David Gay, Warren S. Goldstein, and Anna Campbell Buck
Operationalizing The Critical Theory of Religion
The Critical Theory of Religion, as it has been artic-
ulated by Rudolf Siebert (2001) and Michael Ott
(2001), has remained an exegesis on a theoretical
level. While most of the work of the Frankfurt School
was theoretical, they also engaged in survey research
(see Adorno et al. 1950). A critical theory needs to
reflect the changing conditions of society. The valid-
ity of a theory is dependent “on the derived pro-
positions being consonant with the actual facts”
(Horkheimer 1982[1937]:188). If a theory is valid, it
should be capable of being empirically verified.
The first generation of the Frankfurt School engaged
in a synthesis of the theories of Marx, Weber, and
Freud. In an attempt to operationalize the critical
theory of religion, we will go back to some of their
insights on religion.
Unlike Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx
is not perceived by most sociologists of religion to
provide one of the foundations for the subdiscipline.
While the number of those adhering to a Marxist
sociology of religion has been limited, the potential
contributions of Marx to the subdiscipline should
not be ignored (O’Toole 1984:69). While Marx’s most
well known statement about religion is that it is the
“opium of the people,” this quotation is taken out
of textual and historical context and misunderstood
(Bloch 1972:62; Goldstein 2001:66; McKinnon 2005).
One needs to understand opium within the context
