Christianity and Marxism: A philosophical contribution to their reconciliation

Christians and Marxists have co-operated in various forms of political work in recent decades and - after earlier years of antagonism - thinkers on both sides have come to take each other seriously. Andrew Collier’s ground-breaking book analyses how Christianity and Marxism can meet, in terms of their philosophical positions, without watering either down. After discussing what Christianity and Marxism are, and their place amongst contemporary world outlooks, the book discusses four areas of apparent conflict and possible reconciliation: * Dialectical materialism and the Christian view of the universe as God’s fallen creation * Marx’s commitment to secularist politics * Marx’s description of religion as the ‘opium of the people’ * The ethics of revolution compared with the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount Collier argues that Christianity and Marxism are, or can be brought, closer than is commonly thought. He concludes with a discussion of the ways in which both movements can be made truer to themselves by learning from each other, and how they can consequently be more effective in their projects of human liberation. This book is the first to consider the philosophical issues at stake in the Christian/Marxist dialogue for seventy years, and will be of great interest to all those involved in philosophy, theology, politics and Marxism, including the philosophy of politics, the philosophy of religion, and liberation theology.