Q&A: To what extent does the economic base effect the superstructure?

I agree with Marx on how the economy is one of the most overwhelmingly important, if not, the most critical factor in shaping a society.  Like, Marx, I don't think it shapes very aspect of a civilization,but gives it its distinctive shape.  I came across an example of how economics affects people's religious views over Easter weekend in a Time magazine.  The topic was the emerging view that heaven was not a place on Earth, but rather, was achieved when a person helped those in need.  Giving food to the hunger created a little slice of heaven of Earth.  This view was being picked up by the middle-class and upper-class suburbanites.  The traditional view that heaven was a joyous place of peace and ease was being held en masse by the poorer castes of society.  They struggled all their lives to provide for themsleves and want to believe that their suffering will be rewarded.  Slaves had held the same belief before the Civil War and it still continues into the modern day in many black churches across America.  The famous Protestant Work ethic that Max Weber talked about is a reflection of the desired traits in a capitalist economy.  While the economy does not go as far as creating a religion about worshiping Adam Smith's Invisible Hand, it makes up a big part of our society.