answers.input_text: short
answers.span_text: German philosopher and economist Karl Marx
questions: who said that religion is the opiate of the masses
name: Opium of the people
contexts: `` Religion is the opium of the people '' is one of the most frequently paraphrased statements of German philosopher and economist Karl Marx . It was translated from the German original , `` Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes '' and is often rendered as `` religion ... is the opiate of the masses . ''