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Religion > The Conflict Perspective
The Conflict Perspective
• Marx and the "Opiate of the Masses"
• Religion and Social Control
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Religion > The Conflict Perspective
Marx and the "Opiate of the Masses"
• One of the most frequently paraphrased statements of Karl Marx is, religion is the
opium of the people.
• Karl Marx argues that religion plays a significant role in maintaining the status quo
by promising rewards in the after-life rather than in this life.
• Social inequalities result from the differences inherent in class structures, such as
the inequality between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.
Religion as opium of the people
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Religion > The Conflict Perspective
Religion and Social Control
• The social-conflict approach to religion highlights how religion, as a phenomenon
of human behavior, maintains social inequality by advancing a worldview that
justifies oppression.
• Karl Marx's critical approach demanded that action be taken to resolve social
inequalities. This was in stark contrast to his scholarly peers, many of whom
pursued scholarship for the sake of knowledge, and did not attach to these
academic projects overt political goals.
• Karl Marx viewed religion as a social control used to maintain the status quo in a
given society.
Religious Buddhist Gathering in Tibetan
Monastery
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Appendix
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Religion
Key terms
• bourgeoisie The capitalist class.
• proletariat the working class or lower class
• status quo the current state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.
• status quo the current state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.
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Religion
Religious Buddhist Gathering in Tibetan Monastery
Tharlam Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism
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Flickr. "Holding a vajra empowerment wearing 5 Dhyani Buddha Crowns, lay people, monk, nun, Sakya Lamdre, Highest Yoga Tantra, Tharlam Monastery of
Tibetan Buddhism, Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal | Flickr - Photo Sharing!." CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/6849721833/ View on
Religion
Religion as opium of the people
Abolition of Religion as the Illusory Happiness of the People.
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Flickr. "#24 December 4th week.| Flickr - Photo Sharing!." CC BY-SA 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/nextsentence/3127804508/ View on Boundless.com
Religion
Karl Marx
Religion, Marx held, was a significant hindrance to reason, inherently masking the truth and misguiding followers.
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Religion
According to Marx, religious believers are likely to be:
A) active
B) violent
C) peaceful
D) passive
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Religion
According to Marx, religious believers are likely to be:
A) active
B) violent
C) peaceful
D) passive
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Boundless - LO. "Boundless." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://www.boundless.com/
Religion
Karl Marx's theory of religion:
A) saw it as an instrument of oppression
B) was a-political
C) was intended to be purely theoretical
D) was anti-proletariat
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Religion
Karl Marx's theory of religion:
A) saw it as an instrument of oppression
B) was a-political
C) was intended to be purely theoretical
D) was anti-proletariat
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Boundless - LO. "Boundless." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://www.boundless.com/
Religion
Which of the following do the functionalist and conflict
perspectives share?
A) Emphasis on religion as providing social support
B) The position that religion relates to social control, enforcing social
norms
C) The belief that religion helps explain the mysteries of life
D) None of the answers
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Religion
Which of the following do the functionalist and conflict
perspectives share?
A) Emphasis on religion as providing social support
B) The position that religion relates to social control, enforcing social
norms
C) The belief that religion helps explain the mysteries of life
D) None of the answers
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Saylor OER. "Electives « Saylor.org – Free Online Courses Built by Professors." CC BY 3.0
http://www.saylor.org/majors/Electives/
Religion
Which socialist perspective most emphasizes the ways in which
religion helps to maintain social inequalities within a society?
A) Conflict theory
B) Functional
C) Symbolic interactionist
D) Feminist perspective
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Religion
Which socialist perspective most emphasizes the ways in which
religion helps to maintain social inequalities within a society?
A) Conflict theory
B) Functional
C) Symbolic interactionist
D) Feminist perspective
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Saylor OER. "Electives « Saylor.org – Free Online Courses Built by Professors." CC BY 3.0 http://www.saylor.org/majors/Electives/
Religion
Attribution
• Wikibooks. "Introduction to Sociology/Religion." CC BY-SA 3.0
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_to_Sociology/Religion#Social-Conflict
• Wiktionary. "status quo." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/status+quo
• Wikipedia. "Sociology of religion." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology_of_religion#Karl_Marx
• Wikipedia. "Bourgeoisie." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourgeoisie
• Wiktionary. "status quo." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/status+quo
• Wiktionary. "proletariat." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/proletariat
• Wiktionary. "bourgeoisie." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bourgeoisie
• Wikipedia. "Social inequality." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_inequality
• Wikipedia. "Proletariat." CC BY-SA 3.0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proletariat
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