Scientific Atheism and Marxism – Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the Founding of the Journal *Science and Atheism*

Scientific Atheism and Marxism

科学无神论与马克思主义

– Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the Founding of the Journal *Science and Atheism*

——纪念《科学与无神论》杂志创刊十周年

The guiding ideology in our country’s ideological sphere is Marxism, which constitutes the main body of the system of core socialist values. Logically speaking, scientific atheism is an important component of Marxism and should receive sufficient attention, so that it is not relegated to a state where “no one speaks of it.” However, the harshness of history and reality compels us to reflect deeply: what exactly are the reasons for this?

我国意识形态领域的指导思想是马克思主义，这是社会主义核心价值体系中的主体。照理说，科学无神论是马克思主义的一个重要组成部分，理应受到足够的重视，不致被冷落到“无人讲”的地步。但是，历史和现实的严峻却不得不让人深深反思：究竟是什么原因呢?

There are two important reasons. One is that some people worry that carrying out education in scientific atheism will affect freedom of religious belief. Much has already been written on this point, clarifying that propagating atheism and freedom of religious belief are not contradictory, so I will not address it here. The other decisive reason is that some people believe that, with the propaganda and education of Marxism in place, there is no need to put effort and energy into scientific atheism, and therefore there is no need to emphasize the role of scientific atheism in the system of core socialist values. This is a major epistemological issue concerning the relationship between Marxism and scientific atheism, and it merits continued exploration.

其中有两方面重要的原因。一个是有人担心开展科学无神论教育会影响宗教信仰自由，关于这一点已经有很多论述，阐明宣传无神论与宗教信仰自由是不矛盾的，故在此就不涉及了。另一个举足轻重的原因是，有人认为，有了马克思主义宣传教育，对科学无神论就不必下工夫、花气力了，因此也就不必重视科学无神论在社会主义核心价值体系中的作用。这是牵涉到马克思主义与科学无神论关系的重大认识论问题，值得继续探讨。

I. The Evolution of Atheism and Its Epistemological Foundation

一、无神论的演化及其认识论基础

Research in the anthropology of religion shows that the earliest humans were natural, spontaneous atheists. Labor created humanity, and labor made humans feel the unity of opposites between humanity and nature, which inherently contained an unconsciousness of deities. The emergence of the concept of deities occurred after the stage of *Homo sapiens*; this was a major development in the history of human evolution. But with the appearance of deities as a conceptual form, conscious atheism also emerged. In the struggle of opposites against theism, atheism has undergone three different evolutionary forms: ancient naive atheism, modern atheism, and contemporary Marxist atheism. Various forms of skepticism, deism, and pantheism can also be considered special manifestations of atheism.

宗教人类学的研究表明，最早的人类是天然的、自发的无神论者。劳动创造人，劳动使人感受到人与自然的对立统一关系，这其中就蕴含对神灵的无意识。神灵观念的产生是在进入智人阶段以后，这是人类进化史上一个重大的发展；但随之神灵作为观念形态的出现，也就有了自觉的无神论。在与有神论的对立斗争中，无神论经历了三种不同的演化形态：古代的朴素无神论、近代的无神论和现代的马克思主义无神论。各种怀疑论、自然神论、泛神论等，也可属于无神论的特殊表现形式。

Epistemologically, atheism is generally linked to materialism. Ancient naive atheism corresponds to spontaneous materialism, modern atheism corresponds to metaphysical materialism, and contemporary Marxist atheism is naturally closely linked to dialectical materialism.

从认识论上看，无神论一般是与唯物论联系在一起的。古代的朴素无神论对应的是自发的唯物论，近代的无神论对应的是形而上学的唯物论，现代的马克思主义无神论自然是与辩证唯物论紧密相联系的。

II. What Is Scientific Atheism

二、什么是科学无神论

Views on this question are not entirely consistent. After the modern scientific revolution, atheism developed greatly, especially the militant atheism of eighteenth-century France and the humanist atheism of nineteenth-century Germany’s Feuerbach, both of which reached new heights in their critique of religious theism and idealism. Can they, then, be called “scientific atheism”? This seems insufficient. Although they applied the research results of modern science to prove that in the world in which humans live, in the time and space that humans have already recognized, there is no existence of deities, no existence of any supernatural force. The various mental hallucinations and religious miracles that appear in people’s minds began to receive preliminary explanations. As Engels said: “Under the onslaught of science, one army after another laid down its arms, one castle after another surrendered, until finally the entire infinite realm of nature was conquered by science, and no place was left for the Creator.” [1]1 This refers to a document issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1999, outlining principles for strengthening ideological and political work in the context of reform and opening up. However, they were unable to provide a thoroughly scientific explanation of the origin and roots, development and extinction, essence and social role of religious theism, because their worldview was not yet thoroughly materialist.

对这个问题看法不尽一致。近代科学革命以后，无神论有了很大发展，尤其是18世纪法国战斗的无神论和19世纪德国费尔巴哈人本主义无神论对宗教有神论和唯心主义的批判都达到了新的高度。那么，它们可否称得上是“科学无神论”呢?恐怕似嫌不足。它们虽然应用近代科学的研究成果，证明了在人类生存的世界里，在人类已经认识到的时空中，没有神灵的存在，没有任何超自然力量的存在。人们思想中出现的各种精神幻觉、宗教神迹，开始得到初步解释。正如恩格斯所说：“在科学的猛攻之下，一个又一个部队放下了武器，一个又一个城堡投降了，直到最后，自然界无限的领域都被科学所征服，而且没有给造物主留下一点立足之地。”（《自然辩证法》，人民出版社1971年版，第179页。）但是，它们并未能对宗教有神论的产生及根源、发展及消亡、其本质和社会作用等予以彻底科学的说明，这是因为它们的世界观还不是彻底唯物主义的。

What we call scientific atheism should primarily possess three qualities: 1. full application of the results of contemporary scientific research; 2. a thorough scientific explanation of the phenomena of religious theism; and 3. a philosophical foundation of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. Therefore, only Marxist atheism is qualified to be called “scientific atheism.”

我们所说的科学无神论主要应当具备三方面的品质：1. 充分应用当代科学研究成果；2. 对宗教有神论现象给以透彻的科学阐释；3. 具备辩证唯物论和历史唯物论的哲学基础。因此，只有马克思主义无神论才有资格称得上是“科学无神论”。

Marxist philosophy is the worldview foundation of scientific atheism, embodying the unity of the view of nature and the view of history, the unity of materialism and dialectics, and the unity of ontology and epistemology. Scientific atheism is inherent in Marxist philosophy. Precisely because it has such a worldview foundation, scientific atheism can become a fearless and thorough atheism.

马克思主义哲学是科学无神论的世界观基础，体现了自然观与历史观的统一、唯物论与辩证法的统一、本体论与认识论的统一。科学无神论是马克思主义哲学的题中应有之义。正因为有了这样的世界观基础，科学无神论才能够成为无畏彻底的无神论。

“Absolutely not believing in divine power that cannot be tested by practice” is the link connecting Marxist philosophy and scientific atheism. The essential boundary between science and superstition lies in the fact that science is the understanding of the laws of the objective world, proceeding from the various forms of existence and modes of motion of the material world, and is therefore subject to the test of practice, and can only be continuously improved and developed in the process of such testing; superstition, on the other hand, propagates supernatural, super-material forces, and is therefore not subject to the test of practice, and the fabricated representative of super-material forces can only be God (gods of various forms) or deified humans. Believing only in the power of matter and the power of humanity, and absolutely not believing in the power of gods, is the essence of what distinguishes science from superstition. And this is precisely the basic starting point of the Marxist philosophical worldview, the core of scientific atheism, and a red thread running through it all.

“决不相信实践无法检验的神力”是联系马克思主义哲学与科学无神论的纽带。科学与迷信的本质界限在于：科学是对客观世界规律性的认识，是从物质世界的各种存在形态和运动形式出发的，因而是可以接受实践检验的，也只有在实践检验的过程中才能不断改善和发展；迷信宣扬的则是超自然、超物质的力量，因而是不可接受实践检验的，杜撰出来的超物质力量的代表者只能是上帝（形形色色的神）或被神化了的人。只相信物质的力量、人的力量，决不相信神的力量，是科学区别于迷信的实质所在。而这正是马克思哲学世界观的基本出发点，是科学无神论的核心所在，是贯穿始终的一条红线。

III. Marxist Principles and Education in Scientific Atheism

三、马克思主义原理与科学无神论教育

Since Marxist atheism is scientific atheism, why can general study of Marxist principles not replace education in scientific atheism? This is because Marxist principles are only the worldview foundation of scientific atheism, and cannot fully encompass it, be equated with it, or even replace it.

既然马克思主义无神论即是科学无神论，那么为什么一般的马克思主义原理学习不能代替科学无神论的教育呢? 这是因为马克思主义原理只是科学无神论的世界观基础，而并不能完全涵盖后者、等同于后者，甚至代替后者。

Facts compel reflection. It is not difficult to find that among some university students who have studied courses on Marxist principles, the influence of superstitious ideas still exists. Some believe in the miracles of planchette writing [2], some are deeply interested in astrology, some are half-convinced about pseudo-*qigong* [3], some believe that certain “masters” might indeed be different from ordinary people, and some students majoring in religious studies have even cultivated “religious feelings.” Some master’s and doctoral students have also fallen into the quagmire of Fal

事实让人们反思。不难发现，在一些学习了马克思主义原理课的大学生中仍然存在着迷信思想的影响，有的相信扶乩的奇迹，有的对星座津津乐道，有的对伪气功半信半疑，有的相信某些“大师”也许真的不同于凡人，甚至有的宗教学专业的学生培养起了“宗教感情”，有的硕士生、博士生也陷进过“法轮功”的泥潭而不能自拔。

It appears that education in the principles of Marxism cannot replace education in scientific atheism; the two should be closely integrated and mutually reinforcing. Scientific atheism is an important component of the Marxist worldview. Without the edification of education in scientific atheism, one’s understanding of the Marxist worldview will be neither profound nor solid, and it will often be unable to withstand the seduction and assault of theism. Therefore, education in scientific atheism cannot be skipped over.

看来，马克思主义原理的教育不能代替科学无神论的教育，二者应紧密结合、相互促进。科学无神论是马克思主义世界观的重要内容，没有科学无神论教育的熏陶，对于马克思主义世界观的理解是不深刻、不扎实的，常常经受不住有神论的迷惑与进攻。因此科学无神论的教育是不能跨越的。

The reason why education in scientific atheism must be continuously upheld and improved also lies in the fact that its object of study—religious theism—will never abandon its tenacious infiltration of social life. It constantly changes its forms, for example, shifting from mystification toward secularization and moralization; it continuously adds new content, for instance, encroaching into the fields of natural science and the philosophy of science; it tirelessly trumpets the lofty tune of “ultimate concern,” exerting a not-to-be-underestimated influence on individual psychology, and giving rise to one challenging question after another. These are issues that general education in the principles of Marxism cannot answer or resolve; they require the in-depth, advancing-with-the-times research of scientific atheism.

必须不断坚持和改善科学无神论的教育，原因还在于，它的研究对象——宗教有神论决不会放弃对社会生活的顽强渗透。它们不断变换形式，比如从神秘化转向世俗化、道德化的倾向；它们不断增添内容，比如向自然科学领域、向科学哲学领域的蚕食；它们无休止地鼓吹“终极关怀”的高调，向个人心理施加不可小觑的影响，引发出一个又一个颇带挑战性的问题。这些都不是一般的马克思主义原理教育能够给予回答和解决的，需要科学无神论与时俱进的深入研究。

It is necessary to persistently uphold and improve education in scientific atheism; this is also dictated by the practical character of scientific atheism. At the beginning of this century, Lenin admonished us: “Engels long ago enjoined the leaders of the modern proletariat to translate the militant literature of the late eighteenth century and to spread it among the people. We are ashamed to say that up to the present day we have not done this (which is one of the many proofs that it is far easier to capture power in a revolutionary period than to know how to use this power properly). At times people try to justify our weakness, inaction and incompetence with all sorts of ‘plausible’ reasons, such as that the old atheist literature of the eighteenth century is obsolete, unscientific, and naive. Nothing is worse than this pseudo-learned sophistry, which either conceals a pedantic attitude or a complete ignorance of Marxism. Of course, there is much that is unscientific and naive in the atheist writings of the revolutionaries of the eighteenth century. But nobody prevents publishers from abridging these works and adding a short postscript indicating the progress made in the scientific criticism of religion since the end of the eighteenth century, and pointing to the latest relevant works, etc. A Marxist who thinks that the millions of people (especially the peasants and artisans) who are placed by modern society in a state of ignorance and prejudice can only emerge from this state by the straight road of purely Marxist education is making the greatest and worst mistake. They should be given all kinds of atheist propaganda material, acquainted with facts from all spheres of life, influenced in every possible way, their interest aroused, their religious slumber shaken off, and they should be roused from all sides by various methods.” (Lenin, “On the Significance of Militant Materialism,” in *Lenin Collected Works*, Vol. 4, People’s Publishing House, 1990, p. 648.)

必须不断坚持和改善科学无神论的教育，也是科学无神论实践品质所使然。本世纪初，列宁曾告诫我们：“恩格斯早就嘱咐过现代无产阶级的领导者，要把十八世纪末叶战斗的文献翻译出来，广泛地传播到人民中去。我们惭愧的是，直到今天还没有做这件事（这是证明在革命时期夺取政权要比正确地运用这个政权容易得多的许多例子之一）。有时人们用各种‘动听的’理由来为我们这种软弱无力、无所作为和笨拙无能进行辩护，例如说十八世纪无神论的老文献已经过时、不科学、很幼稚等等。这种不是掩盖学究习气就是掩盖对马克思主义一窍不通的冒充博学的诡辩，是再坏也没有了。当然，在十八世纪革命家的无神论著作中有不少不科学的和幼稚的地方。但是，谁也不会阻止出版者把这些作品加以删节和附以短跋，指出人类从十八世纪末叶以来对宗教作科学批判所取得的进步，指出有关的最新著作等等。一个马克思主义者如果以为，被整个现代社会置于愚昧无知囿于偏见这种境地的千百万人民群众（特别是农民和手工业者）只有通过纯粹马克思主义的教育这条直路，才能摆脱愚昧状态，那就是最大的而且是最坏的错误。应该把各种无神论的宣传材料给他们，把实际生活各个方面的事实告诉他们，用各种办法来影响他们，以引起他们的兴趣，唤醒他们的宗教迷梦，用种种方法从各方面使他们振作起来。”（列宁：《论战斗唯物主义的意义》，载于《列宁全集》第4卷，人民出版社1990年版，第648页。）

Why is “the straight road of purely Marxist education” insufficient? Two aspects can be understood here: first, “purely Marxist education” cannot replace education in scientific atheism, as discussed above; second, education in scientific atheism should be vivid, concrete, closely linked to actual life, and keep pace with social development. “It should not be presented in the form of abstract, purely theoretical, and unchanging propaganda,” but “should be raised concretely, on the basis of the class struggle that is actually being waged at the present time and that is most effective in educating the masses.” (Lenin, “The Attitude of the Workers’ Party to Religion,” in *Lenin Collected Works*, Vol. 2, People’s Publishing House, 1986, p. 380.) “We must comprehensively and accurately propagate the Party’s religious policy and actively guide religion to adapt to socialist society. We must persistently popularize scientific knowledge, especially knowledge of natural science, medical and health care, scientific fitness, and matters of birth, aging, illness, and death that are closely related to the daily lives of the masses, helping people master scientific thinking and scientific methods, and striving to form a social atmosphere that loves science, learns science, and uses science.” (September 29, 1999, “Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Strengthening and Improving Ideological and Political Work”) [1]1 This refers to a document issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1999, outlining principles for strengthening ideological and political work in the context of reform and opening up. To this end, we must also be adept at absorbing and drawing on outstanding atheist works from history and from contemporary domestic and international sources. The reason is precisely as Lenin pointed out: “The sharp, lively, and talented polemics written by the old atheists of the eighteenth century, which wittily and openly attacked the prevailing clericalism, are often a hundred times more suitable for awakening people from their religious slumber than the writings that fill our publications, which often distort (this must be admitted) Marxism, because these writings are dry and dull, merely paraphrase Marxism, and almost entirely fail to select appropriate facts for illustration.” (Lenin, “On the Significance of Militant Materialism,” in *Lenin Collected Works*, Vol. 4, People’s Publishing House, 1990, p. 649.)

为什么“只有通过纯粹马克思主义的教育这条直路”是不够的呢? 这里可以领会到两方面含义：一是“纯粹马克思主义的教育”不能代替科学无神论的教育，如前所述；二是科学无神论的教育应当生动、具体，密切联系实际生活，紧跟社会发展步伐。“不应当根据抽象的、纯粹理论的、始终不变的宣传来进行”，“而应当具体地、根据当前在实际上所进行的、对广大群众教育最有效的阶级斗争提出这个问题。”（列宁：《论工人政党对宗教的态度》，载于《列宁全集》第2卷，人民出版社1986年版，第380页。）“要全面、准确地宣传党的宗教政策，积极引导宗教与社会主义社会相适应。要坚持不懈地普及科学知识，普及那些与群众日常生活密切相关的自然科学、医疗卫生、科学健身和生老病死等方面的知识，帮助人们掌握科学思想和科学方法，努力在全社会形成爱科学、学科学、用科学的风尚。”（1999年9月29日《中共中央关于加强和改进思想政治工作的若干意见》）为此，还要善于吸收和借鉴历史上和当代的国内外优秀的无神论著作，道理正如列宁所指明的那样：“十八世纪老无神论者所写的那些锋利的、生动的、有才华的政论，机智地公开地打击了当今盛行的僧侣主义。那些政论在唤醒人们的宗教迷梦方面，往往要比充斥在我们出版物中的常常歪曲（这是不容讳言的）马克思主义的文字更适合千百倍，因为这些文字写的枯燥无味，仅仅是转述马克思主义，几乎完全没有选择适当的事实来加以说明。”（列宁：《论战斗唯物主义的意义》，载于《列宁全集》第4卷，人民出版社1990年版，第649页。）

Over the past ten years, the journal *Science and Atheism* has done much fruitful work in the field of atheist propaganda and education, excellently fulfilling the tasks of popularizing and elevating Marxist atheist thought. Recently, with an eye to long-term and sustainable development, it has timely shifted toward becoming an academic journal, focusing on theoretical research and promoting the construction of the discipline of scientific atheism and the cultivation of talent. It is believed that this will surely arouse the high concern and active support of relevant departments and individuals, and that the journal will gain an increasing number of enthusiastic readers and authors. The journal will surely get better and better!

《科学与无神论》杂志，十年来在无神论的宣传和教育领域做了很多富有成效的工作，出色地实践了马克思主义无神论思想普及与提高的任务。近来又着眼于长远和可持续发展，适时地向学术刊物转向，将重点放在理论问题的研究上，推动科学无神论学科的建设和人才培养。相信这些一定能够唤起有关部门和人士的高度关切和积极支持，拥有越来越多的热心读者和作者，杂志必将越办越好!

Author’s biography: Yu Qiming, Professor at Minzu University of China

作者简介：于祺明，中央民族大学教授