Marx was partially right about religion

Karl Marx stated "Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the masses." Sigmund Freud said "Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from its readiness to fit in with our instinctual wishful impulses."

Most Christians tend to quickly dismiss such sentiments as being anti-Christian, invalid, and even label them as satanic. But such an approach is too easy and can point at a lack of intellectual and spiritual integrity on our part.  Jesus and his apostles never dismissed their critics out of hand but engaged them, affirming some things, and correcting others. Although I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ and His teachings I concur with both Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud that religion, even Christianity has often been abused as a virtual drug to satisfy our wishful desires and impulses. I also concur that underlying this abuse of religion as an opiate to dull our inner pain and emotional emptiness is the experience of oppression. This oppression can be political and economical, but the worst and most widespread oppression of the individual is actually psychological. In order to relieve the pain of emotional neglect, oppression or abuse many people find relief in addictions. These can be drugs and alcohol, but also sex addiction, adrenaline addiction or addiction to anything else that gives us an emotional high.

Religion, even Christianity can be abused as a drug, particularly mystical or charismatic emotional Christianity can easily be abused this way. In an attempts to fill the inner emotional void people chase after mystical experiences that temporarily make them feel loved and accepted. However the high soon wears off and the inner emptiness or pain resurfaces prompting a new search for an emotional high. The perpetual search for an emotional religious high distracts us from honestly facing our pain, it distracts us from taking responsibility for ourselves and from truly developing a healthy relationship with God and healthy relationships with other people. The use of religious experiences as a source of emotional fulfilment is in contradiction with the true love for God, oneself and one’s fellow humans and does not translate to living responsible fruitful lives of love for God, self and fellow humans. The solution to this is to admit that we are addicted to religious highs and that we are using God and religion for personal emotional fulfilment rather than honestly facing our spiritual and emotional poverty.  Next we need to admit our responsibility for not living in accordance with the Law of Christ. We also need to accept that all the power to live godly lives on earth has already been entrusted to us in Christ and that we actually can live fruitful lives on earth.  This includes overcoming the effects of the various forms of oppression we may have experienced in our lives and which may have programmed us in various ungodly ways. Once we choose to live in obedience we will actually discover that in a healthy relationship with God and our fellow humans we experience long lasting emotional fulfilment.