Is oppression more or less likely to make someone religious?
A lot of environmental factors play into this. Before the post-modern era, yes it did. Take a look at Afghanistan culture, refugees, the starving, and people without hope, and you’ll notice that they turn to a god concept because man has let them down. In contrast, the Western world is overbearing with wealthy Christians who treat poor, gay, foreign and disabled people like untouchables. The oppressed people who’ve been inculcated with Western religion tend to turn away from religion the first chance they get. Only those who benefit socially or financially will stay in the confines of religion. The lukewarms only say they’re religious to keep ties to their families…but in reality, most of the West are closet agnostics. How many fast-food workers and labor ready employees go to church every Sunday? In a culture dominated by monetary status quo, the oppressed are trying to focus on that rather than a god.
good question, on balance more likely because you need something to cling to, if you dont believe or have faith in humanity, because its ‘humanity’ that is opressing you, then you have to have faith in something that you can imagine will save you at some point, or that is giving you the opression to make you deserving of riches (emotional and physical) to come.
