The opium of the people (or opium of the masses) (german: Opium des Volkes) is a dictum used in reference to religion, derived from a frequently paraphrased statement of German sociologist and economic theorist Karl Marx: "Religion is the opium of the people." In context, the statement is part of Marx's

structural-functionalist Structural functionalism, or simply functionalism, is "a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability". This approach looks at society through a macro-level ...

argument that religion was constructed by people to calm uncertainty over their role in the universe and in society.Rogers, M., and M. E. Konieczny. 2018.
Does religion always help the poor? Variations in religion and social class in the west and societies in the global south
" ''Palgrave Communications'' 4(73). . This statement was translated from the German original, "" and is often rendered as "religion…is the

opiate An opiate, in classical pharmacology, is a substance derived from opium. In more modern usage, the term ''opioid'' is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagonis ...

of the '' masses''." The full sentence from Marx translates (including italics) as: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the ''opium'' of the people."Marx, Karl. 8431970.
Introduction
" ''A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right'', translated by A. Jolin and J. O’Malley, edited by J. O’Malley. Cambridge University Press. – via ''

Marxists.org Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Enge ...

''. The quotation originates from the introduction of Marx's work ''

A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right ''Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right'' (german: Zur Kritik der Hegelschen Rechtsphilosophie, link=no) is a manuscript written by the German political philosopher Karl Marx in 1843. Unpublished during his lifetime (except for the introduction, ...

'', which he started in 1843 but which was not published until after his death. The introduction to this work was published separately in 1844, in Marx's own journal ''

Deutsch–Französische Jahrbücher The ''Deutsch–Französische Jahrbücher'' (''German–French Annals'') was a journal published in Paris by Karl Marx and Arnold Ruge. It was created as a reaction to the censorship of the ''Rheinische Zeitung''. History and profile ''Deutsch� ...

'', a collaboration with Arnold Ruge. Often quoted only in part, the interpretation of the metaphor in its context has received much less attention.

Full quotation and history

Marx wrote this passage in 1843 as part of the introduction to ''

Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right ''Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right'' (german: Zur Kritik der Hegelschen Rechtsphilosophie, link=no) is a manuscript written by the German political philosopher Karl Marx in 1843. Unpublished during his lifetime (except for the introduction, ...

'', a book that criticized philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's 1820 book, '' Elements of the Philosophy of Right''. This introduction was published in 1844 in a small journal called ''

''; however, the book itself was published posthumously. As the journal had a print run of just 1,000 copies, it had no popular effect during the 19th century. The phrase became better known during the 1930s, when Marxism became more popular. The quotation, in context, reads as follows (italics in original translation):

The foundation of irreligious criticism is: ''Man makes religion'', religion does not make man. Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But ''man'' is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is ''the world of man'' – state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an ''inverted consciousness of the world'', because they are an ''inverted world''. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopaedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual ''point d’honneur'', its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the ''fantastic realization'' of the human essence since the ''human essence'' has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle ''against that world'' whose spiritual ''aroma'' is religion. ''Religious'' suffering is, at one and the same time, the ''expression'' of real suffering and a ''protest'' against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the ''opium'' of the people
old added Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...
The abolition of religion as the ''illusory'' happiness of the people is the demand for their ''real'' happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to ''give up a condition that requires illusions''. The criticism of religion is, therefore, ''in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears'' of which religion is the ''halo''.

Metaphor

Marx used the phrase to make a

argument about religion, and particularly about

organized religion Organized religion, also known as institutional religion, is religion in which belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established. Organized religion is typically characterized by an official doctrine (or dogma), a ...

. In his view, religion may be false, but it is a function of something real. Specifically, Marx believed that religion had certain practical functions in society that were similar to the function of

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

in a sick or injured person: it reduced people's immediate suffering and provided them with pleasant illusions which gave them the strength to carry on. In this sense, while Marx may have no sympathy for religion itself, he has deep sympathy for those

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...

who put their trust in it. However, Marx also saw religion as harmful to

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

goals: by focusing on the eternal rather than the temporal, religion turns the attention of the oppressed away from the exploitation and class structure that encompasses their everyday lives. In the process, religion helps to foster a kind of false consciousness that emboldens cultural values and beliefs that support and validate the continued dominance of the ruling class. It thereby prevents the socialist revolution, the overthrowing of capitalism, and the establishment of a classless, socialist society. In Marx’s view, once workers finally overthrow capitalism, unequal social relations will no longer need legitimating and people’s alienation will dissolve, along with any need for religion.

Interpretations by subsequent socialist leaders and theorists

Subsequent socialist leaders and theorists have reflected and expanding on Marx's metaphor and considered it in the context of their own national conditions.

Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Lenin, speaking of religion in '' Novaya Zhizn'' in 1905, alluded to Marx's earlier comments:

Those who toil and live in want all their lives are taught by religion to be submissive and patient while here on earth, and to take comfort in the hope of a heavenly reward. But those who live by the labour of others are taught by religion to practise charity while on earth, thus offering them a very cheap way of justifying their entire existence as exploiters and selling them at a moderate price tickets to well-being in heaven. Religion is opium for the people []. Religion is a sort of spiritual booze, in which the slaves of capital drown their human image [], their demand for a life more or less worthy of man. (emphasis added).

Kim Il Sung

North Korean leader

Kim Il Sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

's writings addressed the "opium" metaphor twice, both in the context of responding to comrades who object to working with religious groups (Chonbulygo and

Chondoism Cheondoism (spelled Chondoism in North Korean sources; ) is a 20th-century Korean pantheistic religion, based on the 19th-century Donghak religious movement founded by Choe Je-u, Ch'oe Che-u and codified under Son Byong-hi, Son Pyŏng-Hi. Cheon ...

). In the first instance, Kim replies that a person is "mistaken" if he or she believes Marx's proposition regarding "opium of the people" can be applied in all instances, explaining that if a religion "prays for dealing out divine punishment to Japan and blessing the Korean nation" then it is a "patriotic religion" and its believers are patriots. In the second, Kim states that Marx's metaphor "must not be construed radically and unilaterally" because Marx was warning against "the temptation of a religious mirage and not opposing believers in general." Because the communist movement in Korea was fighting a struggle for "national salvation" against Japan, Kim writes that anyone with a similar agenda can join the struggle and that "even a religionist ... must be enrolled in our ranks without hesitation."

Academic interpretations

Roland Boer Roland Boer is an Australian theologian and scholar of Marxism. He was awarded the Deutscher Memorial Prize in 2014. Career Boer obtained a bachelors degree in divinity from the University of Sydney. He was a professor at University of Newcast ...

asserts that Marx's depiction of religion as 'opium', while suspicious of religion's addictive potential, also emphasizes religion's medicinal properties akin to those of opium in Western medicine.

Similar statements and influence

The same metaphor was used by many authors around the 19th century. In 1798, Novalis wrote in "''Blüthenstaub''" ("Pollen"): In 1840,

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

also used the same analogy, in his essay on Ludwig Börne:

Welcome be a religion that pours into the bitter chalice of the suffering human species some sweet, soporific drops of spiritual opium, some drops of love, hope and faith.

The writings of

Bruno Bauer Bruno Bauer (; 6 September 180913 April 1882) was a German philosopher and theologian. As a student of G. W. F. Hegel, Bauer was a radical Rationalism, Rationalist in philosophy, politics and Biblical criticism. Bauer investigated the sources of ...

are a key influence on the ''Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right''. Marx's metaphor is anticipated in two of Bauer's works: ''Die gute Sache der Freiheit'' and ''Der christliche Staat''. In the former work, Bauer talks of religion as a cause of "opium-like stupefaction;" in the latter, Bauer mentions theology's "opium-like" influence.

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...

, a canon of the Church of England, wrote the following in 1847, four years after Marx:

Miguel de Unamuno

Miguel de Unamuno, the famed Spanish author of the Generation of '98, focused his

nivola Nivola is a term created by Miguel de Unamuno to refer to his works that contrasted with the realism prevalent in Spanish novels during the early 20th century. Since his works were not fully novels, or "novelas" in Spanish, Unamuno coined a new wo ...

'' San Manuel Bueno, mártir'' around the theme of religion's opiatic effect on the people of rural Spain. In the book, the protagonist Don Manuel is a priest who does not believe in God, but continues preaching because he sees the positive impact he can make in the lives of his parishioners. Religion in this way also serves to cure his own deep depression, through the happiness he feels from helping the people of Valverde de Lucerna. Unamuno makes direct reference to Marx when Don Manuel explains:

Modern comparisons

Some writers make a modern comparison of the phrase "opium of the people" to that akin to sports fandom, celebrities, the distractions of television, the internet, and other entertainment, etc. This can be seen as a parallel to the concept of bread and circuses.