RETHINKING MARXIST OPIUM IDEOLOGY: THE URHOBO EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Karl Marx won a very popular view in his time by postulating that religion is the opium of the people. This view however formidable it may have been, has not truly expressed the religious experience of the Urhobo. Thus, the paper among other things, seeks to extricate the views of Marx in the Urhobo religious context. It adopts a sociological interpretation of the phenomenon of religion among the people against the backdrop of blind followership (opium). The paper argues, rather than seeing religion from Karl Marx specs, it should be perceived as the soul of the soulless from experiential viewpoint which validates social actions and a basis for moral judgment, binding on the society. It has been a veritable tool in liberating the masses as well as a channel for expressing desires. The paper concludes that a religionless society is a soulless society that is capable of breeding anarchy and chaotic environment. Hence among the Urhobo, it is the panacea for peaceful co-existence, harmony and social development.