In 1927 Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, declared that religion is a universal obsessional neurosis. The Future of an Illusion provoked immediate controversy and has continued to be an important work for anyone interested in the intersection of psychology, religion, and culture. Included in this volume is Oskar Pfister's critical engagement with Freud's views on religion. Pfister, a Swiss pastor and lay analyst, defends mature religion from Freud's "scientism."

Noted Freud scholar and editor Todd Dufresne provides a challenging cross-disciplinary introduction. All of Freud's and Pfister's texts have been beautifully updated in Gregory C. Richter's masterful translations from the original German.