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Karl marx conception of Religion
problems with definitions of religion
problem of definition of religion
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A Lost Word
One word in the English language above all others throughout the history has caused more controversy, both in terms of human fatalities and words written about it than religion. Religion has been a subject of major controversy long before there was an English language, long before there was a word for the concept. What follows however, is not a discussion of the controversy, or history for that matter. What follows is a discussion of the word and it’s meaning. “Religion” since it’s first minting has come to be an immensely broad term. So broad in fact that It defies a singular comprehensive definition. The word has come to refer to a loose and chaotically organized system of aspects and ideas, topics of you will. Many philosophers have attempted to define religion but only succeed in identifying a new topic. Overlap is always the case but this continual attempt to define the word has only resulted in the continuation broadening process.
One such philosopher who sought a comprehensive analysis of religion was Karl Marx. Marx explained religion is economic, social and psychological terms. For his purposes Marx succeeded admirably. Marx held that man creates religion for himself and that when he looks into religion he sees his hopes and desires that have realized themselves through fantasy. Key in Marx’s conception is that religion is a construct. Without man there is no religion, that is to say there is nothing behind religion except a reflection of ourselves. The hope that man puts in religion, god, and an afterlife are simple fantasy. This hope is a resignation of the hope that satisfaction can be gained in the immediate world. We believe in a happy afterlife because we have given up hope in this life. The hope is a total illusion. It is the opinion of Karl Marx that due to the nature of religion, specifically its dependence on the fantasized and projected hopes of oppressed people, that when oppression ended, that religion would cease to be a compelling issue to man.
Far from the radical and political atheism of Marx stands Rudolf Otto. Rudolf, rather than examining religion from a secular and economic perspective, Otto focuses on the mystical and personal experience of religion. In fact Otto defines religion as the experience of awe and mystery. Otto describes a feeling of awe in the grasp of what is not so much perceived so much as it is felt.
First, I want to identify who Marx and Nietzsche are and their critiques on religion. Karl
College student drunkenness is far from new and neither are college and university efforts to control it. What is new, however, is the potential to make real progress on this age-old problem based on scientific research results. New research-based information about the consequences of high-risk college drinking and how to reduce it can empower colleges and universities, communities, and other interested organizations to take effective action. Hazardous drinking among college students is a widespread problem that occurs on campuses of all sizes and geographic locations. A recent survey of college students conducted by the Harvard University School of Public Health reported that 44 percent of respondents had drunk more than five drinks (four for women) consecutively in the previous two weeks. About 23 percent had had three or more such episodes during that time. The causes of this problem are the fact that students are living by themselves no longer with parents or guardians; they earn their own money; students need to be a part of a group, be accepted; and they have the wrong idea that to feel drunk is “cool.”
On the third leg of the journey slaves were traded for sugar, molasses and other products. Those products were shipped to Europe or other European colonies in the Americas. The slaves in the West Indies were then sold to whomever wanted to buy some.
Marx predicted that religion would disappear as a phenomenon of false (because there is no God, according to Marx), and churches will become museums. All see how the number of churches in the world increases, a church becoming the heavy believers. However, the council rejected Marx, and yet kept his not believing in God.
In this essay Karl Marx will be discussed using his arguments concerning religion and religious institutions which is thought to play a powerful role in influencing a society and the lives of its members. Karl Marx (1818-1883) referred to religion as the ‘opium of the people’ (1975), like a misused drug it administers to true needs in false ways, however Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) defines religion as a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and practices which united in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them”- Elementary Forms of Religious Life, however they both agree that religion is an important aspect to society. This essay
The production of sugarcane and cotton in the New World increased the urgency for laborers in the new colonies, in which led to the major importation of African slaves. These plantations and farms, in the New World sparked the golden business of slave trading, a business that will guide the Dutch to economic wealth. The Dutch entered the slave trade around the 16th...
Because of this, Marx thought to believe that society and its individuals would not live to their full potential, as a result of this they aren’t truly happy, as they are being tricked by religious teachings to believe that they should be happy and grateful for their lives. Marx theorised that the solution to alienation would be society and individuals cutting themselves off from God which would then allow them to see what reality is really
Religion is a difficult thing to define – although the word implies a deep, spiritual connection with an entity, that is where the concrete label of religion ends. A person can possess religious feelings towards nearly anything, whether it is in the form of a bond with an omnipotent creator, an intense connection with music, or even an unbreakable addiction to a drug. This was a point of emphasis for Karl Marx in “A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right;” specifically, the critical presence of religion in our lives. Marx states that religion is “the opium of the people” – he classifies it as a lifeline to the oppressed, a human creation that offers indispensable hope and meaning. In “Sonny's Blues,” the titular character's
With so many religions out in the world today it only makes it harder for man to feel they are in the right religion. However, it would probably be a lot easier to follow Marx’s and Hume’s religious views where religion does not exist. Between both philosophers Marx’s is the hardest in critiquing religion since it discounts the belief of religion, claiming its poison for man. Hume’s doesn’t completely discard the idea of religion; just for the moment, religions have no cause and affect making it irrational. One can feel this idea can change is religion actually have a cause and effect. I feel by the time man finds the answer for religion, that same day I should find out what came first the chicken or egg?
Each thinker has his own definition of religion. Karl Marx believed that “Man makes religion, religion does not make man”, (H/R, p. 12). Karl Marx views on religion came during the time of an industrial revolution. There were two societies during that time, the rich and the poor. Marx believed that religion was created to make the poor
Following the Industrial Revolution in 19th century Europe, change was in full swing and religion began to have different meanings for different people. The upper-class citizens used Religion, namely Christianity, and the power that it possessed in an attempt to keep their high status in society, while the lower class turned to faith so that their lives could possibly improve. Instead of religion being the cornerstone of faith and worship amongst all people, it was being used for power and money by the upper class. Even worse, religious leaders were using the upper class people as well, gaining money and authority from their endorsement. A man by the name of Karl Marx saw what was happening and thus spoke out about it, declaring religion as “the opium of the people.”[1] He had a vision for equality, and wrote it down in the form of the Communist Manifesto; however nowhere in this document were aspirations of religious harmony. Religion was becoming the catalyst for class separation and social mayhem in 19th century Europe, and according to Karl Marx, equality was only possible with the abolition of it as a whole.
Further stated in the text is Marx’s belief that faith should be replaced with reason, in addition to religion being replaced with science (Christiano et al.,
Mouhammed, A. H. (2011). Important theories of unemployment and public policies. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 12(5), 100-110.
In discussing the similarities between Marx, Weber and Durkheim, it is important to understand what social order and social change are. Social order is the systems of social structures (relations, values and practice etc.) that maintain and enforce certain patterns of behaviour. Whereas, social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society, examples of such alterations can be changes in nature, social institutions, behaviours and/or social relations. (Bratton and Denham 2014) Throughout time, religion has always been a hot topic of controversy, whether it is based on being a part of the same religion, to having different religious views on life and how to live life. This is due in large to the ever changing views on religion and the way it can be practised. Religion can be viewed in both aspects of social order and social change because it is part of a system, however, alterations are frequently made. The three sociologists Marx, Weber and Durkheim have all expressed their views on religion with respect to society. Webers’ views show the effects
Unemployment issue can lead to a lot of impacts to the economic growth. Higher unemployment rate will lead to increase government borrowing. When people are without their job, they would paid less in the income tax. So, it will cause a drop in tax revenue because there are lesser people paying income tax and spending less. Due to the loss of earnings to the unemployed, the government need to spend more subsidy for them in housing benefits and income support.