Socialism and Religion. F A Ridley 1940s

Epilogue: The Death of the Gods

Man is a bridge and not a goal. – Nietzsche

There is little more to add. Religion in its present form becomes ever more obviously a parasite on the exploiting civilisation and society of which it is the ideological expression. As the machine-age develops it becomes more and more an absurdity, and its specific dogmas approximate ever more closely to self-evident mumbo-jumbo. More and more, as his historic role becomes ever more retrogressive, the priest becomes a mere witch-doctor battening on ignorance and fear, and droning his meaningless incantations with an ever more wearisome monotony. Men of intellect like Calvin or Newman are no longer found in institutions the ‘evidences’ of which become continually feebler. The gods are old: they have become senile: it is time for them to die!

But they will die no natural death. Capital will keep them alive even, if necessary, by artificial stimulants! As the capitalist civilisation declines, as war follows war, each more ‘total’ and soul-destroying than the last, religion again plants its feet firmly on the familiar ground of fear, and, like the fabled giant, grows stronger with every contact. In this society, religion will never die out. This is, above all, an age of fear, and fear and superstition are age-long twins.

Only the Social Revolution will destroy religion by abolishing its effective causes. Thereafter, man takes the place of god. An evolving earth succeeds a static heaven as Humanity, now, at long last, master of his own destiny in a free society, moves ever onward from the ape-man of yesterday to the man of today, and to the superman of tomorrow. Today gods and capitalists stand together: tomorrow, gods and capitalists will fall together.

‘Chase gods from the skies and capitalists from the earth.’ Forward to the Social Revolution! Mankind comes of age!