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Freud's penetrating critique of religion in “The Future of an Illusion” (1927) has become a seminal work in contemporary theology. His persuasive observation that indoctrination into a religious heritage promotes a transference to the projected imago of an all-sustaining object, fueled by infantile wishes, protected by the superego, is now an unexpected foundation for continuing religious inquiry (Ulanov and Ulanov, 1975). The developmental importance of disrupting (analyzing) this infantile immersion in order to promote differentiation between the self and the object (heritage) is an acknowledged component of religious as well as psychological growth. Freud's critique, intended to eviscerate religion, has newly oriented religious thinkers to the task of differentiating authentic religious consciousness from a facade of infantile wishes and social conventions.
The topic of religion retains its vexing vitality. The attack by psychoanalysis has not proven decisive, and religious themes, unexplicated by available theories, continue to appear in contemporary