Engels’ Critique of Religion

Abstract

At first glance it appears as if the scholarly pursuits of Marx and Engels were related inversely. Whereas Marx began with a critique of religion, then moved on to deal with philosophy and socio-political issues, and finally turned with increasing preoccupation to economic investigations, Engels, beginning with economic matters, ended with works which had much to do with religion but little with economics. To illustrate further, while Marx was producing the introduction to his proposed critique of Hegel’s philosophy of law and was writing two essays on the Jewish Question, Engels was working on a book entitled, The Condition of the Working Class in England, and was producing “Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy.” One could also point out that while Marx was pottering about with the materials which were eventually to comprise the second and third volumes of Capital, Engels was writing The Dialectics of Nature and Anti-Dühring. But this inverse relationship is trivial insofar as their critiques of religion are at issue. It becomes important only if it misleads the reader into thinking that Marx, in turning to economic studies, repudiated his earlier views on religion or that Engels had never criticized religion atheistically before he produced the economic writings which led to collaboration with Marx.