Re: [Marxism] unfamiliar with the many tenets of Marxism - religion the opium of the masses

[Intense Red <intnsred@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 > My question still remains. Does marxism no longer promote
 > atheism? [...]

   I've given my views on that: I think Marxists -- at least in a formalized,
group or party way -- should not be advocating atheism or any other religion.
I believe a correct position on religion is to ignore it except to oppose the
various reactionary elements of religion (e.g. the religious right); oppose
them in an issue/platform manner and not a direct attack on their religion.

 > When Karl Marx said, "Religion is the sign of the
 > oppressed creature, the feeling of a heartless world,
 > just as it is the spirit of unspiritual conditions. It
 > is the opium of the people." He was trying to
 > summarize his very controversial point of view, that
 > religion is a crutch that people fall back on to
 > escape the physical reality. People use it as a reason
 > to get up in the morning and suffer another day of
 > backbreaking labor so they can afford to buy bread to
 > feed their families, as opposed to stealing what they
 > want / need (for fear of being punished in the after
 > life.) He felt that religion gave people a way to deal
 > with grief and problems in their lives, but like opium
 > he felt that religion took hold or peoples lives and
 > gave them a false sense of hope.

   I'm a Gnostic Christian, not an atheist, and yet I agree with the above
quote.  Certainly many use religion as a crutch or an opiate.  Many others
use alcohol, still others use Marxism.  People often need a crutch.  It would
be wonderful if everyone subscribed to using a more just society as their
crutch/hope in life, but that isn't reality.  We have to work within that
reality to make change.

   The left faces many tasks for it to make headway in the US.  There are huge
amounts of organizing and educating to do.  Worrying about and/or threatening
people's crutches is not a way to make friends and win allies -- there are
more important immediate tasks.

--
One reason that few people are aware there are programs running the internet
is that they never crash in any significant way: the free software underlying
the internet is reliable to the point of invisibility. -- Glyn Moody, from
the article "Giving it all away"

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