Review article
Marxism and religion: Criticism of the Marxist conception of religion
Božo Norac-Kljajo
; Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Split
Abstract
In the article the author deals with the phenomenon of religion.
Among the numerous attempts of philosophy and other social
sciences throughout history to answer the numerous questions
that arise from the phenomenon of religion, the author has chosen
the Marxist-liberal theory and its attempt to deny the objective
value of religion, interpreting its phenomenon and role in society
by the socio-political conditions.
After a brief historical review of philosophical thoughts, the
author is especially concerned with the bearers of the theory of
demystification of religion at the end of 18th and the beginning of
19th century.
Then, he presents the opinions of the main protagonists of
that theory, Feuerbach, Marx, Engels, Lenin, who consider religion
an illusion, alienation, opium of the people, etc. According to Marx,
religion is the perquisite for any other criticism, and since religion,
being an upgrading, is actually alienation, in communism it should
disappear, etc.
After he has presented the Marxist-liberal teaching on religion,
the author takes a critical approach to its theories, to the concept
of alienation, upgrading, the origin and disappearance of religion
in communism, pointing out that these theories are ideologically
loaded, terms undefined, hypotheses insufficiently supported,
methods tight, generalizations and conclusions arbitrary, and
theories in disagreement with facts and history.
Keywords
religion; criticism of religion; alienation; upgrading; demystification; opium of people; monotheism; polytheism
Hrčak ID:
75101
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2011.
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