Karl Marx : The Social Function Of Religion

Karl Marx was born in Prussia in 1818. Later in his life he became a newspaper editor and his writings ended up getting him expelled by the Prussian authorities for its radicalism and atheism (Perry 195). He then met Fredrich Engels and together they produced The Communist Manifesto in 1848, for the Communist League. This piece of writing basically laid out Marx’s theory of history in short form (Coffin 623). The Communist Manifesto is mainly revolved around how society was split up into two sides, the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat. I do believe that the ideas of the Communist Manifesto did indeed look educated on paper but due to the lessons of history communism is doomed to fail in the past, present, and future. Communism did not prevail in many different countries, two of them being Berlin and the Soviet Union.

Karl Marx’s view of society was based around the economy. All other social structures according to Marx, such as religion, family values, and politics stem from the base, the economy. Religion played no part at all in Marx’s sociological views. He is known as an atheist. He believed that religion was nothing more than a burden on society. “The

Marx’s primarily aims to explain how communism will free men, end the class struggle. The work argues that class struggles, and the exploitation of one class by another is the source of all inequality. Marx’s theories become one the motivating force behind all historical developments. The work strongly advocates the freedom of the proletariats which Marx’s claims can only be achieved when property and other goods cease to be privately owned. He see’s that private property has been a problem through out history, capital that aids the ruling class to maintain control. Marx argues that the lower class come together in a revolution and gain power and eventually take the power away from the upper class.

During the late 1800s, the eminent German philosopher, Karl Marx sought to create an equilibrium between the social strata by abolishing social classes. His doctrine, Marxism, is based on the idea that the means of production is the foundation of society, and ownership of this dictates the fate of the civilization. Marx attempted to place the means of production, including factories, into control of the people who operated the means of production(proletariat), and not just the owners of it (bourgeois). In Marx’s vision, society is driven not by spirituality, but by material objects. The proletariat and bourgeois may have ambivalent views on the division of wealth, but ultimately, the owners of the means of production make the decision. The

For Karl Marx, the changes in religion ultimately reflect the changes happening in society, because the religious world is just a reflection of the real world. If this is the case here, the use of technology in a religious setting would make sense, as our technological world is ever expanding and will further benefit the people at the top of religious hierarchies. In terms of online for-profit churches, Marx might argue that the market is driving the religious realm to cater to technological advances. Marx states in The Communist Manifesto, “The feudal system of industry…now no longer sufficed for the growing wants of the new markets”, meaning that longstanding religious traditions, such as confession and synagogue teachings before Bar/Bat

Generally, Marx’s position on religion is drawn up in an entirely negative manner. In his writings, he expresses his belief that religion is a set of doctrines intended to stabilize, while at the same time bring into servitude the working class people. In addition to that, he argues that the society’s inclination towards religious excitement serves to represent a reaction to disaffection. Also, Marx contends that, since religion causes human beings to feel delusive happiness it makes an erroneous mental representation in as well as of itself. Indeed to him, it is an instrument utilized to sustain cultural systems together with ideologies that in most cases encourages oppression in the society (Parsons 38-46).

Furthermore, Marx’s upbringing also showed him religion 's “seductive tyranny”. His father, a Rabbi, had turned away from Judaism, for the family was living in a predominantly Protestant area that was discriminatory against the Jewish people, especially by the rulers of the county (Wheen 9). Marx’s childhood had an immense impact on his life. He was born bourgeois Jew who turned from his faith, argued for socialist values, and eventually died penniless and nearly friendless. As a result of his upbringing, Marx was able to be educated on the ideas of socialism, for he lived in a wealthy family and was able to attend college. His father’s religious switch from Judaism to Christianity not only turned him away from Judaism, but ended up preventing Marx from becoming a Rabbi himself. The nurturing, more father-like, nature of his father-in-law prompted Marx to pursue knowledge and growth over religious ideas or social etiquette. His childhood was the mold that shaped Karl Marx into the man he would become.

During the late 1800s, the eminent German philosopher, Karl Marx sought to create an equilibrium between the social strata. His doctrine, Marxism, is based on the idea that the means of production is the foundation of society, and ownership of this dictates the identity of the civilization. Marx attempted to place the means of production, such as factories, into control of the people who oversaw the production(proletariat), and not just the owners of the companies (bourgeois). In Marx’s vision, society is driven not by spirituality, but by material objects. The proletariat and bourgeois may have ambivalent views on the division of wealth, but ultimately, the owners of the means of production make the decision. The bourgeois conducts the proletariat

There are many reasons why Marx’s social theory places so much emphasis on class conflict and the economic aspects of society. Marx created his theory during a period of time where there was a large level of social change which led to modifications in the ways in which people worked (Morrison, 2012). This social change impacted his sociological thinking, encouraging him to explore topics such as materialism, alienation and surplus labour as a means of explaining reasons for the large levels of social change which this essay will go on to discuss. These topics all influenced his decision to place a lot of emphasis on class conflict and the economic aspects of society as it was a new and upcoming phenomena.

The concept of religion is a contentious terrain with the subject being viewed as divisive and discordant within Nations. Beckford and Luckmann (1989) discuss religion as a continuous challenge to scientists studying society. Since the industrial revolution there has been ambivalent dichotomy of opinion towards religion with some perceiving religious ideology continuing as normal, whilst others believed the concept would be discarded as the new social order developed. This essay will consider the perspectives of Marx and Engels upon the role of Religion and will also discuss how relevant there argument is in the 21st century. The use of academic text, lecture notes and journal articles will be used to research and answer the essay

Throughout history, religion has played a significant function in society as a medium through which people connect, via various rituals and symbols (Marsh et al. 2009). When the subject of Marx, Engels and religion is discussed, the famous quote ‘Religion is the opiate of the masses’ (Marx as cited in Raines 2002, p.5) is one that is for the most part, at the forefront of people’s minds. It is often a misconception that Marx and Engels viewed religion in a predominantly negative light and saw it as something that human beings had no use for. On the contrary, as this essay will endeavour to show, Marx and Engels not only saw religion as a force used by the elite to control the repressed and justify their actions, but it is also an

Karl Marx was born in Trier, Germany on May 5th 1818. During his early years he studied philosophy and law, in 1834 Marx had moved to Paris and had adopted a radical view of socialism known as communism. Marx met and became friends with a man named Friedrich Engels, who shared similar views with Marx. Marx and Engels joined a society called the League of

          Although, Karl Marx was not alive to see his own ideas actualized throughout his lifetime, he had proposed questions and theories that would be known today as international communism. According to the BBC historical archives, Karl Heinrich Marx was born on May 5, 1818 in Trier, Western Germany. He was the oldest surviving boy of nine children. Karl Marx' father was a successful lawyer, during the duration of Marx' youth. His father was a devout follower of Voltaire and Kant, with regards to the era of enlightenment. Both Karl Marx' mother and father were Jewish and were historically connected to a long line of rabbinical figures. Despite their Jewish background, his father was

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German sociologist and philosopher renowned for his analyses of political economy. According to his theories, capitalism is dependent on exploitation. That is, the working class (the proletariat) works for the owning class (the bourgeoisie), but rather than receive a compensation equivalent to its actual labor, or production value, the working class is underpaid, with a surplus, or profit, pouring into the pockets of the owners. Although the proletariat receives the short end of the stick, so to speak, its members are forced to sell labor power to the bourgeoisie in order to receive wages necessary for survival. Thus, conflict between the owners and workers, known as mutual antagonism, is inherit in the capitalist system, as workers fight for higher wages and shorter working days while owners attempt to combat these demands to maximize profit. Marx’s theory of history, known as dialectical materialism, is focused on the notion that societies evolve through a

Though Marx views the communist revolution as an unavoidable outcome of capitalism, his theory stipulates that the proletariat must first develop class consciousness, or an understanding of its place within the economic superstructure. If this universal character of the proletariat does not take shape, then the revolution cannot be accomplished (1846: 192). This necessary condition does not pose a problem within Marx’s theoretical framework, as the formation of class consciousness is inevitable in Marx’s model of society. His writings focus on the idea that economic production determines the social and political structure (1846, 1859). For Marx, social class represents a person’s relation to the means of production, a relation that he believes is independent of