Eternal Damnation as Exploitation’s Last Defense: Marx, Religion, and the Concept of Hell

Abstract

Karl Marx stands as one of history’s most notable materialists and atheists, and while his critiques of capitalism and advocacy for classless society form his primary intellectual and revolutionary projects, the critique of religion (Judeo-Christian religions in particular) remains an important element of his thought. Marx saw religion simultaneously as (1) an oppressive human invention that degrades and alienates humanity in the service of the dominant class(es), and (2) the “sigh of the oppressed creature,” a source of meaning and solace for the subordinated and exploited. The latter functions of religion, its provision of hope via promises of possible justice-in-this-world from a loving God (and guaranteed justice for believers in an afterlife of eternal bliss), are treated in a complex manner by Marx — their role in assuaging the pain of the oppressed is recognized, but their obscuring of real-world solutions is lamented. On the other hand, perhaps the ultimate Christian guarantor of class society is subject to far less discussion by Marx himself or later commentators — the threat of facing eternal damnation in Hell for transgression against central religious precepts. In this chapter, I revisit Marx’s critique of religion as a guarantor of class society and, despite Marx’s own silence on the concept of Hell, use his critique of religion to analyze the role of Hell in the reproduction of class relations.