The Role of Religion: A Required Element or Simple Nuisance?
             Religion plays a very interesting role in the world of Sociology because it is such a deep seeded and integral thread that holds many different parts of society together. However, although virtually no sociologist will deny the importance of religion in different societies, they differ greatly on their views on how it can fit into social and/or economic theory. Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx are two very well known sociologists whose opinions on religion differ a great deal. Durkheim put great importance on the solidifying nature of religion; it's ability to create rituals, which rely on symbols and in turn form social facts. Marx, on the other hand, has one of the most famous quotes regarding religion, stating that it is the "opium for the masses". This only begins to tell us where he stands on the idea of religion in sociology. Marx focuses more on the idea that religion is one of those social institutions, which are dependent upon the material and economic sources and resources in a given society. Although Marx and Durkheim differ greatly on their analysis of religion we will see how each one has made it an integral part of their own sociological theories. The quote in the introduction gives us an idea of where we should start with Marx vs. religion. Examining it in it's whole, which is almost never quoted, we will use it as a starting place to begin our comparison with Durkheim:
             Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about it's condition is the demand to give up a conditi...