Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim offered differing perspectives on the role of religion. Choose the theorist whose insights you prefer and theorists views over the others.
Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim offered differing perspectives on the role of religion. Choose the theorist whose insights you prefer and outline how they perceived religion operating socially. Discuss why you chose your preferred theorists views over the others.
Marx, Durkheim and Weber each had different sociological views of the role and function of Religion. My preferred theorists view’s on Religion is Karl Marx’s as I feel his ideas are more relevant to what Religion actually is. And I have chosen Marx’s theory on Religion as I feel that it is the most similar to my own views on the subject. His views are more interesting to me as I don’t practise any Religion and his views expand on some of my own thoughts that I have had about Religion. It also has more relevance in society today as people are now struggling due to the economic down turn which is completely testing people’s faith. There is a bigger decline in this century as most of the population of the world have more resources and freedom of speech, to decide how they really feel about Religion and aren’t blind-sighted by the church anymore. Even if people are not aware of Marx’s ideas about Religion I feel that the majority of people would have similar views based on these ideas as times have gotten harder thus making people question their own beliefs. I will also briefly outline each of the theorist’s workings on Religion and then discuss why I chose Karl Marx’s theories.
Karl Marx’s outlook on Religion was that it was a deception of sorts, as it was to give people false hope of something better waiting for them as they were being exploited and oppressed by these religious ideals. Marx thought it was a result of a class society because not only was its aim to ease the pain of oppression it also acted as a tool of that oppression. (McDonald, 2009) Emile Durkheim thought that Religion brought communities together and strengthened them. That all religions
Marx, Durkheim and Weber each had different sociological views of the role and function of Religion. My preferred theorists view’s on Religion is Karl Marx’s as I feel his ideas are more relevant to what Religion actually is. And I have chosen Marx’s theory on Religion as I feel that it is the most similar to my own views on the subject. His views are more interesting to me as I don’t practise any Religion and his views expand on some of my own thoughts that I have had about Religion. It also has more relevance in society today as people are now struggling due to the economic down turn which is completely testing people’s faith. There is a bigger decline in this century as most of the population of the world have more resources and freedom of speech, to decide how they really feel about Religion and aren’t blind-sighted by the church anymore. Even if people are not aware of Marx’s ideas about Religion I feel that the majority of people would have similar views based on these ideas as times have gotten harder thus making people question their own beliefs. I will also briefly outline each of the theorist’s workings on Religion and then discuss why I chose Karl Marx’s theories.
Karl Marx’s outlook on Religion was that it was a deception of sorts, as it was to give people false hope of something better waiting for them as they were being exploited and oppressed by these religious ideals. Marx thought it was a result of a class society because not only was its aim to ease the pain of oppression it also acted as a tool of that oppression. (McDonald, 2009) Emile Durkheim thought that Religion brought communities together and strengthened them. That all religions
Bibliography: MacDonald.,B (2006) An Introduction to Sociology in Ireland, 2nd Edition, Dublin, Gill & MacMillan Pg: 36- 38 Goldstein, W.S (2009) Marx, Critical Theory and Religion, (McKinnon, A.M Opium as Dialectics of Religion: Metaphor Expression and Protest.) , Chicago IL, Haymarket Books, Pg: 11