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Analysis Of The Marxist View Of Religion

Posted on:2006-11-17Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:G F MengFull Text:PDF
GTID:2206360152983432Subject:Principles of Marxist Philosophy
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Religion, whether in history or in modern times, plays a very important role in social life. Dealing with religion becomes more complex when interacting with nationality politics and international relations. In the twenty-first century, Religion is becoming more important. In the new circumstance, we need a correct theory to view and to analyze the phenomena of religion. In China, Marxism is the official philosophy. Therefore, understanding the Marxism is critical to carrying out our practical work. Experience has shown that we can achieve more when we understand and act according to Marxism, otherwise, there will be serious problems. For example, in 'the Cultural Revolution' times, we fought with religion and even wanted to wipe it out.It takes time to get a deep and whole understanding of Marxism's view of religion, so I study Marxism from the works of other scholars'. These articles includes the main aspects of Marxism view as it applies to religion, such as the essence of religion, the origin and development of religion, the function of religion and the tendency of religion, etc. First, I investigated the former scholars' research cases and considered their reasonable aspects and unreasonable ones. Secondly, as to Marx and Engles' propositions, I put them into the context of their whole thought and analyzed them. For example, Marx had said 'The religion is the opium of the people' and some people put forward this philosophy isthe foundation of Marx view of religion. I think, Marx just used opium figuratively to express the function of religion.To pay more attention to religion's functions is one characteristic of Marxism. In the past, most scholars just considered their treatment on political influences and rarely spoke of other aspects such as psychological and artistic ones. At the same time, these scholars always pay more attention to their analyses of negative functions and less of the positive ones. In other words, their treatment is partial. According to Marxism, everything in the world is not an eternal entity, but experiences a process of birth, growth and death. Religion appeared as the thing meeting the need of the society that not only produces negative effects but also positive ones. We should not turn a blind eye to the some aspects such as in moral correctness, culture development, cure of mental illness and social benefits.At present, the third leader collective headed by Jiang Zemen put forward 'adapting' and 'guiding' theory, that is 'guide religion to adapt to socialism'. This theory throws away the stand against religion and recognizes the active functions of religion.
Keywords/Search Tags:religion, Marxism view of religion, the essence of religion, the function of religion
PDF Full Text Request
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