“Psycho-Theology: The Law of Desire”

a Seminar with Barry Taylor

You may take this course in person (Paris) or via Zoom

Faculty: Prof. Barry Taylor

Description: Sigmund Freud famously positioned psychoanalysis within an atheistic framework, considering religion an illusion. Yet, Jacques Lacan often engaged with Catholicism, and contemporary psychoanalytic thought is increasingly drawn to questions of religion and belief. This course explores the deep and often paradoxical relationship between psychoanalysis and theology, tracing how desire, faith, and the unconscious intersect.

Through key psychoanalytic and theological texts, we will examine the religious dimensions of desire, the unconscious origins of belief, and the implications of psychoanalytic thought for understanding sacred texts. Each session focuses on a critical moment where psychoanalysis and theology converge, offering new ways to think about faith, testimony, and the unconscious.

Course Outline:

Session 1: The Future of an Illusion—Freud, Lacan, and Religion (Saturday May 10, 2025 at 12pm Paris time via Zoom)

An exploration of Freud’s critique of religion and Lacan’s engagement with Catholicism. How does psychoanalysis both challenge and inherit theological structures of belief?

Readings:

• Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion

• Tad Delay, God is Unconscious

Session 2: The Genesis of Desire—The Biblical Roots of Psychoanalysis (Wednesday May 14 at 10-11:45 am Paris time in the GCAS seminar room in Paris and Zoom).

This session examines how biblical narratives shape the psychoanalytic understanding of desire. How do theological texts anticipate the psychoanalytic subject?

Readings:

• Davis/Pound/Crockett, Theology After Lacan

• Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire

Session 3: The Flesh Made Word—A Psychoanalytic View of the Gospels (Thursday May 15 at 10-11:45 am Paris time in the GCAS seminar room in Paris and Zoom)

The testimony of Christ as an expression of the indestructible life of desire. How do the Gospels function as psychoanalytic texts?

Readings:

• Massimo Recalcati, The Night in Gethsemane

Session 4: A Psycho-Pleasure of Death—The Death Drive and the Blood of the Martyrs (Sunday May 25 at 9am New York time via Zoom)

Exploring the role of sacrifice, suffering, and jouissance in Christian theology through the lens of the death drive. How does martyrdom shape the body and desire of Christ?

Readings:

• Julie Reshe, Psychoananlysis for the Living Dead

• Amy Hollywood, Acute Melancholia

This course will offer a critical, interdisciplinary approach to psychoanalysis and theology, engaging with key thinkers who have probed the boundaries of faith and the unconscious.

Enroll here to participate remotely via Zoom