Marxist theories of religion

• Society is divided into two classes
• The middle class exploit the labour of the working class
• Religion is a feature of a class-divided society
• In a classless society (as Marx predicted would happen) there would be no need for religion

Religion as ideology

• Belief system that distorts people's perception of reality, in ways that serve the interst of the working class
• The ruling class control production and distribution od ideas
• Religion= ideological weapon used to legitimate the suffering of the poor as something inevitable and God given
• E.g. " It is easier for a camel to pass through they eye of a needle than a rich man to enter…