The Role Of Religion In Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx

The fear of early twentieth century dystopian writers is the fear that people in general had in this era; what is the impact of communism or what the future of religion with evolution and Darwinism would be. The may concern was that if religion was obsolete, what would replace it as the moral compass of the people. One of the most important individuals of the early twentieth century Karl Marx had his own philosophy for a replacement. The role of religion in Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto is stated as,” But Communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality, instead of constituting them on a new basis…’" (Marx 19) That new bases he mentioned in the quote is the state, the new morale code that society must follow.

George Orwell understood this and in his book 1984, he made the state into the role as the moral code of society. Take a look for example at the character of Big Brother in the story of 1984 he is the omnipotent leader, the face of society which society must follow and worship. Big Brother is often praised in this story as stated, “Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful. Every success, every achievement, every victory, every scientific discovery, all knowledge, all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are held to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration (Orwell 449). Does that quote not sound comparable to this bible quote, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit…” (Psalm 103:2-5). The statement that George Orwell is making is that people need someone to worship whether there is religion or not, because they need a positive figure to admire, or fear. The real life example of this would be from the Soviet Union, and it would be Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin for a period of time was Big Brother, who through propaganda was seen as an omnipotent leader. The concerns of George Orwell were justified with real world examples, as his book was based on his fears of his time period. The interesting observation is that Karl Marx wanted to get rid of God and religion entirely because it could corrupt the people into harming themselves and others, not replace him with another figure that could be idolized.