Neither opium nor illusion!

Probably the most widely known quotation from Karl Marx, taken from his Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right (1843), is: "Religion is the opium of the people." Religion was viewed by Marx as an ideological cover-up for all the misdemeanour of capitalism and its cruel consequences. Within this frame of thought, religion is considered to be an inverted consciousness of the world produced by the capitalist economy. A superstructure which would fall into disuse once the economic structure which gave rise to it is overturned.

In the first quarter of the 20th century, Sigmund Freud in The Future of Illusion (and later in Civilization and Its Discontents) supplied another paradigm for debunking of religion and God Himself. Culture's (hence religion's) illusion lies in the fact that its lack of credible proof causes psychological problems. Hence Freud sees religion providing us with a God that is watching over us.

"The defence against childish helplessness is what lends its characteristic features to the adult's reaction to the helplessness which he has to acknowledge - a reaction which is precisely the formation of religion"[Ch 4].

However, with the advance of science religious ideas are replaced by our knowledge about how the world works. Freud suggests that religion is like a cultural neurosis. Science is set to go beyond religion, and reason will replace faith. But there is strong scholarship that takes Freud's view of religion as the neurosis of society to task. Benedict XVI's latest Encyclical Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate) is yet another proof of how mistaken both Marx's and Freud's positions are. While some Marxists insisted that Christian charity is only a placebo against the cruelty of capitalism - hence an illusion - Benedict XVI insists that there is no charity unless it is based on truth. Without the basis of truth, charity is only an emotion. "Without truth, without trust and love for the truth, there is no conscience and no sense of social responsibility."

Hence, although it will take years for this encyclical's values to seep down, its impact will be great. There is no possibility for full human development unless we overcome the "divorce" between the economic, social and psychological spheres of life when it comes to an ethical evaluation. In this encyclical Pope Benedict appears set to call for new global "synergies" among all stakeholders in order to resist cuts in social safety nets, make stronger efforts to combat world hunger, and bring in greater protections for the "ecological health of the planet". It is "charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection", that "is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity".

Inasmuch as there is no true love unless it is based on truth, there is no authentic and full Christian living without truth at its basis. As we are seeing at our own expense, the roots of the present financial and economic crisis are to be found in an "ethical deficit". Hence preaching Christ's Good News is not an alienation which hinders us from building a better world, but the principal resource at the service of the true development of every single person and humankind.

There is no denying that love is at the core of the Church's social doctrine. "Every responsibility and every commitment spelt out by that doctrine is derived from charity." It is the principle on which all types and levels of human relationships are based (among persons as well as within and among social institutions).

However, Pope Benedict tells us that he is not unaware of the manner in which charity has been and is misconstrued and emptied of meaning, "with the consequent risk of being misinterpreted, detached from ethical living and, in any event, undervalued. In the social, juridical, cultural, political and economic fields" ... in other words, in those spheres of life that are mostly exposed to this danger: "Hence the need to link charity with truth not only in the sequence, pointed out by Saint Paul, of veritas in caritate (Eph. 4:15), but also in the inverse and complementary sequence of caritas in veritate. Truth needs to be sought, found and expressed within the "economy" of charity, but charity in its turn needs to be understood, confirmed and practised in the light of truth."

Neither is religion a utopia. Christian religion's belief in the afterlife and in eternity is not an escape from the "here and now". It is the "here and now" which will give us access to eternal bliss or damnation. This is our "playing" field! Thus truth will make us free both here and hereafter. This is of utmost importance in today's social and cultural context where truth is frequently relativised.

Rev. Dr Inguanez is the Executive Director of DISCERN.