Religion as an Opiate of the People
Religion is a specialized system of worship and religion, or the belief in a superhuman ruling authority, notably gods or a personal God. Regardless of the superhuman being they worship, the majority of the world's population is a believer. On religion, Tolchin quotes Karl Marx, who argued that religion is an opium for the impoverished. Karl Marx compared religion to an opiate painkiller since it does not repair physical injury but rather relieves pain and suffering. Tolchin and Tolchin (2007)). Religion only generates illusory imaginations for the impoverished to explain their bad living situations by assuring them that they will live happily ever after. Religion makes people believe that a supernatural being is the one that provides and cares for them and therefore they should not struggle for a better life. This belief still exists in the current world, and this essay will support the position that religion is an opiate of the people.
Religion as Solace
According to Karl Marx, "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" (Tolchin & Tolchin, 2007). It adds nothing to people's lives, but it gives them solace that everything is okay. Most of the poor people in the world strongly support religion more than the poor. For instance, in Pakistan, almost everybody is a follower of the institutionalized Islam religion, and there is an abject condition of prevalent poverty in the country (Baba, 2012). The people live in total suffering and misery, but religion gives them solace and makes them believe that their situations are God-given and he will bless them when the right time comes. An institutionalized religion, for instance, Islam and Christianity promises a better afterlife where there will be no suffering and makes people live in poverty.
Religion as a Tool of Oppression
Most governments tend to use religion to oppress and exploit the people. The people in the government have total control, and therefore they use religion to maintain socio control (Baba, 2012). They have the money and control almost all resources in the country, and for this reason, they make the poor believe that God will bless them eventually to make them not realize that they are being exploited. During the most difficult situations, people turn to religion to find solace and relief, but their problems remain. This makes them not fight for better social conditions. In this case, religion is used by the ruling and the property owner class to tranquilize the working class being exploited, making them not engage in a revolution to change the systems and improve their poor situations (Tolchin & Tolchin, 2007).
Manipulation and Oppression through Religion
Most impoverished across the planet are manipulated using religion, and the Christians are compelled to believe that the poor will inherit the kingdom of heaven and they are told to thank God for the life they live. This makes them not work hard and make more money to improve their economic condition because they believe that they will have a happy afterlife. They are oppressed and exploited by the clever ones in society, and they do not fight for their rights. Religion teaches people not to worry because God is the provider and he will bless them, but in the end, they remain in poverty. Karl Marx's belief that religion is an opiate of the people still holds in the modern world.
References
Tolchin, M., & Tolchin, S. (2007). A world ignited (7th ed.). Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Baba, S. (2012).Is religion the opium of Pakistani masses?. Retrieved from https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/10076/is-religion-the-opium-of-pakistani-masses/
