Functionalist reject the negative side of religion. Marxist see
society divided into 2 classes of the Bourgeosies and
Proletarians
creating class conflict between both opposing sides, once the workers become
aware of their exploitation they will overthrow capitalism
Religion and
Ideology
Ideology- a belief system that distorts reality,
serving the interest of the ruling class
ideology is used as a weapon to legitimise class
inequality e.g. Aseticism- self denial and giving yourself
to your religion.
False conscience- religion distorts reality for
the poor to prevent them from revolting
Neo-Marxism- ignores the positive functions, Religion
assists the idea of class consciousness, stealing from the
rich as a political movement
Lenin-(spiritual Gin) the idea of intoxicating the WC
by creating a mythical fog that keeps them from
revolting
religion legitimises dominate
classes 'disobedience is sinful as
well as illegal'
Religion and
Alienation
Alienation- losing control of individual production, exists in class
society where WC have no freedom of expression
Althusser- Alienation is unscientific, favours
Positive methods
Religion as a Opium- numbing the of exploitation, it can
not offer any solutions to misery, only blur the truth
Justifying social inequality
caste system- Hindus are born into ascribed roles, they cannot marry outside their
caste. Karma teaches that if you lived a good life then you will be born into a higher
caste in the next life time.