Marxism, Religion And Change

Question 0

What does relative autonomy mean?

Answer 0

Ideas can be partly independent of the economic base of society

Question 1

Ideas, including religious ideas are seen by Marxists to have what?

Answer 1

Relative autonomy

Question 2

What does Marx see religion as being capable of?

Answer 2

Humanising a world made inhuman by exploitation, even if the comfort is illusory

Question 3

What theorist takes of the idea of religion having a dual character?

Answer 3

Friedrich Engels

Question 4

What does Engels’ idea of religion having a dual character mean?

Answer 4

It means that although religion can inhibit change by disguising inequality, it can also challenge the status quo and encourage social change

Question 5

Who also sees religion as having a dual character and argues for a view of religion that recognises both positive and negative influence on social change?

Answer 5

Ernst Bloch

Question 6

For Bloch, what is religion an expression of?

Answer 6

‘The principle of hope’

Question 7

What is the ‘principle of hope’?

Answer 7

Our dreams of a better life that contain images of utopia - the perfect world

Question 8

What is liberation theology?

Answer 8

A movement that emerged within the Catholic Church in Latin America at the end of the 1960s, with a strong commitment to the poor and opposition to military dictatorship

Question 9

What factors led to the development of liberation theology?

Answer 9

Deepening rural poverty, human rights abuses following military take-overs and the growing commitment among Catholic priests to an ideology that supported the poor and oppressed violations of human rights

Question 10

The emphasis in Liberation theology is on ‘praxis’ - what does this mean?

Answer 10

Practical action guided by theory

Question 11

How how does Ernst Bloch argue that religion can bring about social change?

Answer 11

He argues that religious beliefs create a vision of a better world, which, if combined with effective political organisation and leadership, can bring about social change

Question 12

How does Liberation theology differ from traditional Catholicism?

Answer 12

While Catholicism supported the status quo, liberation theology set out to change society

Question 13

Who was the founding father of liberation theology?

Answer 13

Oscar Romero

Question 14

What has the success of liberation theology led some neo-Marxists to question?

Answer 14

The view that religion is always a conservative force

Question 15

Who believes that religion can be a revolutionary force that brings about change?

Answer 15

Otto Maduro

Question 16

Who questions Marx’s view that religion always legitimates social inequality?

Answer 16

Löwy

Question 17

What do both Maduro and Löwy see liberation theology as an example of?

Answer 17

Religiously inspired social change

Question 18

What is an example of a desire to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth?

Answer 18

Millenarian movements

Question 19

What are Millenarian movements based on the idea of?

Answer 19

Christian theology which states that Christ would come into the world for a second time and rule for a thousand years before the day of judgement and the end of the world

Question 20

Who do millenarian movements appeal to and why?

Answer 20

The poor because they promise immediate improvement

Question 21

Who is interested in how the ruling class maintain their control over society through the use of ideas rather than simply through coercion?

Answer 21

Gramsci

Question 22

What term does Gramsci use that refers to the way that the ruling class are able to use ideas such as religion to maintain control?

Answer 22

Hegemony

Question 23

What does Gramsci mean by hegemony?

Answer 23

Ideological domination or leadership of society

Question 24

According to Gramsci, what can the ruling class do once hegemony is established?

Answer 24

They can rely on popular consent to their rule, so there is less need for coercion

Question 25

What is counter-hegemony?

Answer 25

An alternative vision of how society should be organised, often adopted by the working class

Question 26

Like Engels, what does Gramsci see religion as having?

Answer 26

A dual character and he notes that in some circumstances, it can challenge as well as support the ruling class

Question 27

What are organic intellectuals?

Answer 27

People such as educators, organisers and leaders who can help workers see the situation they are in and support working class organisations such as trade unions

Question 28

Who applies Gramsci’s ideas in a case study comparing class struggle in two communities?

Answer 28

Dwight Billings

Question 29

What are the two communities that Billings studied?

Answer 29

Coal miners and textile workers in Kentucky during the 1920s and 30s

Question 30

What was the difference between the two groups of miners?

Answer 30

The miners were much more militant, struggling for recognition from their union whereas the textile workers were uncomplainingly accepting the status quo

Question 31

How did Billings argue that the different levels of militancy could be understood?

Answer 31

The differences could be understood in terms of hegemony and the role of religion

Question 32

What 3 ways does Billings identify in which religion either supported or challenged the employers’ hegemony?

Answer 32

Leadership, Organisation and Support

Question 33

What did Billings conclude from his study?

Answer 33

That religion can play ‘a prominent oppositional role’