“The main function of religion in society today is to dull the pain of oppression”
To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support the view of religion today? (33 marks)
The word extent could mean a number of things; how long something supports another could depend on the individual for example the extent could be small for one person but large for another. The term religion is also quite subjective as it could mean being a member of a traditional religion such as Christianity or Islam or could simply mean supporting a football team.
Karl Marx would be the main sociologist who agrees with the quote above. He was a firm believer in hegemony (the ideology of the ruling class will always be the main and ruling ideas) and thought in this way the bourgeoisie used religion as a way to control the masses (proletariats) and maintain a certain status quo. Religion is seen as the ‘opium of the masses’ and provides a smokescreen or false consciousness in front of the oppression being faced. This helps prevent social change. In this way, it can be seen that the main function of religion in society is to dull the pain of oppression.
There are four main ways in which religion helps dull the pain of oppression. The first is ‘Compensation for suffering’ in which it is thought that if proletariats dealt with their poverty and suffering without complaining about their status and worked hard then they would be compensated in the afterlife. It was also thought that religion helped to justify social order. For example in the song ‘all things bright and beautiful’ it was stated that ‘god made them high and lowly and ordered their estate’ suggesting that God had already chosen your status for you so social hierarchies appears inevitable and those at the bottom should accept their situation. The ruling class were religious to help justify themselves. This shows that the main function of religion is to dull the pain of oppression.
Another way in which Marx believed that religion dulled the pain of oppression was the promise of eternal bliss in the afterlife. It was thought that if working class dealt with their pain and oppression then they would be treated as ‘kings’ in the afterlife. Also, religion seemed to promise events of supernatural intervention. People would pray and hope to God for a supernatural event such as the 2nd coming of Jesus in hope that they will be saved from their oppression. Due to this, people would continue to be religious as they hoped for salvation. This therefore shows that the main function of religion is to dull the pain of oppression.
There are many real life examples which support Marx’s view of religion. Firstly, the Hindu caste system suggests that God has placed people into particular castes such as the Brahmins at the top to the ‘untouchables’ at the bottom. Through this system, it is thought that two castes should not marry or interact with each other as God has separated them for a reason. The ‘untouchables’ accept their status as they believe God has given it to them. Also the slavery system in southern USA where the slaves were made to convert to Christianity to provide them with a sense of hope and comfort (compensation for suffering) whilst doing manual labour. It was also thought that medieval kings and queens justified their status by saying they had the ‘divine right of kings’ showing that the ruling class were in fact more religious simply to help justify social order. This therefore provides evidence that the main role of religion is to dull the pain of oppression.
On the other hand, the main role of religion may not simply be, to dull the pain of oppression. Religion can actually be revolutionary as said by Neo Marxists Gramsci and Maduro. For example, the anti-apartheid led by Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu ended the oppression of the black proletariats in South Africa. Also, the solidarity movement in Poland was greatly supported by the Church suggesting that the church can actually challenge the ruling class ideology and overcome oppression. In addition, Martin Luther King and Gandhi led their countries to independence and overcoming racism with the help of religious ideologies of non-violence showing that it can be revolutionary. This therefore suggests that the main role of religion is not to dull the pain of oppression
Moreover, Marx ignores the fact that secularisation is occurring in modern society. This means that it may not be possible for the masses to be oppressed. If people do not attend church anymore, how is it possible for the ruling class to inflict their ideologies on them? He also ignores that religion does seem to continue in communist countries such as Russia and China even after it has been banned. This shows that people choose to be religious regardless of any type of social hierarchy so therefore the main role of religion may not be to dull the pain of oppression at all.
Furthermore, the idea of ‘false consciousness’ is one that is very abstract as people may not be ‘blind to their oppression’ at all. They may simply not see it as oppression or if they do, they may choose to live with it as it doesn’t seem to affect their lives in a great way. The existence of religion is not actually explained; religion is subjective as different individuals will choose to interpret the ideologies of religion in their own way and to suit their own needs (Postmodernism). This means that not every religious person believes to justify their status or to dull their oppression. This therefore shows that the main role of religion is not to dull the pain of oppression.
Overall, it may be more appropriate to consider the functionalism theory which states that the main role of religion is actually to bind society together and create social solidarity with shared norms and values. Or the role of religion may be to dull the pain of patriarchy for women as Feminists would say.
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