Marx is establishing a secular theory that emphasizes the material conditions of a given historical moment, rather than the ideals or “spirit” that are said to define a particular age. He’s like Nietzsche in this regard: values or ideas have their origins in specific historical causes. At the same time, religious thinkers like Augustine and Kierkegaard have wrestled with the problem of alienation, just like Marx. So…despite Marx’s explicit claim that he is distancing himself from theology, do you see similarities between him and his religious predecessors?

   Marx is establishing a secular theory that emphasizes the material conditions of a given historical moment, rather than the ideals or “spirit” that are said to define a particular age. He’s like Nietzsche in this regard: values or ideas have their origins in specific historical causes. At the same time, religious thinkers like Augustine and Kierkegaard have wrestled with the problem of alienation, just like Marx. So…despite Marx’s explicit claim that he is distancing himself from theology, do you see similarities between him and his religious predecessors?