There are of course many differences between these two thinkers. Freud obviously concentrated on the psychological aspects and factors related to the unconscious, such as the father figure influence in the human creation of the idea of God. Nietzsche on the other hand was more concerned with the historical way in which religion developed and the way that morality is relative to culture and history. This paper will explore these important views on God and religious, which have influenced much of our modern world and philosophy.

Nietzsche in his work On the Genealogy of Morals states that the concepts of good and evil are relative terms which depend for their meaning on social and historical perceptions and that religion is essentially made up or constructed for various historical reasons to meet certain desires or needs of human cult

Freud believes, as a true materialist, that in order for humanity to progress in a rational way it is important to do away with the need to use a God as a justification for our actions. "if we no longer attribute to God what is our own will and if we content ourselves with giving the social reason - then, it is true, we have renounced the transfiguration of the cultural prohibition, but we have also avoided the risk to it. " 6

The above extract from The Future of an Illusion (1927) clearly shows Freud's view - that God and religion are illusions and invented myths. He also states quite clearly that doing away with religion and ideas of Gods will benefit the development of human society. In Civilization and Its Discontents he clearly states that he views religion and God to be unnecessary obstacles to human advancement. "It would be an undoubted advantage if we were to leave God out altogether and admit the purely human origins of all the precepts and regulations of civilization." 7

Freud describes a number of types of these palliative measures which are used to endure the pain of the world. He refers to three categories of "palliative measures" which people employ: They are "...powerful deflections, which cause us to make light of our misery; substitutive satisfactions, which diminish it; and intoxicating substances, which make us insensitive to it." 4 According to Freud, religion is part of the first category of deflections. (Three Prophets: Nietzsche, Freud and Jesus Christ)

If the sole reason why you must not kill your neighbor is because God has forbidden it and will severely punish you for it in this or the next life - then, when you learn that there is no God and that you need not fear His punishment, you will certainly kill your neighbor without hesitation, and you can only be prevented from doing so by mundane force. 5

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Approximate Word count = 1580
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)