Opiate of the Masses

Marx might be right. I hesitate to say this in a public venue, since the man is so heavily villianized, but he made a valid point. Religion might just be the opiate of the masses.

Mind you, Marx said this in a demeaning way while I say it with utmost admiration, but it is true. Religion is an anti-depressant and a purveyor of high moral values. It creates a sense of community and effectively destroys the tyranny of loneliness and despair. It’s my drug of choice.

On Sunday, my group of three stumbled across a chapel in West Jerusalem. We were invited to stay for mass, and were happy to do so. The Pilipino congregation welcomed us, and we sat at the back and pretended to know the tunes to their acoustic guitar and tambourine-accompanied hymns. We passed a pen back and forth urgently to take notes when the priest gave a thoughtful discourse on the eucharist, and when I left after 80 minutes, I felt uplifted and happy. First dose of religious opiate for the week.

To avoid studying for midterms on Thursday, we trouped to the Western Wall to watch Bar Mitzvahs. I focused on a timid, dimpled teenage boy who was gently prodded on by the men of his family while the women watched attentively from the other side of the screen. I was reminded of my own family and our own religious coming-of-age rituals, and I tasted a second dose of Marx’s opiate for the week.

During Friday night synagogue service, my mind wandered while the Hebrew verse rolled along. I read the prayer book and mumbled along to the music. I watched the kids running around the chairs and the women greeting each other and heard a male voice belting slightly out of tune from the other side of the room. “How very alike we are,” I thought, “and how glad I am that we have religion to bring us together.” Bless that little nonsubstance stimulant.

My last dose of religious opiate this week was my favorite. Fast and testimony meeting with the Jerusalem Center branch is a treat. The hymns never fail to hit home, and the line for the podium is always too long for the time allotted for bearing testimony. The Savior was the predominant focus of our meeting, and I knew that the Spirit and the gospel of Jesus Christ are opiates to us because they are true. Religion is good inasmuch as it unites men and women. That is the Savior’s message, and my legal opiate.