DISCUSSION ON THE COMPATIBILITY OF FREUDIANISM AND MARXISM IN RUSSIAN PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION OF THE 1920S

Introduction. Although research on the relationship between psychoanalysis and the humanities in Russia has a relatively long history, religious studies issues are usually addressed in them only in the most general terms. As a result, in particular, some aspects that are significant for both the history of religious studies and the history of psychoanalysis were ignored, in particular, the development of problems of the psychology of religion in the framework of the discussion on the compatibility of Freudianism and Marxism in the 1920s. Content. During the discussion, questions of the psychology of religion were raised in the context of the discussion of contribution Freud and his schools in history and the sciences of society. Proponents of the convergence of Freudianism and Marxism pointed out that a number of propositions of Marxist historical theory - the conditioning of consciousness by being, the two main motives of human activity, and the construction of ideology - find confirmation and development in psychoanalysis. From their point of view, psychoanalysis is materialistic in understanding religion, primarily because it reveals its main psychological mechanism of sexual energy displacement. The forms of repression improve with the development of production forces and relations: if at the initial stages repression could have been involved only slightly - and therefore the corresponding way of thinking (way of representation) and the associated symbolism are called unconscious (or sexual) - then later the principle of reality prevails, and censorship and repression play become more sophisticated and organized. Their opponents insisted on the one-sidedness and groundlessness of the Freudian understanding of religion. Conclusions. The discussion under consideration contributed to the development of key issues in the psychology of religion in line with a new approach based on a combination of psychoanalysis and religious psychology. Freud and the Marxist understanding of history. However, no direction or school has developed on its basis. At the same time, the discussion revealed fundamental problems related to the limits (or even the expediency) of using the psychoanalytic method in the psychology of religion.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Pushkin Leningrad State University Journal
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.35231/18186653_2025_3_143
Primary Topic
Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

DISCUSSION ON THE COMPATIBILITY OF FREUDIANISM AND MARXISM IN RUSSIAN PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION OF THE 1920S

D. S. Damte
Pushkin Leningrad State University Journal
Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
article

DISCUSSION ON THE COMPATIBILITY OF FREUDIANISM AND MARXISM IN RUSSIAN PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION OF THE 1920S

D. S. Damte
article en

Abstract

Introduction. Although research on the relationship between psychoanalysis and the humanities in Russia has a relatively long history, religious studies issues are usually addressed in them only in the most general terms. As a result, in particular, some aspects that are significant for both the history of religious studies and the history of psychoanalysis were ignored, in particular, the development of problems of the psychology of religion in the framework of the discussion on the compatibility of Freudianism and Marxism in the 1920s. Content. During the discussion, questions of the psychology of religion were raised in the context of the discussion of contribution Freud and his schools in history and the sciences of society. Proponents of the convergence of Freudianism and Marxism pointed out that a number of propositions of Marxist historical theory - the conditioning of consciousness by being, the two main motives of human activity, and the construction of ideology - find confirmation and development in psychoanalysis. From their point of view, psychoanalysis is materialistic in understanding religion, primarily because it reveals its main psychological mechanism of sexual energy displacement. The forms of repression improve with the development of production forces and relations: if at the initial stages repression could have been involved only slightly - and therefore the corresponding way of thinking (way of representation) and the associated symbolism are called unconscious (or sexual) - then later the principle of reality prevails, and censorship and repression play become more sophisticated and organized. Their opponents insisted on the one-sidedness and groundlessness of the Freudian understanding of religion. Conclusions. The discussion under consideration contributed to the development of key issues in the psychology of religion in line with a new approach based on a combination of psychoanalysis and religious psychology. Freud and the Marxist understanding of history. However, no direction or school has developed on its basis. At the same time, the discussion revealed fundamental problems related to the limits (or even the expediency) of using the psychoanalytic method in the psychology of religion.

Pushkin Leningrad State University JournalVol. 3
Openalex Percentile: Top 73%
Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

DISCUSSION ON THE COMPATIBILITY OF FREUDIANISM AND MARXISM IN RUSSIAN PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION OF THE 1920S — D. S. Damte · Pushkin Leningrad State University Journal (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS