Abstract
In my talk I will present Althusser's little-known texts from the late 1940s, where he attempts an alliance between Christianity and Marxism. In them, he analyzes the relationship of contemporary progressive theology to the persistent feudal and capitalist power structures of the Catholic Church.
Using the example of the new theology of marriage and the role of women in the family, he shows that behind this apparently progressive theology operates a complex pattern of oppression that appears as a liberation from oppression. However, for all the criticism of Catholicism in this period, he still believes that religion is not a priori a form of alienation.
He is convinced that Christians can participate in social emancipation (by joining the workers' movement) and that they can also reclaim an authentic religious life from the grassroots themselves.