Bishop Robert Barron says communists oppose religion to achieve total control

Bishop Robert Barron stated that communists seek to eliminate religion because it prevents the establishment of a totalizing system of government control. He said Karl Marx described religion as the opium of the masses, a substance used to dull sensitivity to economic exploitation.

Barron explained that Marx built on the work of Ludwig Feuerbach, who argued that humans project idealized qualities onto an invented God. According to Barron, Marx concluded that people turn to religion to ease the pain caused by economic conditions.

Religious leaders as targets Barron said that under this view, religious leaders function as drug dealers who must be removed for a communist system to succeed. He added that communism requires government control over education, entertainment, communication, politics, and economics.

Religion stands in the way, Barron stated, because it holds all societal functions accountable to an objective moral standard set by God. He noted that the Bible refuses to deify political leaders and subjects even kings to divine law.

role Barron said the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom allows religion to serve a critical function independent of the state. He argued that communists must therefore stamp out religion and silence its leaders. Barron pointed to the histories of China, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Cambodia, Venezuela, and Poland as evidence.

" for fifteen minutes, as the beginning of the end for the Soviet empire. Barron urged fellow believers not to remain complacent and called on them to vote, speak out, and organize in response to the electoral success of radical socialists and communists.