My OpenLearn Profile
- Personalise your OpenLearn profile
- Save your favourite content
- Get recognition for your learning
- Subjects
- History & The Arts
- All content
- 60 Second Adventures in Religion
Ever wondered why Karl Marx thought religion was like Opium - or whether religion is possible without a god? Voiced by David Mitchell, this series of four 60 second animations examines different ways that religion has been viewed by non-religious thinkers. As well as Marx and Dawkins, religion is put under the microscope by thinkers Auguste Comte and JJ Bachoffen.
By: The OpenLearn team (The Open University,)
- Duration 5 mins
- Updated Thursday 27th September 2018
- Posted under Religious Studies
Track 4: Religion as a virus
Can science and religion ever sit side by side? Not according to Richard Dawkins. And he has rock-star mice to prove it.
© The Open University
- Read a transcript of this track - you'll need a PDF viewer, such as Adobe's free Adobe Reader
- See details of the Open University course this album comes from
- Discover more from The Open University and iTunesU at open.edu/itunes
Tracks in this podcast:
Track | Title | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | Religion as social control | Had Marx got his way, society would be so happy being revolutionaries, there’d be no need for religion. He’d obviously never been to a Gulag. Play now <ins class="podcastTop">Religion as social control</ins> |
2 | Religion as ritual | Explore how ancient beliefs developed from “Eggism” into modern day religion. French philosopher, Comte explains how. Play now <ins class="podcastTop">Religion as ritual</ins> |
3 | Religion as a mother | Why do so many people picture God as a man? JJ Bachofen suggested there was once a time when it was the Goddess, not God that people turned to for religious guidance. Play now <ins class="podcastTop">Religion as a mother</ins> |
4 | Religion as a virus | Can science and religion ever sit side by side? Not according to Richard Dawkins. And he has rock-star mice to prove it. Play now <ins class="podcastTop">Religion as a virus</ins> |
About the author
Author
Publication details
-
Originally published: Thursday, 27th September 2018
Copyright information
- Body text - Content : Copyright The Open University
- Audio/Video tracks: Copyright The Open University
- Image '60 Second Adventures in Religion' - Copyright: Used with permission
Tags, Ratings and Social Bookmarking
Related content
Feeds
If you enjoyed this, why not follow a feed to find out when we have new things like it? Choose an RSS feed from the list below. (Don't know what to do with RSS feeds?)
Remember, you can also make your own, personal feed by combining tags from around OpenLearn.
Share this video
Publication details
-
Originally published: Thursday, 27th September 2018
Copyright information
- Body text - Content: Copyright The Open University
- Audio/Video tracks: Copyright The Open University
- Image '60 Second Adventures in Religion' - Copyright: Used with permission
OpenLearn Search website
OpenLearn Links
Footer Menu
Our partners
OpenLearn works with other organisations by providing free courses and resources that support our mission of opening up educational opportunities to more people in more places.


©1999-2020. All rights reserved. The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302). The Open University is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to its secondary activity of credit broking.
Be the first to post a comment
We invite you to discuss this subject, but remember this is a public forum.
Please be polite, and avoid your passions turning into contempt for others. We may delete posts that are rude or aggressive, or edit posts containing contact details or links to other websites.