Religion By Karl Max

Submitted By Chen-Ruozhou
Words: 562
Pages: 3

The 11th quote offers a definition of religion written by Karl Max. The passage is well written but as a definition it is too ambiguous and figurative. Moreover, Max, being one of the most famous atheists in history, in these words, expressed his yearning for religion to be abolished. With that being said, the definition is overly negative. Although he did not express explicitly that religion is “not good”, Max stressed that religion should be destroyed in order for human to achieve true happiness. It establishes that religion is essentially woeful, putting an essential ring on this version of definition of religion.
In the passage, Max said that “religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature…… is the opium of the people”. He employed metaphor like these frequently which gives the writing literature value and makes it a good reading. However, the frequent use of metaphor also makes it less concise and informative which a good definition should be, as suggested in the third point in the criteria. Max in this way expressed his opinion on religion to his audience persuasively, but fails to offer a clear definition about what religion really is.
Max openly criticized religion in this passage. In his words religion is something must be removed in order for human to achieve liberation and true happiness. It is, in fact, understandable from an atheist point of view. Karl Max is one of the key figures in communism, and he believed that true happiness for all human kind can only be achieved with people’s own hands, as it is sang in the Internationale: “No savior from on high delivers…… Our own hand the chain must shiver.” From this stand point, Max described religion as an institution that the “oppressed creature”, the working class in this case, seeks refuge in. He compared religion to opium, which gives people pleasure but makes them complacent and stop pursuing true happiness and so, likewise, religion simply gives people an illusion of happiness. Instead of defining religion, Max attributed these negativities that stop human from progress to religion.
Last but not the least, Max expressed his view on religion essentially. He stressed that religion