The Marxist View of Religion (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Marxism & religion

• Marxists argue that religion is an ideology that serves the ruling class

• Religion is a conservative force, as it maintains social stability by creating false consciousness among the working class

Religion as ideology

• Religion is a belief system that distorts reality in ways that benefit the ruling class

• The ruling class controls the production and spread of ideas through institutions such as the Church, the education system, and the media

• Religion promotes ideas that:

  • inequality is natural, God-given, and unchangeable

  • suffering is virtuous, and the poor will be rewarded in the afterlife if they accept their position

• By teaching obedience and self-sacrifice, religion promotes false consciousness, which helps the ruling class maintain power

• Lenin (1870–1924) described religion as 'spiritual gin' — an intoxicant handed to the masses to confuse and pacify them

• Althusser (1971) saw religion as an ideological state apparatus, legitimating class inequality and supporting capitalist control

Religion & alienation

• Under capitalism, workers are alienated:

  • from the product of their labour

  • from one another

  • from their human potential

• Alienation is greatest in factories where repetitive, meaningless work dominates

• Religion provides an escape by offering hope and meaning, but this only masks the underlying exploitation

Religion as the 'Opium of the Masses'

• Marx (1844) claimed that religion acts like a drug: it dulls the pain of exploitation without tackling its root cause

• Comfort is provided through beliefs such as:

  • an afterlife

  • suffering as a test from God

• Religion encourages workers to accept inequality rather than resist it

• By offering illusory happiness, religion distracts from reality and prevents real social change

• In this way, religion promotes social stability by discouraging revolution

Applications of Marxism

• Hinduism & the caste system:

  • Hindus believe that they are born into their caste (similar to social class) as a result of karma from a previous life

  • Those in lower castes are told to accept inequality as divine punishment, with the promise of reward in the next life

• Christianity vs socialism

  • Engels (1895) claimed that socialism and Christianity have some similar features

    • Both ideologies appeal to the poor by offering a better life

    • Christianity offers salvation in the afterlife, while socialism promises change in the here and now

  • Religion prevents meaningful change by focusing on the next world instead of this one

  • Marxists argue that in a communist society, where inequality no longer exists, religion would no longer be needed

Evaluation of the Marxist view of religion

Strengths

• Links religion to power and inequality

  • Leach (1988) notes that religion is tied to elites

  • E.g., the monarch is head of the Church of England, and most bishops are privately educated — showing religion is dominated by the wealthy

• Religion appeals to the poor and insecure

  • Norris & Inglehart (2004) suggest that people facing existential insecurity (poverty, lack of healthcare/welfare) are more likely to be religious

  • This may explain why the USA, with weaker welfare support, is more religious than the UK

Criticisms

• Overemphasis on oppression

  • Religion doesn’t always reinforce ruling-class power; it can also be a source of resistance and change (e.g. Liberation Theology in Latin America)

  • By focusing only on control, Marxists ignore the ways religion may empower the oppressed or give a platform for protest

• Secularisation

  • In many societies, religion’s influence has declined, making it less effective as an ideological tool

  • Alternative belief systems (e.g., secular humanism, nationalism) may now provide legitimacy for inequality instead

• Too deterministic

  • Marx assumes religion always manipulates the working class into obedience, but people can reinterpret or resist religious teachings

    Religion has also been used to promote social justice and equality (e.g., the civil rights movement in the USA led by Christian leaders)

• Communist societies remain religious

  • Marx predicted religion would disappear under communism, but it has persisted in communist states, showing his theory was too simplistic

  • Christianity is actually growing in countries like China, predicted to become the largest Christian nation by 2030.