Marx saw religion as an expression of material realities and economic injustices and that ultimately problems in religion reflect problems in society. Religion is not a problem, simply a symptom. Marx thought that religion was used by the “oppressors” to make people feel better about the distress they experience due to being poor and exploited.

But Marx was far from the origin of this thought, Marx himself credits the Greek hero Prometheus who said “I hate all Gods. They do not recognize man’s self consciousness as the highest divinity.”

I personally don’t agree completely with Marx, the origins of religion are without a doubt in our own need to explain things that we cannot explain, and to this day religion still fights with science, same as it did when the Catholic Church excommunicated Galileo for PROVING his planetary theory. The Catholic Church depends on faith and one cannot have faith in something that can be proven. So for Mar4x to see religion simply as a tool used by the oppressors is a bit short sighted, sure it is that and it continues to be that but it is much more than JUST that.

I’m certainly not Christian, nor am I Buddhist but there are aspects of both ideologies that I like, particularly Buddhists absence of the need to make everyone believe the same thing that they do.

I’m not big on blaming God or anyone else for the things that we do, I don’t believe that God anymore has a will for children to starve that I do that she has a will for televangelists to fleece their flocks.

Christianity tends to preach love and understanding while perpetuating hate and blind obedience. I think, God, whomever or whatever she is, gave me intelligence so that I can learn, grow and form my own ideas…So that we grow and evolve into an even higher intelligence.

My faith is in the ability of mankind to progress, using intelligence and reason not in some old white haired dude in white flowing robes.

Like the Buddhists believe, it isn’t HOW you get there…it’s THAT you get there.