--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion is the opium of the poor" description: "\"Religion is the opium of the poor\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/ernest-hemingway-83_opium_religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor-195287_1952874.jpg" --- # Religion is the opium of the poor ![“Religion is the opium of the poor” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/ernest-hemingway-83_opium_religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor-195287_1952874.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/ernest-hemingway-83_opium_religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor-195287_1952874.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/ernest-hemingway-83_opium_religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor-195287_1952874.jpg) > “Religion is the opium of the poor” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion can serve as a comforting escape for those lacking material security. **In simple terms:** Faith eases hardship for the poor. Key Takeaway Seek tangible solutions beyond comfort. Themes faith poverty escape comfort Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical social When to use this quote - policy making - social work - community support - education Key Concepts social critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives replace escapism? - How can societies reduce reliance on comforting myths? A Different Perspective Spiritual solace may not address root causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Opium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opium/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“Religion is the opium of the poor." "I thought marijuana was the opium of the poor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor-i-thought-marijuana-was-the-opium/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Religion is opium for the masses”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/religion-is-opium-for-the-masses/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [The fanatical atheists are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-fanatical-atheists-are-like-slaves-who-are-still-feeling-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It is the bourgeoisie which has turned religion into an opium of the people by preaching a God, lord of the heavens only, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frei-betto/it-is-the-bourgeoisie-which-has-turned-religion-into-an-opium-of-the/) Frei Betto > [If organized religion is the opium of the masses, then disorganized religion is the marijuana of the lunatic fringe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-thornley/if-organized-religion-is-the-opium-of-the-masses-then-disorganized/) [Kerry Thornley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-thornley/) > [History, having destroyed the religion as the opium of the people, now requires that they be given a taste of the real stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auberon-waugh/history-having-destroyed-the-religion-as-the-opium-of-the-people-now/) [Auberon Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auberon-waugh/) > [“Religion is the opium of the people!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-people/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“I know well enough that one of those leaders of what they call the Social Revolution said that religion is the opium of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/i-know-well-enough-that-one-of-those-leaders-of-what-they-call-the/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [Religion is the opium of the masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-masses/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Here's your first problem," he said, pointing at a sentence. "'Religion is the opium of the people.' Well, I don't know about people, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gideon-defoe/here-s-your-first-problem-he-said-pointing-at-a-sentence-religion-is/) [Gideon Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gideon-defoe/) > [In Russia religion is the opium of the people; in China opium is the religion of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-snow/in-russia-religion-is-the-opium-of-the-people-in-china-opium-is-the/) [Edgar Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-snow/) > [Religion is the opium of the people translated from the German Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkessometimes misquoted as opiate of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-people-translated-from-the-german-die/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“Religion is the opium of the people. He believed that, that dyspeptic little joint-keeper. Yes, and music is the opium of the people. Old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-people-he-believed-that-that-dyspeptic/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“THE GAMBLER,THE NUN & THE RADIO Yes, and music is the opium of the people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-gambler-the-nun-the-radio-yes-and-music-is-the-opium-of-the-people/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“for all the poor in the world against all tyranny”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/for-all-the-poor-in-the-world-against-all-tyranny/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Opium quotes > [For ten thousand dollars, I'd endorse an opium pipe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-brice/for-ten-thousand-dollars-i-d-endorse-an-opium-pipe/) [Fanny Brice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-brice/) > [“Religion is opium for the masses”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/religion-is-opium-for-the-masses/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [“Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess When did you feel your most euphoric kiss? Was I the source of your greatest bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/wanderess-wanderess-when-did-you-feel-your-most-euphoric-kiss-was-i/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [Only the opium eater truly understands the pain of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/only-the-opium-eater-truly-understands-the-pain-of-death/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [In order to increase his pleasures, man has intentionally added to the number and pressure of his needs, which in their original state were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-order-to-increase-his-pleasures-man-has-intentionally-added-to-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [By the time writing was invented, the Greeks and Egyptians had already learned to extract opium from poppies to facilitate sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-duff/by-the-time-writing-was-invented-the-greeks-and-egyptians-had-already/) Kat Duff > [We have used the Bible as if it was a mere special constable's handbook — an opium-dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/we-have-used-the-bible-as-if-it-was-a-mere-special-constable-s/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Marxism is the opium of the Marxists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marxism-is-the-opium-of-the-marxists/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [What opium is instilled into all disaster? It shows formidable as we approach it, but there is at last no rough rasping friction,but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-opium-is-instilled-into-all-disaster-it-shows-formidable-as-we/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Confucianism strongly condemned the use of drugs like opium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trout/confucianism-strongly-condemned-the-use-of-drugs-like-opium/) [Robert Trout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trout/) > [I think you can go back in history and look at what the effect in Asia and the world was of a divided, fractured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-c-blair/i-think-you-can-go-back-in-history-and-look-at-what-the-effect-in/) [Dennis C. Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-c-blair/) > [Alcoholism, the opium habit and tobaccoism are a trio of poison habits which have been weighty handicaps to human progress during the last three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-harvey-kellogg/alcoholism-the-opium-habit-and-tobaccoism-are-a-trio-of-poison-habits/) [John Harvey Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-harvey-kellogg/) > [The dead drug leaves a ghost behind. At certain hours it haunts the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/the-dead-drug-leaves-a-ghost-behind-at-certain-hours-it-haunts-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [It is not religion but revolution which is the opium of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/it-is-not-religion-but-revolution-which-is-the-opium-of-the-people/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Central Intelligence cutting Meo opium fields! China Lobby copping poppies in Burma! How long this Addict government support our oil-burner matter-habit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/central-intelligence-cutting-meo-opium-fields-china-lobby-copping/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) [Browse all 198 Opium quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opium/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Religion is the opium of the poor", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Opium" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/ernest-hemingway-83_opium_religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor-195287_1952874.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/ernest-hemingway-83_opium_religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor-195287_1952874.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/ernest-hemingway-83_opium_religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor-195287_1952874.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Religion is the opium of the poor” — Ernest Hemingway", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ernest Hemingway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Religion is the opium of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/religion-is-the-opium-of-the-poor/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```