Religion as Ideology has played its role in history several times, and still continues to do so. Colton has rightly remarked that ‘Man will fight for religion, write for it, fight for it, anything but live it’. But is also equally true that in many cases it is religion, which has made man to do so. But one should differentiate between religion as ‘religion’ and religion as ideology which political leaders still like to call it their religion. Usually, the central contents and items of ‘religions’ are regarded abstract, unverifiable, non-empirical and subjective.
They may be real or non-real or fantasy. Nothing can be said with certainty about the existence or non-existence of the contents of the ‘religion’, definiteness of particular ways and means to know them, or about the outcome of knowing them. Hardly anyone can confirm the experiences of a person that one has attained such realization.
Most of these things or ways and means to realize them are based on subjective knowledge, faith and belief of the claimant. When a claimant announces his experience as the best and highest goal of life of man and society, and calls upon others to attain it by and through living a particular way of life, adopting specific form of worship, and unite as a community of believers, he transforms his ‘religion’ into an ‘ideology’. It is an ideology to the believers.
When these claimants, founders, prophets, seers, and teachers (gurus) of that religion or their successors or nominees apply, propagate and spread teachings and rules of prescribed behaviour among common people, and use means to motivate them, it turns into an ideology of religion. It may be pointed out that there have been, from time to time, many claimants of ‘religions’.
There have been many religions. Owing to the very nature of a ‘religion’ and claims made about it which, no other claimant or non-believer can contradict, owing to subjective nature of religious experiences, or oppose the experiences and expressions of the other claimant. In due course of time, power gained this way by religions becomes irresistible as well as unchallengeable.
The claimed experiences stand beyond reason or above every kind of controversy. Millions of believers or followers stand by them and are found to fight and die for it. Thinkers, scholars and rulers have been concerned with this use of religion. It proves to be a powerful engine for operating a government, society and community.
Important writers who have recognised the use of religion as ideology have been Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Pascal, Hegel and some others. Kant regarded three beliefs necessary to make man moral and happy: in God, in the freedom of the will, and immortality of the soul. Marx regarded religion as fantasy of the alienated man.
Religion, used in this way, is a form of false consciousness or an ideology. Political leaders use religion as ideology, as in religion man sees himself as subject to higher beings. Religion confirms his experience that he is not yet his own master. He has not yet learned to adapt his environment to his needs and is the victim of circumstances as yet beyond his control, but he has aspiration to be his own master.
It reinforces prevailing morality by promising rewards and threatening punishments in an afterlife, but make man willing to suffer during this life. Undergoing incessant suffering men tend to propitiate malevolent spirits and to invoke the help of benevolent ones. Communities, social groups and political parties resort to religion as an ideology as a system of beliefs regardless to its truth. It is an effect of ignorance and curiosity. It consists of fantasies that give the illusion that men have knowledge where they in fact lack it.
It allays fears and gives an outlet to men’s inability to control the forces of nature, society and economy. Communities and groups hold together in unity on the basis of its declared sacred character. It reinforces men’s motives for observing social rules on threat of punishment by some other-worldly being or beings more powerful than man. Religion provides man with a conception of himself and of his place in the world that satisfies him.