ZIMBABWE
allAfrica
The Herald
BY RUTH BUTAUMOCHO, 3 JUNE 2014
ANALYSIS
The statement, “Religion is the opium of the people”, is one of the most frequently paraphrased part of a speech made by the German economist and philosopher, Karl Marx.
He was giving his own critique of the Hegel’s Philosophy of Right that talks about the relations between civil society and politics.
While it is one statement that has been interpreted differently, with some saying Karl Marx meant that the function of religion was to drug the masses and dull the mind, the general understanding of the statement by a lot of scholars — interpreted from German -simply means that religion consoles and gives comfort to those facing impossible circumstances.
However, last week’s events in Budiriro where members of an apostolic sect, who stand accused of abusing women in the name of religion, clashed with police, made me rethink, if Karl Marx’s statement could have been a diplomatic way of saying that religion indeed does dull the mind.
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