’s anthropological core onto a psychodynamic plane, reducing modern humanity’s relationship with God from metaphysics to psychology.