6. Critique of Religion as Analysis
Marx called religion the “opium of the people,” a tool of the ruling class to pacify workers. “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world,” he wrote, suggesting religion provided false comfort under capitalism. Marx didn’t explicitly demand the violent eradication of faith, but he considered that it would naturally fade once economic exploitation ended. His criticism was analytical rather than a call for persecution.
