Is religion a control mechanism that the rich and powerful use to control weak minded people?

Dr. Trolls: Is religion a control mechanism that the rich and powerful use to control weak minded people?
So they won’t rise up and destroy their oppressors. This is how Karl Marx saw it.

Basically keep screwing people and keep them falsely happy with religion, the ultimate con game of false promises.

Answers and Views:

Answer by rebelgolf
Sure, unless that whole God guy is actually real. I’m he loves seeing posts like this too. Makes him feel great.

Answer by Its smee
Nothing like giving the great unwashed their sunday dose of opiate.

Answer by My†h ß۞mber
Yes, that sums it up well.

Answer by Architect
Could be in cases but in other cases you wonder how can religion be used as a control mechanism when it was merely founded by mindless primates , just wondering !

Answer by Graham
Karl was talking out of his anus.

That communism worked out well though, didn’t it?

Answer by Tony
in a way, yes. but it is much more detailed than that.

Answer by Prof Fruitcake
Often the rich and powerful have used religion for that purpose. That doesn’t make religion bad, just because some people misuse it. God wants everyone to use their mind to think and ‘thou shalt not steal’ applies to the rich as well as to the poor.

Answer by Bill N
I would have to agree. The majority of the rich do not have faith in some flying spaghetti monster in the sky. Only the poor less fortunate people believe that there is going to be some invisible deity that is going to give them money or help them out. The rich is not going to wait for a handout. The self made millionaires did it by themselves.

Answer by William
Yes.

Answer by za
Nope. Karl was wrong.

Answer by SCAMP
It is at least partially true

Answer by Wolfeblayde
It may be hard for some people to comprehend this, but there are those of us who actually enjoy our religion for no other reason than we like what we like. We’re not weak-minded, we’re no more or less oppressed than anyone else in the world, and we’re typically aware of those times when someone is attempting to manipulate us. Religion plays a role in our life because we’ve made a conscious decision to be a part of it — not because we’re too fat, dumb, and happy to know that we’re being conned.

And speaking of manipulative behavior, Karl Marx had his own agenda and didn’t exactly qualify as the most neutral observer. He had his own reasons for wanting to see religion wiped off the face of the earth, and what better way to accomplish that than by convincing people that religion was a way that they were being victimized by the rich and powerful?

Marx was about as objective and disinterested as Fox News.

Answer by Deof Movestofca
Yes and no. Just because it can be used that way (and sometimes is) doesn’t mean that all forms of religion are nothing more than that. Not everyone who is religious is religious for the same reason.

Answer by KuzzBuzzFuzzSpuzz
People should be allowed to have their own thoughts without being told that it’s wrong because that depletes imagination. They’ll live their whole life thinking that their way is the wrong way if they’re told that enough times meaning that that kid can’t be himself or herself. No one has a better lifestyle than anyone else because everyone is faulty in one way or another.

Answer by Mini
I found this to be a very good question. Having Faith tends to make people happier however, following religious doctrine is difficult and takes a great deal of time and effort to understand. Many books and writings have been lost over time along with translation issues. This endeavor is not for the weak of mind: a good example would be Ephesians 3:1-4. Paul begins to talk about walking into your mysteries in 1, then seems to shift to another thought in 2, then comes back to the mystery in 3 and 4. Is this bad translation? Is it lost or uninterpretable (due to damage to the papyrus) writing? First Mystery: Be in the world not of the world. This does not mean you cannot have wealth or power, it is about self control, and true there is corruption, but judgements without knowledge of all the facts (people out of control) is a constant. Life is not about money and power, it is about understanding, respect, and love towards your fellow man. If someone “screws me” I don’t exact revenge, I let God do it, God is much harsher than I could ever think to be. I have had many people accuse me of doing something to them for what they have done to me, but there is no proof and I never do anything. I am still in awe on a regular basis, how I get to be present or hear about their lesson when I simply ask God for that opportunity. My key is faith, desire to understand and live the scriptures, and patience for the PROOF OF GOD. Furthermore, those who actually endeavor to be “religious” are not blindly happy. There are paradigm shifts in understanding which when realized, may lead to the neccessity of atonement or humbling one’s self for errors of one’s past behavior(s), also called “dark night of the soul” (see John of the Cross). It is tougher to follow religious example than it is to run willy, nilly, thither and yon under self-centered direction. I say those who lack religious discipline are the weak.