The basic principle of the materialist explanation of history is that men’s thinking is conditioned by their being, that in the historical process, the course of the development of ideas is determined, in the final analysis, by the course of development of economic relations. Economic activity is the basis of human society, ultimately the economics of a historical epoch determine its religious, philosophical, political and moral ideas, and not vice versa. Marxism holds this view without denying the influence and interaction of factors upon the course of history, such as ideology, morals, art, religion and culture. The Marxist analysis of religion as a social phenomenon states that it has a materialist base, as well as fulfilling a psychological need that arises therefrom. Historical materialism claims to be a way of explaining history. If the historical materialist is right and there are no eternal, unchanging moral precepts then Christianity must have changed over its two-thousand-year history to conform with changing economic conditions. And indeed it has. A look at the gospels show that they are not divinely inspired but historical documents written long after the events described, and falsified over the centuries in the interests of the Church bureaucracy and interpreted and re-interpreted by the fashions of the day.
The clergy and their hangers-on find faith very self-satisfying. They feast and live well on it. Class society has needed religion so that the exploited classes would not be deprived of the promise of a better life after death.
Napoleon explained :
“One must reestablish religion in order to have morality. How can one have order in the state without religion? Society cannot exist without inequality of fortunes and inequalities of fortunes cannot exist without religion. How can a man dying from hunger sit next to a man who is belching from overeating, unless there is an authority that says ‘God wills it so.’”
Napoleon continues:
“It is necessary that there be rich and poor in this world. We need religion to say that in eternity it will be different. I see in religion not the mystery of the incarnation but the mystery of the social order. It relegates to the heavens the idea of inequality so that the rich are not massacred here on earth.”
Napoleon signed a concordat with Pope Pius VII to re-establish the Catholic Church in France to to reconcile the poor with the glaring inequalities of capitalist society and to protect the privileged class. He was accused of being a papist.
In reply Napoleon answered:
“I am nothing. I was a Mohammedan in Egypt, I shall be a Catholic here in France, and were I to rule a nation of Jews, I would rebuild Solomon’s temple.”
The socialist struggle for a new society are not fought under the banner of so-called eternal moral precepts. They are fought for economic and political goals that should be bluntly and clearly stated. Appeals to the conscience of the ruling class are fruitless. Under capitalism inequality, tyranny and exploitation are safeguarded . All of this, in the name of liberty, freedom and equality! These supposedly eternal truths, these moral ideas, have different meanings to different classes at different times and at different periods. In a world where feudal aristocrats ruled society equality meant to the capitalists their right to exploit people. Freedom to them meant the liberty to use the means of production for their own private profit.
The Socialist Party considers that the materialist base for religion and superstition is dwindling. In general, scientific concepts are being introduced into all conditions of life. You can’t even buy food anymore without knowing something of the composition of what you buy in scientific terms. All things are open to the human mind, given time and the will and this is being widely understood today. Religion leads to fragmentation . Oppression is always felt in particular ways and by particular individuals, but ending it is a universal task. Religion is on the way out and science is on the way in, and socialism is the science of society. Socialists have eaten of the apple of knowledge and now the the frauds and forgeries do not go unquestioned. A world of witches and devils, of eternal damnation, of original sin does not go unchallenged.
Revolutionary change in economic conditions will have a profound effect upon religious beliefs in the future. Workers who wants to help defeat the capitalists and bring their class to power must eliminate from their mind the status quo ideas which have been inculcated since childhood by the schools the Church and the media. It is not enough to join the trade union and the political party. They will never be able to be victorious with them if they do not transform themselves internally into a different human being than the one molded by their rulers. They want to make the workers believe that what currently exists is the natural order. To preserve its power, the possessing class is trying to convince the workers to accept this as true. If the working class is right to believe that socialism can only come from the development of the productive forces and from the natural and social forces which have been understood by the working class, then it is also right to not accept anything supernatural, since there is no longer any basis for it, and all its adversaries who subscribe to a religion are imbued with superstitions.
The clergy and their hangers-on find faith very self-satisfying. They feast and live well on it. Class society has needed religion so that the exploited classes would not be deprived of the promise of a better life after death.
Napoleon explained :
“One must reestablish religion in order to have morality. How can one have order in the state without religion? Society cannot exist without inequality of fortunes and inequalities of fortunes cannot exist without religion. How can a man dying from hunger sit next to a man who is belching from overeating, unless there is an authority that says ‘God wills it so.’”
Napoleon continues:
“It is necessary that there be rich and poor in this world. We need religion to say that in eternity it will be different. I see in religion not the mystery of the incarnation but the mystery of the social order. It relegates to the heavens the idea of inequality so that the rich are not massacred here on earth.”
Napoleon signed a concordat with Pope Pius VII to re-establish the Catholic Church in France to to reconcile the poor with the glaring inequalities of capitalist society and to protect the privileged class. He was accused of being a papist.
In reply Napoleon answered:
“I am nothing. I was a Mohammedan in Egypt, I shall be a Catholic here in France, and were I to rule a nation of Jews, I would rebuild Solomon’s temple.”
The socialist struggle for a new society are not fought under the banner of so-called eternal moral precepts. They are fought for economic and political goals that should be bluntly and clearly stated. Appeals to the conscience of the ruling class are fruitless. Under capitalism inequality, tyranny and exploitation are safeguarded . All of this, in the name of liberty, freedom and equality! These supposedly eternal truths, these moral ideas, have different meanings to different classes at different times and at different periods. In a world where feudal aristocrats ruled society equality meant to the capitalists their right to exploit people. Freedom to them meant the liberty to use the means of production for their own private profit.
The Socialist Party considers that the materialist base for religion and superstition is dwindling. In general, scientific concepts are being introduced into all conditions of life. You can’t even buy food anymore without knowing something of the composition of what you buy in scientific terms. All things are open to the human mind, given time and the will and this is being widely understood today. Religion leads to fragmentation . Oppression is always felt in particular ways and by particular individuals, but ending it is a universal task. Religion is on the way out and science is on the way in, and socialism is the science of society. Socialists have eaten of the apple of knowledge and now the the frauds and forgeries do not go unquestioned. A world of witches and devils, of eternal damnation, of original sin does not go unchallenged.
Revolutionary change in economic conditions will have a profound effect upon religious beliefs in the future. Workers who wants to help defeat the capitalists and bring their class to power must eliminate from their mind the status quo ideas which have been inculcated since childhood by the schools the Church and the media. It is not enough to join the trade union and the political party. They will never be able to be victorious with them if they do not transform themselves internally into a different human being than the one molded by their rulers. They want to make the workers believe that what currently exists is the natural order. To preserve its power, the possessing class is trying to convince the workers to accept this as true. If the working class is right to believe that socialism can only come from the development of the productive forces and from the natural and social forces which have been understood by the working class, then it is also right to not accept anything supernatural, since there is no longer any basis for it, and all its adversaries who subscribe to a religion are imbued with superstitions.
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