Marxist Freedom Of Religion

Thesis: It has been acceptable and unacceptable to overstep constitutional limitations during a national crisis.

Throughout John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, Gene’s internal struggle is reflected in the war taking place. In the beginning of the story, Finny tells Gene that he was reading the paper and saw that “[the United States] bombed Central Europe...”(25). At this point in the story, it is 1942, which is the midst of World War II. This reflects Gene’s attitude toward Finny. As the war starts to escalate and the United States enters, Gene starts to loathe Finny for reasons that are entirely from Gene’s head. When Finny returns to Devon for the winter session, he has convinced himself, and soon convinces Gene, that “there isn’t any war”(115). Around this time, Gene pushes away his hateful thoughts towards Finny and convinces himself that Finny and him

If we were to read "On the Jewish Question" by Karl Marx for the first time we would probably ask "Why is Karl Marx so anti-Semitic?”. If you wanted to read Marx just for fun than yes it would see so, but if you were a serious reader than you would know this is not true. The questions any reader should ask him/or herself is what did nineteenth-century Germans mean by "the Jewish question"? What did the phrase mean to Marx? What was Marx 's own experience of Jews and Judaism outside his immediate family, and how did it translate into what he had to say on the issue? If the Jewish question is tied up in Marx 's mind with his ideas about how people become free, then what does his stance toward the emancipation of the Jews tell us about his notion of freedom? At the beginning of the nineteenth century, German liberals began to follow the ideals of the French revolutionary leaders and start to draft a constitution just like the French people (Fischman, p.769). However, the status of the Jews throughout the kingdom remained the same as it was during the ‘Middle Ages’. For explain Jews were not citizens in Germany, they were not even consider humans under the law (Fischman, p.769). They existed as ‘serfs of the chamber’ the personal property of the king; however under Napoleon’s rule the Jews of Germany became citizens before the law (Fischman, p.769). However that was only a short lived freedom. After the defeat of Napoleon most of the Jews in Germany were pushed for fighting

In the Bible, the book of Hebrews states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (King James Bible, Hebrews. 11.1).The spiritual tones of “things hoped for”, plays a significant role throughout Olaudah Equiano autobiography, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano OR, Gustavus Vassa, The African”. His narrative was originally published in 1789 and went through a series of revisions throughout his lifetime, finally becoming a bestseller. Equiano’s treasured writings, depicts his personal accounts from childhood, holding the status of an African aristocrat in Benin West Africa, to being kidnapped and forced into slavery in the infamous Middle Passage slave trade. While slavery attempts to divest Equiano of his hope for freedom, his narrative asserts that spirituality and literary works produce its own liberty and identity in the world.

Though Marx and Kuyper agreed on the need to change the inequality between the different classes, their views regarding religion differed. Marx thought

Karl Marx on the other hand, has a wildly different opinion on property. In his most famous piece, The Communist Manisfesto, Marx’s opinion is set up in one line; "… the theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property” (Marx in Cahn 885). Marx firmly believed that ownership of private property was a way in which the social classes became more divided, and in turn, a way to oppress the poor. His opinion largely stems from the time period in which he lived (1818-1883), where factory owners infamously underpaid employees for dangerous work in treacherous conditions. However, Marx idea of private property was a bit different from Locke and did not mean things like land ownership or personal items, but the relation of individuals used for the means of production in a privately owned enterprise. Marx points out however, that in this state, unlike the ideas and time of Locke (1632-1704), the laborers do not benefit or acquire any property from their labor. In fact, the capital they are producing is the “kind of property that exploits wage labor” (Marx in Cahn 886) and serves to oppress them and further the division of classes. Therefore, Marx aimed to take this “private property” and give it to the Proletariats in order to change its status from the elite ownership of the Bourgeoisie, to the

Generally, Marx’s position on religion is drawn up in an entirely negative manner. In his writings, he expresses his belief that religion is a set of doctrines intended to stabilize, while at the same time bring into servitude the working class people. In addition to that, he argues that the society’s inclination towards religious excitement serves to represent a reaction to disaffection. Also, Marx contends that, since religion causes human beings to feel delusive happiness it makes an erroneous mental representation in as well as of itself. Indeed to him, it is an instrument utilized to sustain cultural systems together with ideologies that in most cases encourages oppression in the society (Parsons 38-46).

The act of defining religion has been a contentious issue in a wide variety of situations, particularly in the United States. The US is a nation that prides itself on religious inclusivity and freedom. There are consequences to this belief and tenant. Through the social, legal and moral structures of the United States, defining religion has become imperative. In The Impossibility of Religious Freedom, Winifred Sullivan outlines the legal implications of defining religion in the United States. In order for religious freedom to be protected by the American state, religion must be clearly defined. As a result, religious theory must be used to maintain some semblance of religious freedom in the United States. Likewise, Josh Dubler’s Down in

Following the Industrial Revolution in 19th century Europe, change was in full swing and religion began to have different meanings for different people. The upper-class citizens used Religion, namely Christianity, and the power that it possessed in an attempt to keep their high status in society, while the lower class turned to faith so that their lives could possibly improve. Instead of religion being the cornerstone of faith and worship amongst all people, it was being used for power and money by the upper class. Even worse, religious leaders were using the upper class people as well, gaining money and authority from their endorsement. A man by the name of Karl Marx saw

I feel the same way Bessie did when she said she didn't understand why she would would hear these white people were doing such terrible things to black people. See i'm known for being a flower child, advocating love even if means rebelling against what society wants, I view all lives as equal and I dont discriminate for someone's race, gender, sexualtiy, their background, etc.. Thats not to say I didn't grow up hearing about it like bessie did, and like Bessie, I still hear it today. I’ve just always viewed it as ridiculous to think someone was inferior for something they were born into or something they want.

When Robert Matthews, self proclaimed Matthias, Prophet of the God of the Jews, came forth as a zealot promising prosperity and salvation in a time of great social turmoil and upheaval, people latched on to his assurances that they would be leaving behind economic oppression and impoverishment. During this time period between 1820 and 1840, people were so caught up in the urgency of religious zeal that they were desperate for a way to get out. Some historians believe Matthias and his influential, albeit debatably derailed, followers like Elijah Pierson seemed like prime examples of their time. Rather, their newfound religious faction undeniably regressed back to extreme old world practices, like those that occurred during the American Revolution, after Matthias fails to make it in the new world urban economy. Matthias’s search for religious freedom was wrapped up in patriarchal roles and avoidance of modern innovations in living and ideas, pointing his regressions back to the practices of the colonial period.

One major part of the first amendment is the freedom of religion and it's impact on America. The freedom of religion allows people to choose what God or gods to believe in. It also gives people the right to not believe. This right ensures that citizens can posses religious material, gather in places of worship, and live their life according to their beliefs as long as their beliefs do not go against the laws. All over America and other regions, religious tolerance opened a door to new religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and different branches of Christianity. This freedom impacted the U.S. by giving people new ideas and ways of life. Most people in the U.S. incorporate religion in their daily lives

Marx dismissed the relevance of all but two of these classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, because they didn't have any real impact on society as a whole. They weren't in a position to exploit labor. His theory focuses on the conflict and antagonism between those who owned the modes of production, the bourgeoisie, and those who were forced into selling their labor to them, the proletariat. As Marx saw it, "class is about the transfer of surplus (profit) from below and the exercise of power from above". The class with the means of material production also has the means of intellectual control. Those in charge have a political doctrine to control their interests, at whatever cost. This led to what Marx terms "brain colonization". The concept of ideology was used in the defense of capitalism. It was a strategy used to support the system and keep the workers concerns quieted. Liberalism was the ideology used by the bourgeoisie. Marx said, "Liberal ideology is used to blind the workers to the injustice of exploitation". It was an official veil to persuade the masses that they are free by extolling the myths of progress to them. They argued that since slavery was no longer used for labor, the workers were indeed free. The workers were also told to find happiness and freedom through religion for their material conditions were as

First, we have Karl Marx’s Capital: Critique of Political Economy and The Communist Manifesto, where we encounter the proletariat, or the working-class people regarded collectively. In these two texts, the latter of which was co-authored by Frederick Engels, we learn that the proletariat is enslaved just like the people in the matrix. And just like the people in the matrix, the proletariat is oblivious to this limit on its freedom. That is why in Karl Marx’s view, unfreedom is what we are living in now. According to him, many people think that abolishing private property through communism is what will infringe on our freedom, but that is not the case. Specifically, in The Communist Manifesto Marx states, "You are horrified at our intending to do away with private property. But in your existing society, private

Karl Marx’s view of society was based around the economy. All other social structures according to Marx, such as religion, family values, and politics stem from the base, the economy. Religion played no part at all in Marx’s sociological views. He is known as an atheist. He believed that religion was nothing more than a burden on society. “The