The Essence of Christianity

Ludwig Feuerbach was born in 1804 in Bavaria. At the age of 19, Feuerbach entered the University of Heidelberg, and then transferred to the University of Berlin a year later. Here, he met the philosophers who would shape the rest of his academic life. Chief among his academic influences was Hegel, under whom he studied. Feuerbach would engage with Hegelianism, the Hegelian dialectic, and German idealism for the rest of his life. After Hegel died in 1831, Feuerbach founded the Young Hegelians academic association.

The 19th century marked the onset of radical skepticism toward religion, especially in Germany and continental Europe. Following in the wake of the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment, Feuerbach’s era was one of challenging received orthodoxies and fundamental paradigms to make way for new knowledge and new approaches. In this context, Feuerbach became one of the primary leaders in the world of skeptical engagement with religion.

The Essence of Christianity, published in 1841, remains one of Feuerbach’s most widely read and influential works. Following in the footsteps of philosophers and historical critics such as Friedrich Schleiermacher, Feuerbach aimed to reorient the philosophy of religion toward an anthropological perspective, insisting on the subjectivity of all religious experience and the failure of humanity to properly grasp its own transcendent character.