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May 18, 1964. BEYOND THE FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION. Nathaniel Ross, M.D.
Dr. Ross states that religious experience requires further investigation by analysts. The sense of reality and profound conviction of religious mystics are also seen in schizophrenics and many normal individuals during dreams, and occasionally at the height of orgasm. Freud called religion an illusion, a universal compulsion neurosis, and a projection of man's terrible need for a protective father. He was not too impressed by Romain Rolland's emphasis on the 'oceanic feeling' as a core of religious experience.
The claims of religion to validity equal to the results of a scientific investigation are challenged by the author, who presents the genesis and nature of religious experiences in the light of ego psychology. His thesis is that the need for religious faith is based on dread of object loss, the need for the eternal external existence of an immutably protective loving object. Dread of death and the wish for immortality essentially represent a fear and denial of object loss. The apparent limitless love that men can give to a god is dependent upon the immutable, entirely perfect, infinitely loving qualities of this idealized love object, which protects the believer against abandonment and promises eternal reward. Love for man, with its risks and difficulties, may be more difficult than love for a 'living' god.
While he acknowledges that religious belief will continue to be necessary for many, Ross believes that more mature human values can be derived from the theory and goals of psychoanalysis. Mastery of fear of object loss, relinquishing