Traditional Marxist View of Religion Flashcards
What do Marxists say about society?
Marxists say society is split into 2 classes: the ruling class and the working class. The ruling class own the means of production which exploit and alienate the working class.
Proletariat work for a boss and make profit for them = surplus value.
What do Marxists say about religion?
Marxism sees religion as a feature only of class-divided society. In a classless society, religion will not be needed and it will disappear.
Does the traditional Marxist view see religion as a conservative or dynamic force and is this a good or bad thing?
Conservative force that prevents change but this is a negative thing as they want change. Working class are kept in a state of false consciousness by religion.
Does the traditional Marxist view see religion as bringing about harmony or conflict?
They agree religion brings about harmony but this isn’t true harmony. They see it as an illusion because religion controls the working class and prevents them from seeing the truth.
What is the superstructure?
Includes all the non-economic parts society including the state, the mass media, education and religion.
What is the infrastructure?
The economic base of society which includes the means of production and is controlled by the ruling class. E.g. businesses, factories, capital.
What does Marx say about religion and what does this mean?
“Religion is the opium of the people” - it is a drug that dulls the pain produced by oppression. It does little to solve the problem because it makes life more bearable and therefore dilutes demands for change.
What does Marx say ideology is?
A belief system that distorts people’s perception of reality in ways that serve the interests of the ruling class.
Who talks about religion as ideology and what should you include?
Marx and Lenin
Marx :
- legitimates the suffering of the poor as virtuous and God-given / favoured in the afterlife
Lenin:
- Religion is a ‘spiritual gin’
Extra point:
- religion legitimates class inequality as part of God’s plan and divinely organised e.g. the divine right of kings.
How is religion an ideology according to Marx?
Marx believes religion operates as an ideological weapon used by the ruling class to legitimate the suffering of the poor as inevitable and God-given :
It misleads the poor into believing that their suffering is virtuous and they will be favoured in the afterlife [“it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven”] This creates a false class consciousness which prevents the poor from acting to change their situation.
What is Lenin’s famous quote and explain what this means?
Lenin describes religion as a ‘spiritual gin’ - an intoxicant doled out to the masses by the ruling class to confuse them and keep them in their place. He believes the ruling class use religion cynically to manipulate the masses and keep them from trying to overthrow the ruling class by creating a ‘mystical fog’ which obscures reality.
What ways can religion dull the pain of oppression?
- It promises a paradise of eternal bliss in life after death = the vision of heaven can make life on earth more bearable by giving people something to look forward to.
- Some religions make a virtue of the suffering produced by oppression = those who suffer from poverty will be rewarded for their virtue / camel quote/ perhaps you are being punished for sin or to be tested.
- Religion can offer the hope of supernatural intervention on earth = Anticipation of the second coming of Jesus Christ can make the present more acceptable / God can intervene now and do miraculous things.
- Religion often justifies the social order and a person’s position within it = if you are at the bottom it must be God’s will / Divine right of kings/ inequality isn’t always bad “all things are bright and beautiful!”
What is alienation?
Becoming separated from or losing control over something that one has produced or created. It is most extreme under capitalism as workers are alienated because they don’t know what they produce and have no control or freedom to express their own creations which means they are repeating the same minute task, devoid of all meaning or skill.
According to Marx, how is religion a product of alienation?
In the dehumanising work conditions, the working class turn to religion for consolation. It acts as an opiate to mask the problem, but as it is a distorted view of the world it can’t offer a solution. But, the promises of an afterlife create an illusory happiness that distracts them from the source of suffering - capitalism.
Summarise what Marx says about religion being a product of alienation.
It is the product of alienation because it arises out of suffering and acts as a consolation for it, but fails to deal with its cause. Religion also acts as an ideology that legitimates both the suffering of the poor and the privileges of the ruling class.
