Marx on Religion & its Role in Oppression

CONTENTS AND EXCERPTS

Marx’s stance is, I believe, more correctly interpreted as a critique of society that has become heartless and spiritless – one in which, however ineffective it may be, religion attempted to be society’s missing heart and provide some hope for those in need … Likewise, If I truly believe that my hope lies in the expectation of the Reign of God, I will learn to speak Reignese – to speak in the language of love I’ve learned from God. I will organize my life according to the new order that I know is coming. I will not wait for tomorrow.

Part 1 – In Marx’s view the labor-power of the worker represents the only increase in value an object has over the cost of its raw materials, combined with the allocated costs of equipment and utilities. There is, in Marx’s opinion, no value that should be applied to the effort of originating a business concept, developing it into a going concern, assuming the risk of financial loss, or ongoing management of the business entity.

Part 2 – The churches, specifically the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England among others, played significant roles in the restriction of land ownership. These institutions owned and controlled large tracts of urban land and buildings, much of them slums. When the churches divested themselves of this land in the mid to late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it was sold in large tracts to gentry, thereby continuing the blockage to ownership of real property.

Part 3 – We cannot profess to believe in the hope of a world as it ought to be, unless we are willing to change the conditions that exist to something more approaching the vision we have of a better eternity. Like it or not, Marx tried to do just that.

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