Its preoccupation with harmony and consensus causes functionalism to neglect instances where religion can be the center of conflict and control. Marxism emphasizes the conflict inherent in religion. Top Marxist theory identifies religion as a major factor in the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, a relationship based on conflict. This relationship is based on exploitation and inherent economic conflict. For Marx, religion is part of the superstructure supporting the economic base of capitalism.
Religion is a tool used by the bourgeoisie to subvert dissidence and achieve control.
Religion can dull the pain of oppression in a number of ways. The Christian vision of heaven can make life on earth more bearable by giving people something to look forward to. Some religions make suffering a virtue. Religion helps make poverty and hardship more tolerable by offering a reward for suffering and promising justice in the afterlife. Religion can also offer hope of supernatural intervention to solve the problems of life.