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

Neo-Marxism & religion

• Neo-Marxists argue that religion does not always act as a conservative force, as traditional Marxists suggest

• Instead, religion has a dual character:

  • It can legitimate ruling-class power but also act as a force for change

The dual character of religion

• Bloch (1959) claimed that religion has a dual nature – it has a positive and negative effect on social change

  • It can justify inequality and act conservatively by discouraging change

  • But it also contains a 'principle of hope' – visions of a better world that can inspire protest and revolutionary movements

Religion & hegemony

• Gramsci (1971) agreed with this analysis and argues that the ruling class maintain power through hegemony

• Religion can support ruling-class dominance by promoting values that justify inequality

• However, it can also produce 'organic intellectuals' – leaders who challenge ruling-class ideas and raise class consciousness

  • E.g., some Catholic priests in 1920s–30s Italy supported workers against Mussolini’s fascism

Religion & social change

• Maduro (1982) agreed with Gramsci's ideas; religion can be a revolutionary force, especially where political opposition is banned

• In such contexts, the church may act as a safe outlet for discontent and provide a platform for resistance

• Religious leaders often have charismatic authority, inspiring their congregations while enjoying protection from state repression

• If harmed, they could trigger popular uprisings, turning religious movements into political ones that could influence positive social change

  • E.g., Liberation theology in Latin America

Liberation theology

• A radical movement emerging in 1960s–70s Latin America, rooted in Catholicism

• Priests supported the poor against military dictatorships and capitalist exploitation

• They aimed to transform society through:

  • creating support groups for the poor

  • protecting workers from oppression under the church’s authority

  • educating communities about their situation, raising awareness and mobilising resistance

• The movement succeeded in Nicaragua: Many priests and lay Catholics backed the Sandinista revolution that overthrew the dictator Somoza in 1979—so religion helped a revolutionary change

• By the 1980s, Church leaders in Rome (The Vatican) opposed liberation theology because it drew on Marxist ideas; they warned against it and disciplined some priests, which stopped the movement

• This case shows religion can be a force for resistance and liberation, not only a conservative force that maintains the status quo

The Pentecostal challenge

• Pentecostalism has become a rival to liberation theology in Latin America

• Unlike liberation theology’s collective struggle, Pentecostalism focuses on individual empowerment through:

  • hard work

  • abstinence

  • family values

• Seen by some (e.g., Lehmann, 2002) as offering a conservative solution to poverty similar to Weber’s Protestant ethic

• Liberation theology focuses on collective change through radical political action in the public sphere, while Pentecostalism emphasises conservative individual self-improvement within the private sphere of family and church

Millenarian movements

• Religion often raises hopes of a better world in the afterlife, but it can also inspire a desire to transform life on Earth

• In the 19th–20th-century religious movements in Melanesia (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji), prophesied an imminent, world-transforming arrival of “cargo” (wealth, goods, justice) brought by ancestors or divine powers

• Millenarian movements seek to create a 'heaven on earth'

  • A life free from pain, sin, corruption and inequality (Worsley, 1968)

• These transformations are collective: the whole group is saved, not just individuals

Features of millenarian movements

• Appeal to the marginalised: Strong pull for the poor and dispossessed, promising swift relief from hardship and injustice

• Colonial settings: Often arise under colonial rule, where traditional leaders and gods lose credibility as people are forced into poverty while colonisers live in luxury

• Blending beliefs: Worsley noted that many millenarian movements combined traditional beliefs with Christian ideas, e.g., Heaven rewarding the righteous, Judgement Day, and punishment of the wicked

• Link to politics: Many anti-colonial nationalist leaders in the 1950s–60s drew inspiration from such movements, which Engels saw as the first stirrings of proletarian self-consciousness

Cargo cults in Melanesia

• In the 19th and 20th centuries, islanders believed vast “cargo” (goods, wealth, technology) was meant for them—to be delivered by ancestors or divine agents—but had been diverted by Europeans

• This sense of injustice sparked cargo cults

  • Movements that promised a this-worldly transformation in which colonial power would end and prosperity and justice would arrive for the whole community

• The movements often led to widespread unrest, threatening the authority of colonial regimes

  • E.g. gatherings, marches, refusals to pay taxes—these could look like unrest to colonial authorities

Evaluation of the neo-Marxist view of religion

Strengths

• Shows religion can inspire resistance

  • Neo-Marxists highlight how religion has mobilised oppressed groups, acting as a catalyst for social justice

  • Examples include Liberation Theology in Latin America, where priests supported the poor, and Billings’ coal miners, where churches backed workers’ struggles

• Recognises religion’s dual role

  • Unlike traditional Marxism, it sees religion as both oppressive and liberating, depending on the context

  • This makes the analysis more flexible and realistic since religion has historically legitimised inequality but has also been used to challenge it (e.g., the civil rights movement in the USA)

Criticisms

• Limited impact

  • Movements like Liberation Theology have often been suppressed or diluted (e.g., by the Vatican in the 1980s), showing religion may not sustain long-term revolutionary change

  • Even when religion initially inspires resistance, its radical potential may be short-lived once states or ruling powers push back

• Overstates radical potential:

  • In many cases, religion encourages conservative adaptation rather than revolution

  • For instance, Pentecostalism promotes self-help, discipline, and family values, helping people cope with poverty without challenging capitalism, echoing Weber’s Protestant ethic