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DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7970982
Luca Micaloni
Sapienza Università di Roma
luca.micaloni@uniroma1.it
Religion without Neurosis: Erich Fromm on the Evolution of the Christian Dogma
Abstract: In this article, the Author reconstructs Erich Fromm’s interpretation of the development of the Christian doctrine. While drawing to some extent on the Freud-ian analysis of religion, Fromm does not insist on the comparison between devotional practices and obsessional neurosis, and sets forth a sociohistorical explanation of the changing of dogmas. In his view, major doctrinal shifts mainly depend on the social situation of groups: dogmas, particularly those regarding the relation between God the Father and God the Son, express sadistic and masochistic tendencies, which mir-ror the dynamics of dominant and subordinate groups in each historical conjuncture.
Keywords: Fromm; Frankfurt School; Freud; Religion; Dogma.