Evaluation of Marxism

• Marx ignores the positive functions of religion
• Neo-Marxists see certain forms of religion as assisting the development of class conscientiousness
• Althusser 1971: rejects Marx's alienation as unscientific as it is based on the romantic idea of people having a 'true self'
• Religion does not effectively control the population
• Abercrombie, Hill and Turner 2015: in pre-capitalist society, Christianity had only a limited impact on the peasantry