Marxism's view on religion Flashcards
(10 cards)
What did Karl Marx say about religion?
It’s the ‘opium of people’
State what Marx says about how religion is the ‘opium of people’
‘religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. it is the opium of people.’
what does ‘the opium of the people’ refer to?
it dulls the pain of oppression and exploitation rather than dealing with the cause of it
What did Marx believe?
People suffer due to their inequalities caused by the bourgeoisie, however, people fail to recognize this due to the fact that religion teaches that all of the misery in life is Gods will
Ways that religion prevents social change:
- promise of the afterlife
- make it appear that the poor are more ‘godly’ than the rich
- existential security
how does the promise of the afterlife prevent social change?
it gives people a distraction from their exploitation and gives them something to look forward to (eternal bliss)
example in the bible that states that the poor are more ‘godly than the rich’
‘it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven’
external security meaning
religion reinforces the idea that the supernatural can solve problems on earth making it pointless fir humans to do anything significant to improve their situation
2 evaluative points of Marxisms perspective
- abercrombie
- ignores the positive functions of religion identified by the functionalists
Alienation meaning
- a lack of power/control and fulfillment experienced b workers
