One of the most discussed topics during the 19th century is religion. In “The Essence of Christianity” Ludwig Feuerbach offers his interpretation on religion. Feuerbach displays his point of view by explaining the features that belong to human beings, species consciousness, and how human beings project God. Below I will review Feuerbach’s ideas about religion and connect all of Feuerbach’s ideas in order to analyze an important passage of the text.
Feuerbach begins by stating that the features of human beings must be understood in order to understand religion. Feuerbach says this is true because animals do not have religion. I agree with this argument from Feuerbach because religion makes humans unique. Religion is the main …show more content…
I believe Feuerbach clarifies how humans project God when it is mentioned in the text that consciousness of God is equivalent to self-consciousness. This part of the text implies that God is a projection of human beings. I agree with Feuerbach’s theory of projection because there is no proof to show who God was and what his characteristics were. It is impossible for humans to be completely certain that there is a God. Human beings are able to assign truth to thoughts that lack proof in order to reassure themselves and have their desires satisfied. For instance, God is the answer to the success’ and failures in life. In other words, the idea of God is crucial to human understanding. The image of God also plays a comforting role. Humans are reassured that they are being helped though their lives by God. Since the image of God is used to satisfy human desires, I believe in Feuerbach’s projection of God. Humans project God as the perfect human being. The perfect human being is one who has all of the answers ad explanations to why such events take place. The perfect human being is also one who shows affection. Similarly, humans see God as an affectionate being that can provide explanations to any event. The image of God satisfied human desires, therefore God is a projection of humans