Since religious belief existed in tribal societies before economic class societies ho

[tradeunionsupporter]

Since religious belief existed in tribal societies before economic class societies existed how can it be said that Religion is the opiate of the masses and used by the Bourgeoisie to keep the Proletariat oppressed ?

[$lim_$weezy]

Simply because religion is not specific to capitalism does not mean that it is not utilized under capitalism to oppress.

[Tim Finnegan]

Since religious belief existed in tribal societies before economic class societies existed how can it be said that Religion is the opiate of the masses and used by the Bourgeoisie to keep the Proletariat oppressed ?
When Marx described religion as the "opiate of the masses", he was suggesting more that it was a painkiller than it was a narcotic, as would have been the more immediate association of the term "opiate" in 1844. His point was that religious practices become a way for the exploited poor to numb the pain of their destitute, exploited existence by providing a balm for their spiritual wounds- which Marx, the great humanist, saw as every bit as significant as the physical wounds of impoverishment- and particularly in those religions dealing with a paradisical hereafter, by deferring compensation for a hard-working life until after death.
Certainly, he was not simplistic enough to suggest that religion was necessarily a tool of bourgeois- or feudal aristocratic, or tributary aristocratic, etc.- oppression, not least because many of his early contemporaries in the socialist and communist movements were of a religious bent, and turned their systems of belief squarely against the bourgeoisie, a phenomenon that repeats itself to this day across the globe. In fact, he even went so far as to defend the religious (http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=8373)- if not the institutions or practices of religion- against some of their liberal critics, the Dawkins of the age, regarding proletarian religiosity with a haughty bourgeois sneer, rather than the humanist sympathy which Marx extended.

[Astarte]

Since religious belief existed in tribal societies before economic class societies existed how can it be said that Religion is the opiate of the masses and used by the Bourgeoisie to keep the Proletariat oppressed ?

And here is the kernel of the organized-religion vs. spirituality confusion and problems rampant in the Left. Spirituality has existed long before the advent of the state, class society, organized religion, etc... In the tribal societies spirituality was not used as a mechanism of coercion but rather guidance - such as Shaman administering ayahausca to initiates - pre-state "religion" seems to have just been a kind of shamanism actually designed to create in people elevated states of consciousness and an insight into a metaphysical reality.

I think pre-state people using myth and legend as a way of "explaining thunder and lightning" is a bit simplistic - when you truly think about it, science can explain nothing substantial about the origin of the universe itself, much less the origin of consciousness. So, all our scientific texts attempting to explain such things amount to in explanatory quality the ancient's understanding of lightning being caused by Jove tossing down a few bolts.

When the state came along it co-opted spirituality itself and created organized religion. For the same very reason that spirituality is so popular with so many people was every statist economic mode in history able to more or less devise an organized religion or two to keep their populations in check - they co-opted the most important thing to humanity - enlightenment, and turned it into at best a foggy haze and at worst complete darkness.

[Inquisitive Lurker]

First, he said it was the OPIUM of the masses, not OPIATE, there weren't opiates back then.

Second, he was referring to its use as a palliative. The masses voluntarily use religion to ease their pain.

Third, it is true that ORGANIZED religion has been used to control the masses, that is a more recent phenomenon, though it still predates Capitalism by thousands of years. Though roughly organize religion does correspond with the development of private property.

In conclusion, you can not consider religion and Capitalism or private property to be the same enemy. We have many enemies, and we must wage war on all of them.

[tradeunionsupporter]

Ok is Religion the Opium of the masses because oppressed Workers will hope for a better life in a next life/afterlife heaven ?

[Inquisitive Lurker]

Ok is Religion the Opium of the masses because oppressed Workers will hope for a better life in a next life/afterlife heaven ?

That certainly was the interpretation used in Animal Farm when the raven preached about "Sugar Lump Land" or something similar.

[ComradeMan]

First, he said it was the OPIUM of the masses, not OPIATE, there weren't opiates back then..


Actually he said "Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes" so the translation is open.
:lol:
Opiates did exist in Marx' time.