Karl Marx's Ideas About Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Karl Marx's Ideas About Religion - Essay Example The writings of Karl Marx are still recognized today as the foundation of socialist thought. In his 1948 Communist Manifesto, he decried the imbalance of the power between the people and the economic ‘powers that be’ which included the religious establishment. Marx’s views on religion emanated, as do most persons, from his experiences early on in life. This discussion presents an overview of Marx’s childhood and early adult influences which served to shape his religious ideology, describes then critiques this philosophy. Marx was born in Germany in 1818 to Jewish parents and raised in a middle-class environment. His father, though a devout Jew, was forced to either become baptized as a member of the Protestant religion or lose his job as a respected lawyer. German’s long-standing mistrust and hatred of the Jews began long before the Nazi regime took control in the 1930’s. In 1835, Marx entered the University of Bonn where he met his future wife, Jenny von Westphalen whose father, socialite Baron von Westphalen, piqued Marx’s interest in romantic literature.