Write a short note on how does Freud apply the idea of Oedipus complex to explain the origin of religion ?

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, applied the concept of the Oedipus complex to explain the origin of religion in his work "Totem and Taboo" and other writings. According to Freud, the Oedipus complex is a psychological phenomenon that occurs during a child's psychosexual development, typically between the ages of three and six. In the Oedipal stage, the child experiences unconscious desires for the opposite-sex parent and harbors hostile feelings towards the same-sex parent, whom they perceive as a rival for the affection of the opposite-sex parent.

Freud proposed that primitive societies experienced a collective Oedipal complex, which manifested in the form of totemism—the worship of a sacred object or animal symbolizing the clan or tribe. In Freud's view, the totem animal represents the father figure, who is both revered and feared by the tribe members. The prohibition against killing or eating the totem animal symbolizes the ambivalent feelings of love and hostility towards the father, similar to the child's ambivalent feelings towards the father in the Oedipal complex.

Freud argued that the totemic ritual serves as a symbolic resolution of the collective Oedipus complex, allowing the tribe to express and manage their unconscious desires and conflicts. Religion, therefore, arises from the need to address and reconcile the complex emotions and conflicts inherent in human relationships, particularly those within the family structure. While Freud's theory has been subject to criticism and debate, his application of the Oedipus complex provides an insightful perspective on the psychological origins of religious beliefs and practices.