Religion Is The Opium Of The People Philosophy Essay

Religion Is The Opium Of The People Philosophy EssayReligion is the opium of the people Karl Marx, Critique of Hegels Philosophy of Right, 1844The design of both uniquely dissimilar considerations being used together often raises the eyes of persons who taper on strategies to influence the thinking and actions of many persons. In this case, trust represents those persons around the globe who hold powerfully held tenets. Opium, conversely, often represents an addictive substance that shifts the ability of individuals to maintain control of their own faculties, abilities, or behaviors. Each term provides numerous images in the minds of people who value all religion or the use of substances. In this case, however, the impairment are used in a statement of emphasis that demands that unitary see the critical oversight that Karl Marx was approaching in 1844.According to Oxford Dictionaries (2009), Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman lordly power, especially a personal God or gods. Opium is a reddish -brown heavy-scented addictive drug vigilant from the juice of the opium poppy, used illicitly as a narcotic and occasionally in medicine as an analgesic. The opium of the people is a thought and action-reaction regarded as inducing a false and unrealistic sense of ecstasy among people. In this case, it is Religion, match to Marx. History reports that the majority of people look at that Marx criticizes religion as being a relief for the masses, in the way that it creates an illusive fantasy to the poor, assuring them that even if they are living in misery in this life, they ordain find true happiness in the afterlife, thus only screen the problem and not solving it. However, based on the sudden change in the nineteenth one C (period in which Marx lived) of how opium is perceived, the recite can be assessed in two ways positively and negatively. This makes it interesting for us to analyze it since history plays a big part on how it s hould be understood.Since prehistoric times, opium has been used world roomy. From Egypt to China, it was exceedingly regarded and used for many things, such as to relieve pain, to bring courage and strength to soldiers, to reach a feeling of ecstasy or to get in touch with the divine. These practices continue and spread, until the 19th century, when its negative set up were being detected. At this point, opium was found to be addictive, some(a)times lethal and had started to be regulated. The impact and harm that was through through the use of opium caused societies to consider changing the perspective held on the use of the drug. Eventually, the use of opium became illegal because its damage was significant to the members of every society where it was used. Parenthetically, it was and sometimes still is being used for medical experiments and pain-reduction, delusional practices to this daylight and remains the most efficient pain-killer. However, despite the illegalization of opium and its derivatives, it was and is still being used by a wide variety of people in all parts of the world, most commonly in the form of heroin, in order to achieve a feeling of pleasure and to escape from reality.In the 19th century, opium was responsible for two wars that took place between the United Kingdom and China. The Opium Wars occurred because China illegalized the drug though the United Kingdom continued to traffic it in China, through India.After having had an overview on the history of opium, we can now deduce the different possible meanings that Marx conveys in his quote.In a first perspective, Marx could imply that religion is the opium of the people in a positive manner. This being the case, Marx meant that opium provides solacement and relief. Since Marx was a big supporter of the proletarian movement, which in his time was on the job(p) in horrible conditions and leading miserable lives in cities, Marx might have insinuated that religions purpose was to crea te illusory fantasies for the poor as opium did for drug abusers and addicts. Economic realities often prevented the poor and to a large extent, even the aristocrats, from conclusion true happiness in this life so religion tells them that this is OK because through a belief in God, through accepting the power and dominance of God through dying and going to heaven, one will find true happiness in the next life. Additionally, religion might bring comfort to people in hard times, for example during times of war, when people would pray for God to protect them, or after the death of a loved one, thinking this person would go to heaven and be at peace.Another argument would be that religion and opium give courage to people. Christians and Muslims believe that God Allah is always with them, defend them and loving them, which could boost their confidence and make them feel they can do anything with God on their side. Lastly, religion can give, for some, a purpose to life based on the pr inciples and tenets of God suggesting that God has a innovation for each human being. Moreover, it explains all that science is unable to explain, for example the creation of the Human race. Effectually, what is not scientific is created by faith often unchallengeable in the eyes of rational thought. To conclude, Marx could be stating by his quote that people are in distress and religion provides solace, just as people who are physically injured receive relief from opiate-based drugs.On the other hand, Marx could very well be criticizing religion. First of all, opiates do not fix a physical injury, they merely make you forget pain for a confine time this is a good thing only if you work on solving the underlying root of the pain. Equivalently, religion doesnt fix peoples pain, it simply conceals their reasons of suffering and causes them to look ahead to an illusory future when the pain will cease, instead of working on changing their present condition. In other words, Religion a s opium creates an unreal world that prevents people from being accountable for their own lives and their own futures since they believe their path is traced and controlled by a certain God. They are thus led to let things happen and not be responsible for the berth in which they are. Moreover, religion is used as a control mechanism that gives power and authority of some over the masses. The desire to create a collective unconscious that diminishes the power of man to an acquiescing to the power and authority of a high power often unseen and unknown. Because of the unknown nature -there is a concern that the higher power is infinite man is finite, and in that finite nature, man can never be in control of his own destiny. Thus, man must acquiesce to the power of the higher authority, and its emissary on humankind the Church. However, the church service is the work of man and is bound to be flawed. For example, regarding Christianity, Jesus advocated helping the poor, but the Christian church merged with the oppressive Roman state, taking part in the enslavement of people for centuries. In the Middle-Ages the Catholic Church preached about heaven, but acquired as much property and power as possible.Finally, religion, just worry opium, is a cause of war. Opium was the cause of two wars between the United Kingdom and China in the 19th century. Similarly, religion was the cause of the crusades, a war between Christians and Muslims that lasted nearly two centuries. This could be one of the reasons wherefore Marx associated the word opium with religion.The quote Religion is the opium of the people can apply to the two major religions Christianity and Islam. Both religions believe in one God, and both believe in a final judgment, where a person is judged according to their actions on earth, and then sent to either Heaven, place of joy and bliss where they will be happy, either in Hell where they will spend an eternity of misery. On the other hand, other reli gions such as Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation of the spirit, which means the person might or might not be happy in his new life, and this excludes Marxs theory of religion being a comfort to the people.