What does Karl marx's Famous Quote mean!!???

Question

“Religious suffering is at one and the same time the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. 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.”




What the hell is he saying?? Please explain so a dumb person like me can understand!! Thanks

Answer 1

First of the person that tried to correct you about it being opiate is wrong, it is opium.

It was only switched to opiate when it was made and anti religious slogan.Read the entire segment by Marx on this. . .

For Germany, the criticism of religion has been essentially completed, and the criticism of religion is the prerequisite of all criticism.

The profane existence of error is compromised as soon as its heavenly oratio pro aris et focis ["speech for the altars and hearths"] has been refuted. Man, who has found only the reflection of himself in the fantastic reality of heaven, where he sought a superman, will no longer feel disposed to find the mere appearance of himself, the non-man, where he seeks and must seek his true reality.

The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man.

Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But, man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man — state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d'honneur, it enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion.

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. 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.
~Karl Marx Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts


Marx is not out to get rid of God, he is out to free man. The oft quoted "opium of the people" quote comes his Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of the Right which answered Hegel's work paragraph for paragraph. It is not so much a criticism of religion as people think but rather a criticism of the system that makes religion necessary.

Marx had no time for those who sought to actively try to abolish religion or that believed in discrimination of those practicing religion as religion was not the enemy but a symptom of the actual enemy, oppression.

Ectorbob: Russian studies would have been Stalinism and Leninism not true Marxism. Germany Philosophers study would have been true Marxism and what Marx meant. Remember at the end of his life Marx looked at what communism was becoming and said "If this is Marxism I am not a Marxist."

EDIT: I did not mean to imply that Ectorbob is lying in anyway about Marx. Russian history (as well as world history) has just taken so many views on him and his theories and they have have been mixed with other Ideology to serve or discredit the states that much of the "old Lion's" orignal premises were lost. The importnat thing to remember about Marx is his theories were all on economic influnces on society. He had little time or concern for anything else besides the evolutionary process of society. All the other arguments were only seen as deviding man when they should be united

Answer 2

It means that evil capitalism makes a few people mega-rich and leaves the majority poor (half the world lives on less then 2 dollars a day) Instead of working to make the world a more fair place so that none of the 18 million people who die each year cos of poverty actually do die, religion just keeps the problem going by making it acceptable for poor people to remain poor. When he said religion is the opium of the people, he meant that it keeps them poor and stops them from making the world better. To the guy above Just because communism failed before, doesnt mean it will always fail. If we all thought like that, there wouldnt be aeroplanes and cars and space exploration etc etc etc Communism failed in the past because it was violently imposed on societies which hadn't experienced capitalism. Marx actually said that capitalism would eventually eat itself, and after that communism would rise from its ashes. Look at the mess capitalism has made of the world - global warming, pollution everywhere, destruction of rainforests, Yangtze river dolphin extinct, etc etc etc It can't carry on forever.

Answer 3

Where did you get the quotation? It's opiate, not opium, btw. Only matters because I'm not sure the source is giving you the rest of the quote correctly, or maybe it's a new translation. Anyway, he meant that religion both comforts and oppresses people and if they weren't thinking about their sins and an afterlife, they'd rise up against their masters, throw off oppression, and develop a perfect communist state.

Just one opinion; there's sure to be others.

Edit--speaking of others, don't stop reading until you see Cathy's response. Another take on a fascinating subject.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

People make their own poison, effectively.
Religion is where you turn to when you are being oppressed, then in turn you are oppressed by religion. And yet people can't let it go because it is their coping mechanism. The cycle continues, the addiction never breaks.

An oversimplification maybe, but hopefully clearer for you.

Answer 6

It means that he is talking himself into something he does not understand. Bear in mind that this hypocritical gentleman spent a good part of his life fighting the terms of a will which had he succeeded would have set him up for life

Answer 7

"Religion is the opiate of the masses." He's comparing religion to a drug addiction.