In this essay, Freud discusses the behaviors of individuals suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, comparing their actions to those found within a religious context. This is particularly interesting, as he continually refers to such obsessive actions as “the illness”, and then proceeds to talk about the compulsive actions of religion. Freud claims that, “Neurotic ceremonials consist in making small adjustments to particular everyday actions”, and that any deviation from these actions will cause anxiety within an individual. While I feel that OCD is a genuine illness, I disagree with its supposed relation to religion in this sense. However, it is easy to see some of the similarities as discussed by Freud. For instance, neurotic ceremonials and religious rituals both require complete isolation from all actions not directly involved with the obsessive act or ritual. Yet, Freud claims that one of the most distinguishable differences is in how the acts occur. An obsessive action is typically private, while religious observances are public; after all, one of the key traits of religions is community, and the shared aspect expected to complete a religious ritual. At the same time I find myself slightly disagreeing with Freud. Even though the communal aspect of religious ritual is vital, I think religion also brings with it a very personal aspect. Take confession in the Catholic church, for instance. The individual follows a particular order of actions (going to the church, kneeling in the confessional, praying to Mary, etc.) This isn’t a public, communal action, but rather a private set of slightly neurotic actions for the individual.
One of the other significant differences the Freud addresses is the motivation behind such actions. He claims that “it is one of the conditions of the illness that the person who is obeying a compulsion carries it out without understanding its meaning”. Unfortunately, I understand this point firsthand: I have an aunt who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and she can’t throw away any mail she gets (she actually has newspapers and junk mail from about the year 1981). She doesn’t know why she can’t part with it, but if you try and take it away, she becomes physically violent. Meanwhile, a religious ritual has specific meaning behind it, which is why an individual will carry it out in the first place. While it upsets me to admit it, I don’t think this is always the case. When children are brought up in the church, they tend to simply follow the service, doing what their parents tell them to do without actually questioning the meaning behind it. Celebrating religious holidays is a great example of this. For instance, on Maundy Thursday in the Lutheran Church we strip down the alter and leave the sanctuary in complete silence. It is a very powerful religious ritual, and I’m pretty sure that the majority of the youth members of my church don’t know why we do it.
