Defining Religion Essay - 2695 Words

Defining Religion Religion is only the illusory sun which revolves round man as long as he does not revolve round himself. Karl Marx. Before we can look at the Marxist theory of religion we must first have some understanding of what religion is. For many in todays world religion is becoming something alien, only 3% of the population of Britain attend Church! Religion is, however, much more than simple Church attendance, something that has never been high amongst the British working-class. Religion for me involves two things: beliefs and practices, or, rituals. Roland Robertson defines religion in the†¦show more content†¦How do you object? The only thing to do is not to go to the ritual. Imagine getting up in the middle of one of the Ministers prayers and stating your objections, you would either be ignored or thrown from the place of worship. Rituals are sacred, not to be interrupted or questioned. What Im concerned with here is less the ritual aspect of religion as the beliefs that form religions and the religious hierarchies that hold a measure of power, in some societies more than others, vis-à  -vis the State and civil society in general. What did Marx and Engels think of religion? Marx had as much time for religion as the religious had for Marxism. For Marx religion is an illusion, a creation of humanity. God did not create humanity: humanity creates its Gods. The phenomenon of religion is part of what Marx refers to as alienation. Alienation is a situation in which the creations of humanity appear alien, that is, we do not recognise our own hand in their creation and assign to them powers that only we ourselves possess or could possess if only we did not assign them to superhuman beings that do not exist. Marx was very much influenced by the work of philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach. According to Feuerbach God was merely a projection of humanitys attributes, desires and potentialities. Once menShow MoreRelatedDefining Religion1029 Words   |  5 PagesWhen searching for the meaning of the term religion one most go a long way in making an extensive search to actually form a definition that can fit such a broad word. There is no one definition that can satisfy all religions and remain true to all religions throughout its answer. There are many different views and definitions of the word and it is very hard to come up with a reasonable definition that sums such a massive expression up. Religion when used as a single word is almost impossible to defineRead MoreDefining Religion Essay1687 Words   |  7 PagesDefining Religion The most fundamental question when examining a religion is what is religion? 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First, an area of life in which humans encounter the emotional feeling of pride is in their practice of religion. An ideal example of humans displaying pride in their religion is the Muslim community. SomeRead MoreMeaning and End of Religion Essay934 Words   |  4 Pages September 17, 2011 Intro to Phil of Religion Professor Skorobogatov-Gray Banner ID: 800494043 The Meaning and End Of Religion Wilfred Cantwell Smith In the article, The Meaning and End of Religion, by Wilfred Cantwell Smith writes about his idea of the concept of religion explaining it to be a universally valid category as it is theorized but is truly a European creation. Throughout the article Smith conveys his ideas of religion. In his piece, there are several interestingRead MoreThe Social Vs. The Individual946 Words   |  4 PagesThe Social vs. The Individual The concept of religion is a vastly complex and broad idea that many social theorists have tried to define over the course of history. Emile Durkheim and William James are two main theorists whose research has had a significant effect on how religion is viewed by many today. Although Durkheim and James are on different sides of the spectrum when it comes to their explanations of the role of religion in society and in the individual, there are also many similarities