ovde - vera znanje mir

o Religion distorts reality - creating a 'false consciousness' in
subordinate classes
o Suffering created by an unequal society are justified by religion
masking its real cause & preventing people from seeing ways to change
society
o Religion justifies the social system, representing it as the
creation of some all-powerful supernatural being whose authority of
course, would be foolish & wrong to challenge
o Religion is an important means of social control in class-based
societies
Materialist theory
Bryan S. Turner
o 1983 follows Marx
o Argues religion rises from a material base - relates to the physical
& economic aspects of life
o Unlike Marx, he doesn't believe that religion has a universal role
in society nor that it's an important past of ruling-class ideological
control
o Says religion isn't as important for peasants as feudal lords -
peasants just wanted to survive
o Ruling class needed to maintain dominance - without religion this
was hard
o Religion's just an 'optional extra' in modern societies - church
accepts divorce & illegitimacy
Neo - Marxist
o Some modern Marxists have argued that religion doesn't always
reflect the dominant ideology of a ruling class
o Sometimes it can be a focus for resistance to exploitation
o Society was v.different when Marx was around
o They say that society is still split up but it's a lot more subtle
o Religion can be used as revolutionary force
o Still focus on classes - w/c use religion to justify rebellious
behaviour
o Not just used by the elite - used by oppressed groups to overthrow &
challenge systems
o Eg. Catholics in Ireland against English govt.
Gramsci