June 2025-
In a recent piece published on Psychology Today, Dr. Gary Laderman takes a look at the persistence of religion in his article, “Let’s Get Real About Religion: Back to Freud’s ‘The Future of an Illusion.’” Religion hasn’t gone lost; it has simply evolved. And as Laderman reminds us, “the more things change with religion, the more they stay the same in religious life.”
Dr. Laderman, a professor of American Religious History at Emory University, revisits Sigmund Freud’s 1927 prediction that religion would eventually wither away under the weight of science. Laderman argues that these beliefs are not remnants of thinking from the early stages of human evolution, but rather deeply embedded responses to universal human experiences death, such as suffering, hope, and the need for meaning. Freud dismissed religion as a form of wish-fulfillment, but Laderman shows that this “illusion” remains a vital, enduring part of life in the 21st century.
Freud saw religion as a form of wish-fulfillment rooted in childhood desires for protection and comfort, especially against death and nature’s unpredictability. Though he considered religious beliefs illusions, he viewed them as psychological and cultural tools that help humans cope with fear, mortality, and social demands. Despite being outdated in some ways, Freud’s analysis of the human psyche remains thought-provoking in today’s world.