As Marx said, “It is the opium of the people.” He did not clearly declare whether or not the religion has a completely negative influence on the society. “Religion is the opium of the people” seems a little bit extreme to describe religion because many people might just link opium as the problematic drug addiction from the history text. However, it is interesting that Marx’s chose Opium to describe religion, Opium is not a completely a bad thing, and it can actually be useful in some medical use. I feel like Marx was trying to suggest that whether or not religion is positive or negative effects have to depend on how a person views and practices the religion. One person can misappropriate religion, like over relying on opium, but a person can use religion as a way to find his/her own self-esteem, like using opium to relief from pain.
Quoted from Marx, “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions.” The religion can be seems as the fulfillment of the world’s imperfections, and as the mental supports of people. It is truth that religion might led human to a wrong direction, for example, the religion conflicts between different Christianity branches, however, the starting point of any religion is to have faith and hope in this imperfect world.
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I think that your analysis of Marx's diction of opium is interesting because as you explained opium can be seen as a positive and a negative force.
ReplyDeleteI don't quite understand the use of the last Marx quote you used. I think you make a valid point, but I'm confused how the quote supports your argument.
Janice, this is very similar to my thoughts! I think that Marx is trying to carefully suggest that religions can have positive intentions, too! I like how you gave examples, in which religions are shown beneficial!
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