1) émile durkheim defined religion as a "unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things". to him, the sacred meant extraordinary—something that inspired wonder and which seemed connected to the concept of "the divine." durkheim argued that "religion happens" in society when there is a separation between the profane (ordinary life) and the sacred. a rock, for example, isn’t sacred or profane as it exists. but if someone makes it into a headstone, or another person uses it for landscaping, it takes on different meanings—one sacred, one profane. 2) marx’s analysis and critique of religion "religion is the opium of the masses" ("die religion ist das opium des volkesis") is perhaps one of the most famous and most quoted by theist and atheist alike. unfortunately, most of those doing the quoting don’t really understand exactly what marx meant, probably due to an incomplete understanding of marx’s general theories on economics and society. 3) among some of freud's most famous quotes on religion, in his book new introductory lectures on psychoanalysis, he suggested that "religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires."

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1-According to Émile Durkheim, religion is not merely "imaginary," but it is a real and tangible phenomenon and there is no society without religion. For Durkheim, it is perceived that in individuals there is a force more powerful than our own individualities. That force is the social dimension to which we attribute a supernatural face. This leads us to be able to control religion collectively while increasing that symbolic power. Religion is the expression of collective consciousness, or the fusion of our individual consciences that is forged into a reality of its own.

2-Marx described religion as the "opium of the people." Religion fulfilled a double function: social and anesthetic, although it disapproved of its foundations. He considered religion as the spiritual response of the classes in conflict, in this case of the oppressed. Religion appears as a conservative force that consolidates and perpetuates the role of a particular social class. Thinking about the abolition of religion is the necessary condition to achieve happiness.

3-Freud considered religion as a kind of neurosis that, at times, approached madness. Religion was a threat to freedom and truth, ultimately, to the happiness of human beings. For Freud, religion was an illusion that tried to cover the most primitive desires of humanity.

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