Opium of the people?

Karl Marx is perhaps most famous for his quote that: "Religion is the opium of the people."

Now unfortunately, I have not yet read up on Karl Marx myself, so I cannot comment on his politics or philosophy as a whole.  However, my general understanding of this quote is that religion is invented by people to give them emotional/spiritual comfort in life, much like opium (which contains morphine) can give comfort to somebody in physical pain.

Here, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on how not only religion (namely, Christianity) but also atheism can give comfort to people's lives.   I did not become a Christian until college and have read several manifestos by atheists and humanists, so I have a reasonable understanding of both a secular and a Christian worldview.  Please note that this blog post is not concerned with which worldview is actually correct, it is only examining the comforts and challenges of each worldview's claims.  Let's start with Christianity:

Comforts of Christianity:

1) Heaven - "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4).  It is fairly obvious how the Christian belief of heaven can give comfort to people living challenging and fragile lives.  The Christian concept of heaven offers not only life after death, but even the end of suffering and mourning.  It also provides the hope of seeing loved ones who have already passed away.

2) Purpose - The idea that humans are made in God's own image gives people the comfort of being special and having purpose in life.  It means that we all have the divine nature of God living inside of us, our very soul and consciousness is a testament to God's goodness and purpose.  It also means that the love we feel for life and for others is not merely a chemical feeling, but an objective reality that reflects the loving nature of God Himself.  This is undeniably a more comforting worldview than that of naturalism, which posits that we are an accidental byproduct of blind and indifferent natural causes, with no objective truth or purpose.

3) Justice and grace - Christians believe that God will judge every human soul with fairness and grace.  Every sinner who remains unrepentant of their actions will be eternally separated from God and His kingdom, never again able to inflict injustice on his/her victims.  This promise of divine justice is crucial, as it frees Christians from a need to obtain their own justice/vengeance in their lives, and leaves it up to God in the next life.  This is perhaps the only comfort possible when your life (or the life of somebody you love) is maliciously wounded by the sins of another.  Trusting in God's justice for all is the only sure-fire antidote to hatred.  After all, if there is no God, then hatred is completely justified, as only your own hatred and revenge can punish the wrongdoer.  The grace offered to all by Jesus Christ is also an enormous comfort, as it means that you have not lost hope for salvation and righteousness even if you have made mistakes in life. 


Comforts of atheism (or secular humanism):

1) Freedom - In the New Testament, the evangelist Paul often refers to himself as "a prisoner of Christ," which clearly indicates the amount of servility and sacrifice necessary for Christians.  Many atheists, however, freely admit that they strongly prefer a life where they are free to do whatever they please (Christopher Hitchens, for example).  In other words, they want to drink when they want, have sex when they want, act how they want, and don't want to be told what they can and can't do.  God is seen as an oppressive straight-jacket, Hitchens even went so far as to label this biblical God a "celestial dictator."  Clearly, not believing in this restrictive God provides an enormous comfort to many unbelievers, as they can revel in their freedom without being subjected to accountability or judgment from God. 

2) Personal Authority - This is closely related to freedom, but has some subtle differences.  Unlike Christians, who must humbly defer to biblical authority to define their morality and guide their life goals, an unbeliever has the authority to use their own personal compass through life.  They get to define for themselves what is right and what is wrong.  They get to decide what they would like to do with their time.  In other words, an unbeliever not only gets freedom to do what they want, they even have the authority to proclaim that their own desires and morality are perfectly fine.  This allowance for personal authority is highly desirable to secular humanism, which heavily promotes moral and cultural relativism and detests submission to authority, particular to a divine authority. 

3) Capability - If there is no God, then humans are the pinnacle of all of existence.  We are the most highly evolved form of life, there is nothing above us.  This allows us the pleasure of reveling in our own intelligence and capability.  In fact, many atheists, such as Richard Dawkins, elevate the capability of the human brain to a God-like status.  The ability to do science and to think critically is seen as the ultimate form of being.  A coworker of mine once even commented that "science is my God."  This grandiose perception of our capability can be quite comforting, as it is often difficult as a Christian to acknowledge that we are nothing compared to God and His love and His power.  By atheism, our brain power is the best the world has to offer, and there is no need for humility.

In conclusion, I would suggest that both Christianity AND secularism can serve as an "opium of the people."  Therefore, this argument does not seem convincing for debunking either side's worldview.  It would seem to be a draw.  There may even be a slight advantage to Christianity, because I have never met an unbeliever (if any exist, I would love to talk to you!) who strongly desires for God to be real, but I know many Christians (myself included) who often struggle with the difficulty and inconvenience of living for God and sometimes wish He were not real.