Abstract
In the analysis of the social functions of religion in a capi talistic society, one should avoid two mistakes : economism, on the one hand, which attempts to establish a direct link be tween the relations of production and the ideological relations, and idealism, on the other hand, which considers the social processes to be produced by the power of ideas. Religion can play a role in class relations. These can be defined by their position in a fundamental, objective, economical structure, but at the same time they are social actors. They act by means of their own organizations, with the goal of imposing their inter ests upon the others, and in doing so they have to be accepted by the dominated classes in an active, spontaneous, and natural way. This ideology has to transmit a belief, a conviction.