marxism, religion and change

• not all Marxists view religion as a conservative force, Engels suggested that religion had a dual-character in which it is able to allow for the status quo to be challenged whilst simultaneously acting as a conservative force
• Hinduism

  • serves as a good example of how dual character can be exemplified in religion
  • the caste system saw Indian society being stratified into immobile social classes by birth, with the Dalits ( “untouchables”) residing at the bottom of the hierarchy, and priests at the top
  • despite this, hinduism has inspired great social change in the Indian nationalist movement, notably Ghandi’s strive for non-violent protest and self-renunciation, in retaliation to the British Empire’s rule
• The principle of Hope- Bloch

  • Block stated that religion is a fulfilment of ”the principle of hope”, our hopes and dreams of a better life, containing images of utopia. these idyllic images of utopia can often deceive people, eg. the promise of the afterlife, but they may also help people envisage a better future, and therefore be motivated to strive for social change
• Liberation theory

  • refers to an instance in 1960s Latin America in which the Catholic church emerged with a movement in which they strongly sided with the poor, and opposed the military dictatorships that occupied most of the country
  • Maduro believed that religion has a semblance of independence from the ruling class and economic system, meaning it can also act as a revolutionary force
• the Liberation Theology movement emerged due to rise of poverty in rural areas, and the human right violations that closely followed the military takeovers
• Millenarianism is the doctrine of or the belief by a religious, social or political group in the imminent fundamental transformation of society, after which “all things will change”
• Worsley

  • studied cargo-cults, a religious movement that formed after a remote cultural group's rapid exposure to new technology, such as airplanes and modern military equipment
  • adherents that prayers and devotion will be answered through the deliverance of modern goods
  • these cargo cults featured charismatic “prophet” leaders foretelling an imminent cataclysm, and a subsequent utopia for followers to inhabit
• the cults used an amalgamation of christian teaching’s and the second coming of Christ, with the Melanesian’s own myths, in which mystical ancestors would eventually return from the dead, bringing Western goods with them, ultimately initiating a reversal of the social order
• Millenarianism is a belief system in which its adherents are waiting for a moment of radical change, it is classified as a world-rejecting NRM
• millenarianism harbours a belief in an imminent return of a divinely inspired and worldly society, whether its egalitarian order, eradication of colonialism or a religious golden age
• cargo cults often involved rituals and beliefs surrounding the expectation that they were to receive material goods from spirits and ancestors, reflecting a deep desire for social and economic change given their history with colonialism
• The cargo cults also reflected a sense of loss of identity and culture due to colonisation , whereby the natives felt disconnected from their ancestral lands and traditions
• Gramsci & Hegemony

  • Gramsci argued that through culture, the bourgeoisie was able to maintained hegemony by imposing their dominant social constructions onto the proletariat, defining them as “common sense”
  • he said that religious leaders could take the role of organic intellectuals, building counter-hegemony and popularising ideas that ran counter to that of the ruling class, building rebellion and protest
• two religious leaders who acted like Gramsci’s organic intellectuals and using religion to campaign for social change are MLK and the Liberation Theology in Latin America
• a criticism of Gramsci’s theory on hegemony is that his framework may underplay the complexity of religious beliefs and practises, which can both be a tool of oppression and resistance
• 2 ways in which ruling class maintain power

  • coercion; through the army, police and prison
  • consent(hegemony); using ideas and values to persuade the subordinate classes that its rule is legitimate
• Gramsci states that the proletariat have dual consciousness, their are ideas are not only influenced by ruling class ideology, but by their own financial and living situations, in essence, they are aware of their exploitation and are capable of undermining the dominant ideology
• evaluation for Gramsci, it is true that the proletariat see through the lens of bourgeoisie ideology, this can be seen through Willis’ study, and how the 12 lads he studied were aware of the disadvantage they are facing in the education system
• Engels states that religion has dual-character