Final answer:
According to many, the belief that one can be a Marxist and religious at the same time is contradictory due to Marxism's atheistic underpinnings and critique of religion as a tool to placate the working class, thereby maintaining capitalist inequality.
Step-by-step explanation:
The common belief about being a Marxist and religious simultaneously has generally been viewed as contradictory, primarily due to Karl Marx's criticism of religion. He called religion the "opium of the people," suggesting that it served to placate the working class into accepting their economic struggles under capitalism rather than revolting against it.
Marx viewed religion as a tool to maintain social stratification and inequality, thus reinforcing the status quo. Consequently, Marxism's foundation in secularism and materialism—believing in a utopian society achieved through human actions rather than divine intervention—stands in stark contrast to the spiritual and supernatural aspects of religious belief. Hence, although some elements of Marxist thought, like the moral pursuit of equality, could align with religious teachings, the overarching ideology's atheistic underpinnings have led many to believe that Marxism and religious belief are fundamentally incompatible.