Professor Lü Daji and the Study of the Marxist View on Religion

The renowned religious studies scholar Mr. Lü Daji has passed away due to illness. As his student, I will never forget his teachings and support throughout my life. Mr. Lü’s academic achievements are multifaceted and widely recognized in the scholarly community. This article only comments on his significant contributions to the study of the Marxist view on religion, as an expression of my deep remembrance of him.

著名宗教学家吕大吉先生因病与世长辞，作为他的学生，终生难忘恩师的教诲和扶持。吕先生的学术成就是多方面的，是学界公认的。本文仅评述一下他对马克思主义宗教观研究的重大贡献，以表达对他的深切怀念。

After the founding of New China, research on the Marxist view on religion with genuine scientific significance began only after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC in 1978. [1]1 The term “Sinicization of the Marxist view of religion” (马克思主义宗教观中国化) refers to the process of adapting Marxist theories on religion to China’s specific historical, cultural, and political conditions, particularly under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. The base for this research was the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, under the leadership of Director Ren Jiyu. The specific task fell to the Research Office for the Theory of Religious Studies (then called the Research Office for Scientific Atheism), headed by Lü Daji, who was then the office director.

新中国成立后，对马克思主义宗教观具有真正科学意义的研究始于1978年党的十一届三中全会以后。其基地是中国社会科学院世界宗教研究所，由时任所长的任继愈先生统领，具体任务则落到宗教学理论研究室（当时称科学无神论研究室），由时任研究室主任的吕大吉牵头。

I. Editing *Marx, Engels, and Lenin on Religion*

一、主持编辑《马恩列论宗教》

Editing and publishing *Marx, Engels, and Lenin on Religion* was the top priority at the time for the Institute of World Religions to provide foundational theory for academic research on religion. The institute mobilized all its personnel to excerpt quotations from Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin on religion. Based on this material, Lü Daji, Lei Zhen, and Xie Yuchun were responsible for classification and compilation, producing the book *Marx, Engels, and Lenin on Religion*. After a trial compilation phase, it was published internally in July 1979 by China Social Sciences Press.

编辑出版《马恩列论宗教》是当时世界宗教研究所为宗教学术研究提供基础理论的头等大事。宗教所动员全所人员，摘抄马恩列斯论宗教的语录。在此资料基础上，由吕大吉、雷镇、谢雨春负责分类整理，编成了《马克思恩格斯列宁论宗教》一书，经过试编阶段，于1979年7月由中国社会科学出版社内部出版。

This book, based on a re-reading and study of the complete works of Marx, Engels, and Lenin on religious issues, is a carefully refined compilation of the basic viewpoints of the Marxist view on religion and its representative works, spanning over 300,000 characters. It is the first academic reference work by Chinese scholars since the founding of New China to comprehensively present the rich content of the Marxist view on religion. The first part of the book, in the form of a thematic compilation, exhaustively collects the writings of Marxist classical authors on religion, covering the guiding ideology of Marxist research on religion, the essence of religion, the roots of religion’s existence, the origin and development of religion, the social role of religion, the extinction of religion, the attitudes and principles of the proletarian party toward religious issues, critiques of theological dogmas and religious worldviews, and reviews of historical atheist thought. The second part selects representative works by Marx, Engels, and Lenin on religion. From this book, one can see that the Marxist view on religion contains extremely rich content, with many areas still requiring study. Looking back now, although the book’s formulation of the content of the Marxist view on religion had not yet completely shed certain influences of the time, overall it laid a relatively detailed material foundation for later comprehensive academic research on the Marxist view on religion.

该书是在重新阅读研究马克思、恩格斯、列宁关于宗教问题的全部著作基础上，以30多万字的篇幅精心提炼出的马克思主义宗教观的基本观点及其代表性著作的汇编，是新中国成立以来我国学者第一部全面展示马克思主义宗教观丰富内容的学术资料性专著。全书第一部分以专题摘编的形式详尽收录了马克思主义经典作家关于宗教的论述，涉及马克思主义研究宗教的指导思想、宗教的本质、宗教存在的根源、宗教的起源和发展、宗教的社会作用、宗教的消亡、无产阶级政党对待宗教问题的态度和原则、对神学信条和宗教世界观的批判、对历史上无神论思想的评述等等。第二部分选编了马克思、恩格斯、列宁关于宗教的代表性著作。从这本书中，人们看到，马克思主义宗教观包含着十分丰富的内容，需要研究的领域还很多。现在看来，这本书虽然在归纳马克思主义宗教观内容的表述上尚未彻底摆脱当时的某些影响，但是总的来说这本书为学术界后来全面研究马克思主义宗教观奠定了比较详实的资料基础。

II. Pioneering the Publication of High-Level Research Papers

二、率先发表高水平的研究论文

After completing the editing of *Marx, Engels, and Lenin on Religion*, in 1985, Lü Daji published “The Formation and Development of the Marxist View on Religion: A Historical Overview of Marx’s and Engels’ Theories and Works on Religion” in issue 3 of *Studies in World Religions*. In 1986, he published “On Lenin’s View of Religion” consecutively in issues 1 and 2 of *Religious Studies*. These works elaborated in detail, from a research perspective, the complete picture of the views on religion of Marx, Engels, and Lenin, and provided scientific analysis and evaluation. The aforementioned papers had a significant impact on the nascent academic research on the Marxist view on religion at the time.

在完成编辑《马恩列论宗教》以后，1985年，吕大吉在《世界宗教研究》第3期发表了《马克思主义宗教观的形成和发展——马克思、恩格斯关于宗教的理论和著作历史概述》；1986年又在《宗教学研究》第1、2期连续发表了《论列宁的宗教观》，从研究的角度详尽地阐述了马克思、恩格斯、列宁宗教观的全貌，并给予了科学的分析评价。上述论文在当时学术界初步开展的马克思主义宗教观的研究上产生了重要影响。

III. Clearly Stating That China’s Religious Research Must Adhere to Marxism

三、鲜明地提出中国的宗教研究必须坚持马克思主义

During the process of bringing order out of chaos after the end of the “Cultural Revolution,” the vast majority of scholars believed that the deviation from Marxism during the leftist years, especially the “Cultural Revolution,” was not a problem of Marxism itself, but precisely because we had not truly learned and applied Marxism well. Criticizing the dogmatic attitude toward Marxism and eliminating leftist influences was correct, but one could not go to the other extreme and deny the scientific guiding role of the basic principles of Marxism, including the Marxist view on religion.

在“文革”结束后的拨乱反正过程中，绝大多数学者认为，左的年代尤其是“文化大革命”对马克思主义的背离，并不是马克思主义本身的问题，恰恰是我们没有真正学好用好马克思主义。批判对马克思主义教条主义的态度，清除左的影响是对的，但又不能走到另一个极端，否认马克思主义包括马克思主义宗教观基本原理的科学指导作用。

Contemporary Chinese religious research cannot deviate from the guidance of Marxism. In this regard, Lü Daji’s views are representative. In the introduction to his edited *General Theory of Religious Studies* (1989 edition), he specifically elaborated on the relationship between historical materialism and the methodology of religious research. He pointed out that we must not adopt a religiously superstitious attitude toward Marxist religious theory, nor can we use quotations from classical authors to replace concrete analysis of religious phenomena. However, the Marxist view on religion is established on the foundation of Marxist philosophy; its basic spirit and main content have withstood the test of historical practice and remain vital today. Marxist historical materialism provides us with guiding principles in the following four aspects: first, do not explain religion from the history of religion itself, nor use other spiritual factors of humanity to explain the essence of religion; second, religion is part of social consciousness and the superstructure, determined by the economic base of society; only on the basis of the social economic base can the basis and essence of religion be found; third, the development of religion is determined by the development of society; only by analyzing the historical process of how the superstructure adapts to the development of the economic base can the objective laws of religious development be discovered; fourth, in class society, it is necessary to use the viewpoint of class struggle and the method of class analysis to explain the relationships between people in class society, and on the basis of the social relations between people, to explain and interpret the religious relationship between humans and gods, correctly revealing the social functions and historical role of religion. It should be said that at the time, within the religious studies community, taking such a clear stance on adhering to the basic viewpoints of Marxism was rare, and he consistently maintained this principle.

当代中国的宗教研究不能背离马克思主义的指导。在这方面，吕大吉的观点具有代表性。他在自己主编的《宗教学通论•导言》（1989年版）中专门阐述了唯物史观与宗教研究方法论的关系。他指出，对待马克思主义的宗教理论，我们不能持宗教徒式的迷信态度，不能用经典作家的语录去代替对宗教现象的具体分析。但是，马克思主义宗教观是在马克思主义哲学的基础上建立起来的，它的基本精神和主要内容，经受了历史实践的检验，至今仍是有生命力的。马克思主义的唯物主义历史观在以下四个方面给我们提供了方法上的指导原则：一是不要从宗教本身的历史去说明宗教，也不要用人类的其他精神因素去说明宗教的本质；二是宗教是社会意识和上层建筑的一部分，由社会的经济基础所决定，只有在社会经济基础上才能找到宗教的根据和本质；三是宗教的发展为社会的发展所决定，只有从上层建筑如何适应经济基础的发展而发展的历史过程着手分析，才能找到宗教发展的客观规律；四是在阶级社会中需要用阶级斗争的观点和阶级分析的方法去说明阶级社会的人与人的关系，在人与人的社会关系的基础上去说明和解释人与神的宗教关系，正确揭示宗教的社会功能和历史作用。应该说在当时宗教学界以如此鲜明的态度表明对马克思主义基本观点的坚持是不多见的，而且他一直坚持着这一理念。

IV. A New Understanding of Engels’ Thesis on the Essence of Religion

四、对恩格斯关于宗教本质论断的新认识

Among the writings of Marx, Engels, and Lenin, there are many theses of the form “religion is…”. Most scholars agree with Engels’ famous statement in *Anti-Dühring*: “All religion, however, is nothing but the fantastic reflection in men’s minds of those external forces which control their daily life, a reflection in which the terrestrial forces assume the form of supernatural forces.” They consider this the most scientific revelation of the essence of religion. Many people believe this is the Marxist definition of religion.

在马克思、恩格斯、列宁的论述中，有不少“宗教是……”的论断。多数学者赞同恩格斯在《反杜林论》中的那段名言，即“一切宗教都不过是支配着人们日常生活的外部力量在人们头脑中的幻想的反映，在这种反映中，人间的力量采取了超人间力量的形式”，认为是对宗教本质的最科学的揭示。不少人则认为这就是马克思主义关于宗教的定义。

As to whether Engels’ thesis can serve as a scientific definition of religion, Lü Daji, through his own research, concluded that Engels’ thesis, strictly speaking, only concerns the essence of the concept of “god.” It might be considered a definition of the concept of god, but if regarded as a definition of the entire “religion,” it remains insufficient. Because while the concept of god is certainly the core of religion, the whole of religion is not equivalent to just a concept of “god”; religion is a social system with a complex structure. It was precisely on the basis of Engels’ thesis that Lü Daji proposed his own definition of religion: “Religion is a social consciousness concerning supernatural and superhuman forces, as well as the acts of belief and worship expressed towards them; it is a social and cultural system that integrates such consciousness and acts and makes them standardized and institutionalized.” This view has become the mainstream view in the religious studies community.

恩格斯的论断能否作为宗教的科学定义，吕大吉经过自己的研究得出结论，认为恩格斯的这个论断，严格说来只涉及宗教的“神”的观念的本质，视为对于神观念的定义尚可考虑，但如视为整个“宗教”的定义，仍有不足。因为神的观念固然是宗教的核心，但整个宗教并不等于就是一个“神”观念，因为宗教是一个具有复杂结构的社会体系。正是在恩格斯论断基础上，吕大吉提出了自己关于宗教的定义：“宗教是关于超人间、超自然力量的一种社会意识，以及因此而对之表示信仰和崇拜的行为，是综合这种意识和行为并使之规范化、体制化的社会文化体系。”这一观点已经成为宗教学界的主流观点。

V. Academically Establishing the Important Position of the Marxist View on Religion in the History of Western Religious Studies

五、从学术角度确定马克思主义宗教观在西方宗教学史上的重要地位

If, for a considerable period after the founding of New China, research on the Marxist view on religion was mainly confined to interpreting it as the guiding principle for the Party and state in handling religious issues, then, entering the 1990s, beginning to treat the Marxist view on religion as an object of academic research indicated the ideological emancipation and deepening of research in this field.

如果说新中国成立以来相当长时间，对于马克思主义宗教观的研究主要还是围绕着它是党和国家处理宗教问题的指导而限于阐释的话，那么，进入20世纪90年代，把马克思主义宗教观开始作为学术研究的对象则表明该领域研究的思想解放和深化。

In 1994, Lü Daji’s *History of Western Religious Theories* was published by China Social Sciences Press. This book, for the first time, examines the religious views of Marx and Engels as a stage in the development of Western religious theories, assessing their theoretical value and historical status. The author holds that the religious theory of Marx and Engels possesses its own distinctive characteristics, namely, that in theory and method it applies historical materialism to explain various basic issues concerning religion. Historical materialism is the unique worldview and methodology of Marx and Engels, and the religious theory established on this basis consequently bears the distinctive features unique to Marxism. The Marxist view of religion can be called the “historical materialist view of religion” or “historical materialist atheism.” It can also be said that the Marxist view of religion is the most thorough atheism, and therefore the most scientific atheism. It discards any theological tail retained by previous atheism; it not only refuses to preserve religion for the ruling class, but also refuses to preserve religion for the masses of the people; it not only negates the inactive, quiescent rational God of the deists, but also negates the pantheists’ divinity immanent in all things in the universe, and furthermore negates Feuerbach’s “religion of love” based on pure human nature. Under the specific historical conditions of the time, this fully demonstrated their theoretical thoroughness and political fearlessness. The religious views of Marx and Engels, like their entire communist ideological system, ignited the spark of revolution among many peoples around the world, with an influence so great and far-reaching that it has been unprecedented from ancient times to the present. However, the formation of the above-mentioned characteristics of Marx and Engels’ religious views was by no means a river without a source or a tree without roots; rather, it was a natural outcome of the long developmental process of Western religious theories.

1994年，吕大吉著的《西方宗教学说史》由中国社会科学出版社出版。该书首次将马克思、恩格斯的宗教观作为西方宗教学说的一个发展阶段来考察他们的宗教观的理论价值和历史地位。作者认为，马克思恩格斯的宗教学说是有其自身特色的，这就是它在理论上和方法上应用历史唯物主义去说明有关宗教的各种基本问题。历史唯物主义是马克思、恩格斯所特有的世界观和方法论，在此基础上建立起来的宗教学说也因而具有马克思主义所独有的特色。马克思主义的宗教观可以称之为“历史唯物主义的宗教观”或“历史唯物主义的无神论”。也可以说，马克思主义宗教观是最彻底的无神论，因而是最科学的无神论。它丢掉了过去无神论所保留的任何神学的尾巴，不仅不为统治阶级保留宗教，更不为社会大众保留宗教；不仅否定自然神论者那个拱默无为的理性上帝，也否定泛神论者那种泛存于宇宙万物之中的神性，而且还否定费尔巴哈那个建立在纯粹的人性之上的“爱的宗教”。在当时的特定历史条件下，充分表现出他们在理论上的彻底性和政治上的无畏精神。马克思恩格斯的宗教观和他们的整个共产主义思想体系一样，在全世界许多民族中点燃了革命的火种，影响之巨大和深远，自古至今，旷所未有。但是，马克思恩格斯宗教观的上述特色的形成，绝不是无源之水、无本之木，而是西方宗教学说漫长发展历程的一个自然而然的结果。

VI. Editor-in-Chief of *The Marxist View of Religion and Contemporary Chinese Religion Volume*

六、主编《马克思主义宗教观与当代中国宗教卷》

In December 2007, the Ethnic Publishing House published *The Contemporary Chinese Religious Studies Selected Series – The Marxist View of Religion and Contemporary Chinese Religion Volume*, edited by Lü Daji. *The Contemporary Chinese Religious Studies Selected Series* was a series of books key-planned by the Ethnic Publishing House in 2006, intended not only for domestic promotion but also for introduction abroad. The series comprised eight volumes, one of which was on the Marxist view of religion, and the editorship naturally fell to Lü Daji. This volume selected relatively representative achievements in the study of the Marxist view of religion in China since reform and opening up. It covers an overview of research on the Marxist view of religion in New China, studies on the religious views of Marx, Engels, and Lenin, studies on the Sinicization of the Marxist view of religion, and the use of the Marxist view of religion to study issues such as the social nature and social role of religion. This book played an important role in enabling all sectors of society to gain a relatively comprehensive understanding of the state of research on the Marxist view of religion in China since reform and opening up.

2007年12月，民族出版社出版了吕大吉主编的《当代中国宗教研究精选丛书——马克思主义宗教观与当代中国宗教卷》。《当代中国宗教研究精选丛书》是2006年民族出版社重点策划的系列丛书，除了在国内推介外，还向国外推介。丛书共8卷，其中一卷为马克思主义宗教观，主编者自然非吕大吉莫属。该卷精选了改革开放以来国内马克思主义宗教观研究比较有代表性的成果。涉及对新中国马克思主义宗教观研究的概述，对马克思、恩格斯、列宁宗教观的研究，对马克思主义宗教观中国化的研究，以及以马克思主义宗教观研究宗教社会性质与社会作用等内容。这本书对于社会各界比较全面了解改革开放以来我国马克思主义宗教观研究的状况起到了重要作用。

VII. Concluding Reflections – Understanding and Treating Marxist Religious Theory with a Rational Attitude

七、总结性的思考——以理性态度认识和对待马克思主义宗教理论

In May 2011, *A Study of Marxist Religious Theory* by Lü Daji and Gao Shining was published by China Social Sciences Press; this book was subsequently included in the press’s “Marxist Studies Series.” This book is the final research result of a major project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences chaired by Lü Daji, and can also be said to be a concluding work of Lü Daji’s research on the Marxist view of religion. The content of the book covers the entirety of the religious views from Marx to Lenin, and especially provides a detailed and in-depth exposition of the historical origins of the formation of the Marxist religious theory. The main points are: understanding and treating Marxist religious theory with a rational attitude; from ancient Greco-Roman times to the 18th-century French Enlightenment religious theories – one historical background of Marxist religious theory; the religious critique movement launched by the 19th-century German Young Hegelians and Feuerbach’s humanist view of religion – the second historical background of Marxist religious theory; the religious views of Marx and Engels during their participation in the Young Hegelian religious critique movement; the formation of the Marxist historical materialist view of religion; the historical materialist view of religion after the *Communist Manifesto*; Lenin’s view of religion; and religious theory, policy, practice, and reflection in the Soviet era.

2011年5月，吕大吉、高师宁著《马克思主义宗教理论研究》由中国社会科学出版社出版，这本书随后又收入该出版社的“马克思主义研究丛书”。该书是吕大吉主持的中国社会科学院重大课题的最终研究成果，也可以说是吕大吉马克思主义宗教观研究的总结性著作。该书的内容涉及从马克思到列宁宗教观的全部，特别是对马克思主义宗教观形成的历史渊源进行了详实而又深入的阐述。主要是：以理性的态度认识和对待马克思主义宗教理论；从古希腊罗马时代到18世纪法国的启蒙宗教学说——马克思主义宗教理论历史背景之一；19世纪德国青年黑格尔派发动的宗教批判运动和费尔巴哈的人本主义宗教观——马克思主义宗教理论的历史背景之二；马克思、恩格斯参加青年黑格尔派宗教批判运动时期的宗教观；马克思主义历史唯物主义宗教观的形成；《共产党宣言》之后的历史唯物主义宗教观；列宁的宗教观；苏联时代的宗教理论、政策、实践与反思等。

The introduction of this book reveals the new understanding Lü Daji formed after many years of studying the Marxist view of religion. He believes: First, Marx and Engels’ discussions on religious issues were, on the whole, unfolded as part of Marxist philosophy (especially historical materialism). Their research on religious issues was their “first step” toward Marxism and holds special significance for the establishment of the entire Marxist system. Scholars studying Marxist religious theory should deeply understand this special significance of Marx and Engels’ religious theory. Second, Marxist religious theory is, in essence, the result of Marx and Engels using historical materialism to conduct rational analysis of religion in history and religious issues in real life. Today, when we take Marxist religious theory as an object of academic inquiry, we should also use the principles of historical materialism to conduct a historical and materialist analysis of it. Therefore, it is very important to deeply study the specific historical conditions under which Marxist religious theory was proposed. It is precisely these specific historical conditions that determined the specific content of Marxist religious theory, and also determined its conditions and scope of application. However, the historical specificity of Marxist religious theory does not mean it no longer possesses universal significance and value. Third, Marxist religious theory must keep pace with the times and constantly innovate. The religious theories of Marx, Engels, and Lenin also continuously changed, revised, and developed with changes in socio-historical conditions and the deepening of their understanding of religious issues. Marxist religious theory has both its historical specificity and its historical developmental character. Therefore, we must comprehensively and systematically study the entire process of Marxist religious theory in its historical development in order to truly and scientifically grasp the true essence of Marxist religious theory.

该书的绪论表明吕大吉多年研究马克思主义宗教观形成的新认识。他认为：第一，马克思、恩格斯对于宗教问题的论述，总体上是作为马克思主义哲学（特别是历史唯物主义）的一部分展开的。他们对于宗教问题的研究，是其走上马克思主义的“第一步”，对于整个马克思主义体系的创立，具有特殊的意义。研究马克思主义宗教理论的学者，应该深刻了解马、恩宗教理论的这一特殊意义。第二，马克思主义宗教理论，本质上是马克思、恩格斯运用历史唯物主义对历史上的宗教和现实生活中的宗教问题进行理性分析的结果。今天，当我们把马克思主义宗教理论作为学术研讨的对象时，也应该运用历史唯物主义的原理对之进行历史的唯物的分析。因而，深入研究马克思主义宗教理论提出时的具体历史条件十分重要。因为正是这些具体的历史条件决定了马克思主义宗教理论的具体内容，也决定了它的应用条件和范围。但是，马克思主义宗教理论的历史具体性并不意味着不再具有普遍性的意义和价值。第三，马克思主义宗教理论必须与时俱进，不断创新。马克思、恩格斯、列宁的宗教理论也是随着社会历史条件的变化和他们对于宗教问题的认识的深化而不断改变、修正和发展的。马克思主义宗教理论既有其历史具体性，又有其历史发展性。因此，我们必须全面系统地研究马克思主义宗教理论在历史发展中的全部过程，才能真正科学把握马克思主义宗教理论的真谛。

Regarding his own research achievements on the Marxist view of religion, Mr. Lü Daji always maintained a modest attitude and did not consider his own results to be the best. He often reflected on and publicly acknowledged some of his own shortcomings. Mr. Lü frequently emphasized that subjectively, we strive to take the Marxist materialist conception of history as our epistemology and methodology, but whether objectively we can achieve the expected results and gain recognition from all sectors of society goes beyond the scope of subjective expectations. Only social practice and historical development can provide the correct judgment. This is also a precious inspiration for us later generations.

对于自己的马克思主义宗教观的研究成就，吕大吉先生一直抱着谦逊的态度，并不认为自己的成果就是最好的。他常常反思并公开承认自己的一些不足。吕先生经常强调，主观上，我们力求将马克思主义唯物史观作为我们的认识论和方法论，但在客观上能否达到预期的效果，得到社会各界的承认，那就超出主观预期的范围了。只有社会实践、历史发展才能给出正确的评判。这也是对于我们后人的珍贵启示。

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