Marx on Religion | Beliefs in Society | A-Level Sociology
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 07. 2024
- Marx's perspectives on the role of religion in society are outlined in this video for A-Level Sociology students taking the Beliefs in Society topic.
VIDEO TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Introduction to Karl Marx's work on religion and its impacts on society
00:36 - Marx's view of religion as a tool of capitalist society to maintain the status quo
01:13 - Society organized into infrastructure (economic base) and superstructure (including religion)
01:50 - Religion promoting ruling class ideology, justifying inequality, and maintaining social order
02:29 - Religion as motivation for work, explanation for poverty, and control mechanism
03:06 - Religion as temporary relief and conservative force inhibiting social change
03:43 - Criticisms of Marx's views: ignoring positive aspects, collectivist nature, and spiritual aspects of religion
04:15 - Marx's focus on Western society and neglect of Eastern religions
04:51 - Ignoring individual agency in rejecting religious ideology
VIDEO SUMMARY
This tutor2u Sociology topic video delves into Karl Marx's perspective on religion and its impact on society. Marx regarded religion as a conservative force that upheld the existing social order of ruling class oppression. He viewed religion as a tool used by the ruling class to pass on their ideology to the masses and exert control over them. According to Marx, society was organized into two key structures: the economic base controlled by the ruling classes and the superstructure controlled by the same ruling class. Religion, as part of the superstructure, played a crucial role in perpetuating inequality and justifying the existing social hierarchy. It promoted ideas such as the connection between wealth and righteousness, individualism, and the promise of future rewards in the afterlife. Marx famously referred to religion as the "opium of the people," offering temporary relief from capitalist oppression while maintaining the unequal structure of society. He criticized religion for inhibiting social change and quashing challenges to inequality. However, Marx's views have been criticized for overlooking the positive aspects, collectivist nature, and spiritual dimensions of religion, as well as for neglecting non-Western religions. Critics also argue that Marx disregards individual agency in rejecting religious ideology. Overall, Marx's analysis sheds light on the complex role of religion in maintaining and perpetuating social inequality.
KEY TERMS IN THE VIDEO
Karl Marx, religion, beliefs in society, ruling class, oppression, capitalism, inequality, social order, ideology, economic base, superstructure, Western society, collectivism, spiritual aspects, agency, social change.
#alevelsociology #aqasociology #beliefsinsociety
If you are revising Beliefs in Society for AQA A-Level Sociology, here are some revision resources to use so you can maximise your grade!
Beliefs in Society Revision Guide | www.tutor2u.net/sociology/store/beliefs-in-society-revision-guide-aqa-alevel-sociology
Beliefs in Society Exam Skills Workbook | www.tutor2u.net/sociology/store/beliefs-in-society-exam-skills-workbook-for-aqa-alevel-sociology
Beliefs in Society Revision Flashcards | www.tutor2u.net/sociology/store/beliefs-in-society-revision-flashcards-for-aqa-alevel-sociology
The popular idea is that Marx was totally lacking in empathy for religious people nothing could be further from the truth Marx described the ideology of religious institutions and his analysis was brilliant
please give me references. sincerely, a sad undergrad
i feel like this concept of religion only works with certain religions and only in certain circumstances like Christianity more specifically Catholicism when the church would extract wealth from the populous like paying gold to get your sins forgiven which would support Marx's thoughts however that is only one example i could think of. also i could also use Buddhism or Islam and other religions including Christianity as a counter argument for this concept for example the goal of Buddhism is to attain nirvana, an enlightened state in which the fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched. in Islam charity is a mandatory As one of the pillars of Islam, zakat is a form of obligatory charity on every Muslim that has the potential to ease the suffering of millions its a 2.5% of what a person has accumulated in wealth in a lunar year. they also have the concept of sadaqa which is also necessary which is other forms of charity your perform annually. this concept in Marxism is very flawed and i fail to understand how people could see religion as an oppressive force with even the limited examples I've given I'm sure there are more examples in Sikhism Christianity and even Hinduism .
yes as in Christianity Jesus said 'For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil' and was disliked by many religious teachers who were exploiting others
you see the goal is to attain nirvana, and charity to keep the poor alive, they can not push human civilization further even a single bit, in fact, religion actually makes the civilization go backward as some pull people out of production and others create constant conflicts. religion's nature is the political tools used by the ruling classes to maintain their privileges, using any way including violence to spread doctrinal thought to achieve Spiritual repression and wealth plundering.
Exactly.
There's a reason why capitalist states are constantly trying to oppress the free expression of religion.
@@NewsAction1 china:
Karl Marx talks about the powerful people's ability to pass their own ideologies to religious instituions. Since powerful people are the main benefiters of the status quo they could shape a relgious doctrine that supports the things as it is. All Abrahamic religions have a similar god that is all powerful, why would an all-powerful god make bad people rich? And if it did make bad people rich, it's just a test and they will pay the price in the afterlife. Islam is not that innocent as you think. Islam didn't forbid slavery which is not justifiable in any way, and the zakat you talk about was collected in the treasury even there was a promise to help the needy (not always kept), and there were certain caliphates in history where the caliph's wealth exceeded everyone in his nation combined.
Communism never worked and probably never will, but Marx was a genius and you couldn't pull the wool over his eyes.
God wants me to appreciate Illuminati and all its mediocrity.