Karl Marx left an important legacy behind him in his theory of Marxism and has been extremely influential over the years. This article will explore his theory of religion; that religion is the opium of the people.
The idea that religion is the opium of the people is a key aspect of Karl Marx's critique of religion found in the introduction of his book "Contribution to Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right". Marx is essentially a sociologist; he was interested in social theory, how society is managed. He believed that all the institutions in society, including religion, revolve around the workings and production of society. His critique was greatly influenced by three other major German philosophers, G.W.F. Hegel, Ludwig Feuerbach and Immanuel Kant.
Feuerbach believed that religion is not based around a theistic God; it is merely a form of self awareness. We create this perfect transcendent Being and he becomes the root of all goodness instead of mankind. Marx was also an atheist, and reflects Feuerbach's beliefs in his theory of religion being an opium. Marx developed Feuerbach's theory further; he examined the existence and connection of religion within the context of the whole of society, including the labour, class and economic sectors.
He studied the social economic structure of society, and concluded that there within that structure lay the reason why there is a need for religion in the first place. Marx believed that once the cause had been dissolved, then the effect, namely religion would also disappear. In order to understand fully the reason why Marx describes religion as the opium of the people, it is necessary to describe his model of the structure of society. For Marx, the base of society is the economic structure which consists of the productive forces and the relations of production (the dialectic). When these two are in a steady relationship then the status quo remains constant, however when they are in conflict with one another, social change occurs. The superstructure (the political structure of society) is supported by the base and is controlled by the owners of productions; and it involves society's ideologies and institutions, which includes religion.
Marx soon concluded that the class system too, being so interconnected with the economic structure of society, was responsible for the existence, and society's need for religion. He saw that the system forces the working class to be kept inflexibly in their place, subjected to the bourgeois, the owners of production. They are kept oppressed, having no say in decisions, or being free to think intuitively, or imaginatively. As a result their creativity is channelled into the belief in religion, which becomes an outlet from their earthly troubles. The concept of heaven and God is accordingly created, to provide comfort for them, with ideas of rewards in the afterlife.
Marx explores the sociology of ideology of the bourgeoisie, the dominant class in society whose main source of income is from selling the products produced by the working class. These owners of production use political ideology to legitimise their power over society, and use the institutions of society for their own gains, as tools of this ideology, an example being religion. There is also philosophical ideology which distorts the way society appears to be, and the way how people look at reality.
Marx thought that religion blinded people of reality; it provides imaginary illusions of happiness and promises of a better life in the after world. The result being that the working class accepted what life has dealt them with no questions. Consequently according to Marx, "opium" is an apt metaphor for religion, as this painkiller also produces hallucinations of distorted reality. Marx was convinced that it was in the bourgeoisie best interest that the working class should indulge in this opiate.
The metaphor of "opium" also is related to Marx's description of religion placing imaginary flowers on the working class's chains; which was an extension of Marx's famous phrase "Workers of world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains". This was the idea that the working class are kept imprisoned by "chains" by the owners of production and religion helps to cover or distract the working class from thinking about their true position in society. Religion provides imaginary solutions to people's problems which means that people fail to try and remedy their problems by taking practical action, thus preventing any kind of social up-rising or revolution from occurring on the part of the working class. Also the teachings promote ideas such as turning the other cheek etcwhich further prevents people from thinking about resisting the system.
Marx therefore maintains that social inequality is justified and not challenged by the institution of religion. He believed categorically that in order for the people to be able to be free from these religious illusions, the reason for these illusions needs to be acknowledged and dealt with. This condition which requires illusions' is the society itself, it is due to the distorted social condition that religion exists. And Marx believed that this critique of religion (which is in reality a critique of society) can have a positive result. He aims through his critique to show how deluded the working class are; they look at the world around them through a religious view, almost like looking through filtered, religious coloured spectacles, on a world of imaginary flowers etc
Here Marx echoes Feuerbach's ideas, agreeing that in religion, humanity becomes second to the illusion. Marx claimed that we need to go beyond this and perceive the world through clear objective eyes, to truly experience reality, and this can only happen when they recognise the true state of society, and how dominated they are by the system.
Marx's critique brings together separate, yet coinciding views of three other German philosophers, and it merges idealistic and materialistic thinkers and theories. Marx provides weight to Feuerbach and Hegel's ideas that religion is the creation of humans by putting it into a wider context, and giving evidence to back his claim from society's economic system
Marx's critique is plausible in that his underlying idea of the class division in society can be seen, although Marx bases his idea of religion on the capitalist society that he saw around him, to also reflect the society depicted in Scriptures. For example when the Jews were subjected to slavery under the Egyptians, it is logical (following Marx's idea) that the Jews constructed the idea of God and that their reward awaited them in the next life, in order for them to have something to focus on, to help them survive the tyranny.
Marx essentially brings the focus of religion down from revolving around invisible transcendent celestial beings who are somewhere out there' in the Cosmos, instead to an awareness of the state that society finds itself in. In effect he grounds religion to earth, thus as it is written in Van Leeuwen, Arend, "Critique of Heaven", "the criticism of heaven is transmitted into the criticism of the earth, the criticism of religion into the criticism of right and the criticism of theology into the criticism of politics".