Marxism and religion
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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19th century German philosopher Karl Marx, the founder and primary theorist of Marxism, had an antithetical and complex attitude to religion, viewing it primarily as "the soul of soulless conditions", the "opium of the people" that had been useful to the ruling classes since it gave the working classes false hope for millennia. At the same time, Marx saw religion as a form of protest by the working classes against their poor economic conditions and their alienation. In the Marxist–Leninist interpretation of Marxist theory, primarily developed by Georgian revolutionary and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, religion is seen as hindering human development. Due to this, a number of Marxist–Leninist governments in the 20th century, such as the Soviet Union after Vladimir Lenin and the People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong, implemented rules introducing state atheism.
See also
- Anarchism and religion
- Antireligion
- Christian atheism
- Jewish atheism
- Liberation theology
- Marxist–Leninist atheism
- Red Terror
- Religious communism
- Religious persecution
- State Secretary for Church Affairs
