Categories: Arts & Humanities

Is Religion The Opium Of The People?

   Karl Marx once said that “Religion is the opium of the people”.  Do you agree or disagree with his statement?

Let us analyze Marx statement. It has three very important word “religion”, “opium” and “people”. We know that Karl Marx is among the influential thinker that change and revolutionize our conception of man and his place in society through his own interpretation and analysis of history.

Karl Marx is famous for “The Communist Manifesto” and his “Das Kapital”. It may be the reason why communism is said to be a “Godless ideology” since the concept or idea of “God” has no place in their ideology. They view the flow of history through the lenses of dialectical materialism.

It is interesting that Marx is almost equating “religion” with “opium”. Why is this? Opium is a kind of drug and any drug for that matter causes a hallucination, creates an illusion or fantasy world from the one using it. In other words, opium deceives the mind and senses of the person using it.

Thus, it is the indictment of Marx that religion has the same effect on the person who believe in or “use” religion—that of creating a hallucination or illusion on the part of any person who believes in religion.

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Why is this so? The answer is simple. The focus of religion is not about this world. Further religion believes in a being or power that is greater than man.

From a Marxists perspective, everything in history is solely based on human action and as if man is the center of the universe and the measures of all things. That everything in this world is settled through and by means of human action.

As to whether or not the teachings of Karl Marx contained any truth in reality needs to be carefully examined and analyze by any student of history. (to be continue)

 




  • Arnold Cruz

    View Comments

    • Communists do not believe in God, they view religion as mere fanaticism and an obstruction to critical thinking.

    • No I don't agree with the statement. But I pretty much disagree with everything Karl Marx said. Only learned about him because it was taught in our schools. He didn't enlighten me in any way. I'm almost certain I could have lived my entire life on this earth not having heard or read a word he said.

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