Preview

Religion Is The Opium Of The Masses

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
526 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Religion Is The Opium Of The Masses
Religion is the opium of the masses
“Religion it the opium of the masses” is one of the most frequently paraphrased statements of the German economist Karl Marx, “the father of communism”. The meaning of this statement is that religion is the equivalent of opium (a type of drug) to make masses of people feel better. Marx quoted that “religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless wold, and the soul of the soulless condition.”
On one hand this quote rings true as many People seem to think that without religion, things would not be good for society. Many use religion to push their own ideology into others and try to force others to convert to the same religion by fear and telling them that if they are not good people and do bad things according to the religion they are worshiping, they will go to hell or some horrible place in afterlife. If religion right now was taken away by governments of the world the majority of the population would be lost not knowing how to think or what to do. This is where the quote “religion is the opium of the masses” comes in as a person, addicted to drugs would be lost, confused and not knowing what to do without the drug which is what exactly religion is. A drug completely pointless and addicting hundreds a second and without, thousands would be lost. Many people today worship a certain religion as it makes you feel better in many ways but what proof do they have that the god they worship is real? Do they have a scientific way of telling that the god or gods they worship truly exists watching over us as we slowly but surely destroy our birthplace earth? Surely if the gods or god existed he would have fixed the problem and god rid of war, violence and bad things humans do, right? This is what Marx was trying to say that religion is pointless and addict’s people just like opium.
On the other hand however this quote does not ring true. Karl Marx’s opinion on about religion seems very good at first and fits

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Religion is one of the pillars of society. It can be used to rule the common with fair and just practice or it can be used for a rulers own self-improvement and greed. Many times over the course of world history religion is misconstrued and leads individuals to believe self-interrupted version of its holy text. Two of the most prominent religions in world history Islam and Christianity were used to empower those in high authority. This point is made clear with the documents discussed, and show readers that religion is nothing more than tool for the intellect to take advantage of the common masses of society.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chapter 9 Summary

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages

    According to Freud, Marx and others philosophers, they believed that religion is “the opium…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Christopher Hitchens’ New Atheist novel, “God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” written in 2007, highlights everything that is wrong with religion, and how its effects are detrimental to society. Hitchens critiques Christianity, Judaism, and even Hinduism and Buddhism, for their atrocities and blasphemous beliefs and makes a very valid point as to why many individuals have turned away from religion. Though quite persuasive in some cases, other times the novel makes points that seem weak or trivial in regards to the “evilness” of religion. Each chapter of Hitchens’ book emphasizes a certain wrongdoing religion has committed, or how religion has poisoned society.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    * Marxists Disagree: Religion functions serve capitalism. Karl Marx – sees religion as an ideology that is used as a weapon by the ruling class to justify suffering of poor as ‘god-given’…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Week 1 Sociology Notes

    • 1548 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Summarize Max Weber’s ideas about religion, rather than economics, being the central force in social change.…

    • 1548 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tillich writes about religion as “untouchable, awe-inspiring, an ultimate meaning” because in Tillich’s case religion has depth. Therefore, religion is commonly misunderstood according to Tillich as something that “man received something which does not come from him, but which is given to him and may…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    If you allow science and technology to be your god and savior it is proof of a decaying society. If progress becomes more important than spirituality you begin to lose your soul, the very part of you that makes you human. Lenina’s complete lack of knowledge of God, religion, and faith show that even though there is little suffering in the New World, there is no real joy or happiness. True happiness can only come from faith and without it there can only be a mediocre existence. Lenina can not understand John’s religion, the Indian’s beliefs or anything that resembles faith. This is because the New World discourages anything but the present and physical pleasure. This keeps the citizens happy only because they have never experience true emotion.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Karl Marx’s quote, mentioned above, he states that religion can become an addiction and take control of you. This is exactly what happens to the people of Hillsboro as they are involved with this case in their town. The people of Hillsboro are so short sighted and can only see the world and this particular case from their own…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freud does say that religion is important as it controls society and without it there would be anarchy. People wouldn’t see the need to behave if there is no God because they would believe there would be no eternal consequences for their actions. For example someone may murder another person if they believed that nothing would happen to them when they died, however due to the presence of religion the murderer may think more carefully since the threat of eternal damnation is hanging over them.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Barbiturates

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages

    "Religion is the opium of the people" (Karl Max). This famous quote simply says religion does the job of a drug for people. Religion provides comfort to people who are suffering just as people who are physically or mentally in pain receives comfort from the opium drugs. In this week’s lecture Professor Berman also states that “sometimes opium is the opium of the people”. According to the lecture throughout the history the choice of the drugs have changed. 1920’s and 30’s the drug choice was alcohols and cocktails, 1940’s it was just cafe and chocolate bars, 1950’s the drug of choice was barbiturates. 1960’s and 70’s the drug of choice was marihuana and LST and after 1980’s there were many choices. When we watch movies we can see the reflection of those choices on the movies.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religion is found in all ages and all cultures. Its principles and values have given motivation and guidance to every human society. The function of religion in a society is often to explain to people their primal origins, the nature of life, the function and aims of life and reasons for living.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Religion gives us a solid idea of how the world came to be. God created the universe and created man to live on the earth until we all ascend to heaven. Autonomy as many different theories. The big bang theory or just something that appeared by chance. We have meaning and someone behind us who is willing to give us the most of this life. The world has to be balanced in order to function. Good and evil balance it out. God is good, He is here to guide us and lead us to the life after this. Evil is what tries to pull us back and create this idea that we are superior to everyone and everything else, which creates chaos.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx and Max Weber all offer a wide array of thoughts and ideas regarding to religion. Firstly, Emile Durkheim's views of religion will be explained. Durkheim chose to adopt the idea that if religion gave birth to everything essential in society it is because society is the soul of religion (Cosman, 1973, p. 191). Thus, Durkheim chose to view religion as a function which can strengthen social bonds whilst also integrating individuals into society. Durkheim also believed that religion is divided up into two separate sections – the sacred and the profane. The sacred consisted of rites, behavior or objects of reverence that religious belief deemed special, whilst the profane was deemed as everything and anything else in the world which did not have any religious meaning or function (Giddens 1972, p.243). Both of these categories depend on each other for survival; the sacred cannot survive without the profane to support it and vice versa. Karl Marx chose to adopt a…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In a society that offers no hope of happiness or release from struggle and suffering, people quite naturally begin to place their hopes elsewhere. They respond to their condition by hoping for something that lies outside the conditions and constraints they cannot control or influence. Religion becomes some kind of hope for rescue from life. Religion responds by offering either internalization to a spiritual realm or an external hope of a better world and a better life beyond the pale of death.…

    • 4035 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The social conflict approach highlights religion’s support of social inequality. According to Karl Marx, religion serves elites by legitimizing the status quo and diverting people’s attention from social inequalities. Today, the British monarch is the formal head of the Church of England, illustrating the close ties between religious and political elites. In practical terms, working for political change may mean opposing the church and god. Religion also encourages people to accept the social problems of the world while looking for a “better world to…

    • 85 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics