Religion is as Religion Does
In 1843, Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opium of the masses.” This quote is often
misunderstood, but rarely misused. When we read the actual quote, it sounds a
bit different. “Religion is the sigh of
the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of
soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
When reading the proceeding sentence, we see that Karl Marx
is describing what religion does, rather what it is. In that particular quote,
Marx does not say religion is a narcotic, doping people into stupid submission.
Rather, he says religion does something; it makes the world a more bearable
place to live for oppressed, heartless, soulless world and people.
Marx believed that society was bad, people were bad, and
people at the top used religion to fool people into thinking that their world
was okay. Make no mistake – Marx thought that religion was a powerful
manipulation used to dupe people into remaining poor and ignorant while the
powerful maintained their power. If history has taught us anything, when one is
in a position of power, religion is useful.
Today, religion is still used to convince poor,
suffering people that they will be rewarded in an afterlife. We still see
Christian, Jewish, and Islamic charlatans telling poor people that they will be
compensated in the afterlife. Problem is – the afterlife does not exist for
anyone, rich or poor.
Marx believed that religion is used to make people feel good
about themselves. I have a theory that this is one of the reasons theists get
so angry when atheists say ‘there is no god.’ I never felt angry when a theist
say, ‘god is real.’ I suppose, the difference is that atheism is not something
I need to feel good about myself, whilst theists need religion to feel good
about themselves. When we say ‘there is no god’, we are attacking the very
source of their self-esteem.
When we think about the quote, “Religion is the opium of the
Masses,” we should understand that Marx was not describing what religion is,
but instead he was describing what it does.
The central existential assertion defining what I call Middle Eastern monotheism, is the existence of an immaterial and immortal soul associated with every human being that has ever lived. Moreover, that soul exists forever after the death of the natural body. That postmortem condition of the soul is termed "the afterlife."
ReplyDeleteThat our universe is what it is thanks to a Higher Intelligence I deem as very likely, in part because of what are known as the anthropic coincidences. God reveals himself primarily through the laws of physics. The laws of physics permit the terrestrial biosphere.
Does that Higher Intelligence value our species? Each individual member of our species? That's a harder question. Part of the emotional appeal of Christianity is that it answers both questions with a firm Yes.
Do we have souls, and do souls enjoy an infinite afterlife? There is no evidence of that, and that is why Middle Eastern monotheism has a troubled future over the very long run. True Buddhism does not assume an afterlife.
Middle Eastern monotheism = {Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Ba'hai, Druze, a handful of Iraqi sects}.