In Karl Marx’s Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Law, Marx states that “Religion does not make man, man makes religion.” (Pals. Pg.145 Paragraph 3) From this statement, multiple natural occurrences in the world can be linked to support the reductionist approach to religion and why we as mankind, should reduce what we project into a “divine being” back into ourselves. Referencing other reductionist theorists, in Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Will to Power, it is a generalized thought that the religious man in the past is much like man today, except they were much more naïve. Anger, thought, and feelings have been explained by either anger, spirit or even the soul. (Nietzsche, 135, (March-June 1888)) The difference between man now versus man then is that “those conditions that seemed to him [man in the past] strange, thrilling, overwhelming, he interpreted as obsessions and enchantment by the power of a person.” (Nietzsche, 135, (March-June 1888)) For example, man, “Who could not explain why he felt a sense of power….dare not think himself the cause of this astonishing feeling” (Nietzsche, 86, 135 (March-June 1888)) began to anthropomorphize his natural, psychological qualities into a nonexistent, unreal, false god. In Nietzsche’s text, he also says that “A sort of feeling of fear and terror at oneself--…a feeling of extraordinary happiness and exaltation-- among the sick, the feeling of health is sufficient to inspire belief in god.” Thus meaning that the feeling of dying or the feeling of being sick and coming back to good health, is enough to strike the belief in god. (Nietzsche, 86, 135 (March-June 1888)) Several of Nietzsche’s thoughts are what best describe what Karl Marx meant by man creating religion and religion not creating man. According to Arvind Sharma, “the assumption [of the reductionist approach] explains religion in terms of social, psychological, and other factors.” (Arvind Sharma, Pg.
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1) The person studying the religion must peel away all of the constructs of religion that have been laid out over the decades that it has existed and will eventually find that there is simply nothing to peel away more and that religion is not real. In Peter Berger’s essay, The Will to Power, he takes the reductionist approach and says that the only way to truly study religion is by experience. Therefore, because we cannot scientifically study religion by experience, then we must “rigorously bracket” off the experiences that those men who are religious have experienced. With these being said, Marx’s statement “religion does not create man, man creates religion” is a prime example of the reductionist approach to religion. If we “peel away” all of these constructs and trace religion back to its origins, we will find that there is nothing to peel away any more and that religion is simply nothing. Taking all of this in, Marx’s understanding of religion, is enough to push us towards the over throwing of this fictitious god. Religion or god for that matter, provides a way as of protecting a person or group of person’s moral characteristics. For example, biologically, we are impulsed to have sexual relations with other human beings. In Peter Berger’s The Sacred Canopy, he describes the “programs that society has for the sexual activity of that societies members.” For example, Berger describes the moiety exogamy, or marrying outside the family, in certain Brazilian tribes or having sexual relations
1) The person studying the religion must peel away all of the constructs of religion that have been laid out over the decades that it has existed and will eventually find that there is simply nothing to peel away more and that religion is not real. In Peter Berger’s essay, The Will to Power, he takes the reductionist approach and says that the only way to truly study religion is by experience. Therefore, because we cannot scientifically study religion by experience, then we must “rigorously bracket” off the experiences that those men who are religious have experienced. With these being said, Marx’s statement “religion does not create man, man creates religion” is a prime example of the reductionist approach to religion. If we “peel away” all of these constructs and trace religion back to its origins, we will find that there is nothing to peel away any more and that religion is simply nothing. Taking all of this in, Marx’s understanding of religion, is enough to push us towards the over throwing of this fictitious god. Religion or god for that matter, provides a way as of protecting a person or group of person’s moral characteristics. For example, biologically, we are impulsed to have sexual relations with other human beings. In Peter Berger’s The Sacred Canopy, he describes the “programs that society has for the sexual activity of that societies members.” For example, Berger describes the moiety exogamy, or marrying outside the family, in certain Brazilian tribes or having sexual relations