Marxist view Flashcards
What are the Marxists views
-Religion as an ideology
-Religion as a product of alienation
-Religion as the opium of masses
How does religion help to maintain the ruling class
-Legitimises inequality
-Legitimises power
-Spiritual Gin
Legitimises inequality
-Suffering of the poor is inevitable and god given
-Misleads the poor
Legitimises power
-Religious teachings encourage the proletariat to believe that the way of society is organised in God’s will
Spiritual Gin
-Lenin
-To manipulate the masses and prevent them from overthrowing the ruling class
How does religion act as a product of alienation
-Suffering as a test of faith
-Existential security
-Promises of an afterlife
Suffering as a test of faith
Religion makes a virtue out of suffering
Existential security
Can offer a hope of supernatural intervention to solve problems on earth
Promises of an after life
Gives people something to look forward to
What is opium of the masses
-Marx
-Religion dulls the pain or the oppression they face by offering a temporary high
3 ways religion is like an opium
-Dulls the pain of exploitation rather than dealing with the cause
-Distorted view of the world
-The temporary high that follows
Evaluation
-Ignores the positive functions of religion
-Althusser rejects the idea of alienation as being unscientific
-Abercrombie, Hill and Turner- Religion doesn’t function as an ideology to control the population
