The Essence of Christianity

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were strongly influenced by the book, although they criticised Feuerbach for his inconsistent espousal of materialism.

[citation needed] In Part I of his book, Feuerbach developed what he calls the "true or anthropological essence of religion", treating of God in his various aspects "as a being of the understanding," "as a moral being or law," "as love" and so on.

Feuerbach shows that in every aspect God corresponds to some feature or need of human nature.

[1] This projection is dubbed as a chimera by Feuerbach, that God and the idea of a higher being is dependent upon the aspect of benevolence.

In part 2 he discusses the "false or theological essence of religion," i.e. the view which regards God as having a separate existence over against man.

In his book Der Einzige und sein Eigentum (The Ego and Its Own) he attacked Feuerbach as inconsistent in his atheism.