who in history said that religion is the opium of the people? do you agree that it could be?

Answer 1

Karl Marx. Full background on quote can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_is_the_opiate_of_the_masses

Here is the rest of his 1843 quote:

"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.

The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo."

He also said more succinctly: "The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion."

How can you have order in a state without religion? For, when one man is dying of hunger near another who is ill of surfeit, he cannot resign himself to this difference unless there is an authority which declares, "God wills it thus." Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.
— Napoleon Bonapart (1769-1821)

Since the masses of the people are inconstant, full of unruly desires, passionate and reckless of consequence, they must be filled with fears to keep them in order. The ancients did well, therefore, to invent gods, and the belief in punishment after death.
— Polybius, Histories (ca. B.C.E 125)

Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket, a thumb to suck, a skirt to hold. What have we to offer in exchange? Uncertainty! Insecurity!
— Isaac Asimov

There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths. Almost inevitably some part of him is aware that they are myths and that he believes them only because they are comforting. But he dares not face this thought! Moreover, since he is aware, however dimly, that his opinions are not rational, he becomes furious when they are disputed.
— Bertrand Russell

Answer 2

"Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions."
Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right

This is the whole quote...Marx found that, while religion was mostly being used to keep the people happy about their lot in life, it was helping the people deal with their nasty lot in life. So while it was an opiate, it was not the recreational drug that,say, the rich of the day were using, but it was more the painkiller being given to a person who is having their leg removed.

What Marx was saying is, that while the painkiller needs to be removed, so does the cause of the pain itself. While this is not totally friendly to religion, it isn't as negative as the partial quote indicates.

Answer 3

Actually, the quote, as it was written, was religion is the opitate for the masses. It was a quote given to Karl Marx, the grandfather of Communism.
To it's sum, a lot has to be said regarding what Marx thought of religion, it's purpose, and ironically, it's link to communism.
You see, a lot of people misunderstood communism, trying to place it with what the Soviet Union was doing, while the soviet Union, was simply a form of extreme socialism.
Communism, is simply a form of people working, to the effort of getting food. In turn, people have to work, to eat. there is no money involved, and little substance in life. It's an economic philisophy, and if set up right, could keep people in perpetual supply for years.
The drawback, is that man, as a creature, is rarely satisfied. Example, capitalism, the goal of the free market, is to give man anything and everything he could want, desire, or dream of, for a price. In turn, the driving factor, is money. In Communism, money is non-existant, except, if they were to trade with the outside world. The major problem, therein lies. Communism, and capitalism, are opposite forces, though both sides are capable of handling it's own issue. Also, you wouldnt' have Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, or Rockerfeller, in a Communism state.
Now, on the part of Religion, religion, to it's parts, deals with task of the people. Communism, believes that religion's only purpose, is to keep people working hard, and staying loyal to their faiths, while someone else gets fat, like the owners of the business. Sad, but true.
Some in religion, though, feel that there is something better out there, once we're free of this life, thus, striving to be better, can happen, but greed, in it's own way, is wrong. A good example, is that you can make your money harvesting crops, but without the desire to drive your prices up, all the food is doing, is feeding others. The drive to make money, is lost....then you would say, Money is the Root of all Evil, another true phrase.
As for Marx's statement, It could be, but I feel without religion, man would soon lose interest in trying to be part of a commune society.

Answer 4

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people.
Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right
German economist & Communist political philosopher (1818 - 1883)

but he never heard of TV, video games or telephones when he wrote that.
They leave religion in the dust.

Answer 5

Karl Marx

Answer 6

Karl Marx
I disagree, and history has revealed Marx's "Economic" modle of communism to be defective especially with the fall of the Soviet Union in the 20th century ... but I do fear the Communist regime is taking over Western Europe & the States.

Answer 7

That's 'opiate' not 'opium.'

It was Karl Marx.

Yes, it often is; it makes people complacent about the few in power ripping them off and making them miserable, because religion often tells people to accept "where god placed" them in life, and that the afterlife is more important than this one.

On the other hand, religion often compels people to seek justice for all.

Answer 8

I think it was Marx who originally said it, and that's only because he'd never seen the power of TV.

Answer 9

wasnt it Neitsche?...i hope thats spelled right...

nope, Karl Marx...everyone else is right

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_of_the_People

and i very much agree with it.

Answer 10

Marx said it, and it's not.