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Note that the title of this book, Sigmund Freud's Christian Unconscious, is a statement, not a question. Convinced that Freud was deeply ambivalent about all things religious and about Christianity in particular, the author leaves no stone unturned in his search for avidence for his hypothesis that Freud had deeply buried religious feelings. Indeed, while accepting the skeptical and atheistic aspect of Freud's thought, his goal is to demonstrate that Freud, who had at times referred to himself as a Godless Jew, a Natural atheist, and hopeless pagan, had actually been strongly influenced by Christian ideas.
Following Freud's own methods of psychoanalytic investigation and using Freud's own words and constructions in exploring his life, writings, and dreams, Vits traces Freud's development and examines how he was influenced by religion during various phases of his life. He stresses what he sees as the great lasting influence of Freud's Catholic nanny—his beloved primary caretaker until she mysteriously “disappeared” fromm the household when he was three years old. Vitz is convinced that Freud's sorrow and pessimism can be traced to the loss of this nanny and the “Eden” of Freiberg.
Vitz notes that such autobiographical elements are often parts of the underpinnings of Freud's theories and the takes a long look at what he thinks Freud is telling us about himself in his theories and case histories. He traces references to Christian themes in Freud's work and points out the similarity of some Christion concepts to some of Freud's own theorizing. He attempts to reconcile this influence with Freud's belief that religion is an illusion. The book is