Give a critical account of Freud's understanding of religion. To answer the fixed question I will explore Freud's Totem and Taboo by examining his theory of the primordial horde and the Oedipus complex and his theory of religion as illusion. Also considering Freud's theory that religion is psychologically unhealthy. Finally I will explore his relationship with Jung and the effect his criticism of Freud's theory had on their professional collaboration. Freud's interpretation of the totem as representing the father of the tribe returns again to Freud's problems with his father. He approaches his theory of totem and taboo from an entirely patriarchal position ignoring the fact that the fear in his "little Hans" case was actually that his mother would disappear as she had often threatened him when the child misbehaved. (Storr, 1989, 108). The belief that the origin of religion is benevolent towards the father-son relationship (Palmer, 1997, 30) brings us back to his Oedipus complex. The primal horde dominated by a single father who takes all the women of the tribe and banishes his younger male rivals preventing incest and encouraging sexual liaisons outside the group. Once again, as in Freud's Oedipus complex, the primary male is threatened by the younger males thus eliminating them from the group, this causes resentment within the younger males who then plot to kill the patriarch thus ending the primal horde . Freud states that as a consequence of the sense of guilt, younger males venerate their massacred father and for Freud this is the very origin of religion. He also sees in this the origin of the incest taboo. Storr (1989, 108) argues that there is no evidence today from anthropology or subhuman primate studies that... middle of the paper... nothing but repressed contents, contents that constellate around the figure of the father. (Palmer, 1997, 164). It would appear that Freud went far in rejecting religion as a healthy practice and essential to the growth of society, but rather saw it as a weakness. The fact that many of Freud's theories have stood the test of time equates to his title as the "father of psychoanalysis", although many have been modified or adapted to fit today's conditions. It would be unwise to completely ignore Freud's views on religion, but I think we can conclude that they are somewhat flawed. Works Cited Connolly, Peter (ed.) (1999) Approaches to the Study of Religion. London, Continuum.Palmer, Michael (1997) Freud and Jung on religion. 2nd edition, London, Routledge.Storr, Anthony (1989) Freud; A very brief introduction. Oxford, Oxford University Press.