On the Unity of Atheist Research, Propaganda, and Education with Freedom of Religious Belief

Our Party has always attached importance to research, propaganda, and education concerning atheism, regarding this as a long-term task that needs to be incorporated into the overall planning of scientific research and the work of propaganda and ideology, and to be pursued with perseverance. In particular, Party members should firmly establish a materialist worldview. The Party Central Committee has stressed that this is not contradictory to implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief.

我们党历来重视关于无神论的研究和宣传教育，认为这是一项长期任务，需要纳入科学研究规划和宣传思想工作的总体部署，锲而不舍地进行。尤其是共产党员应牢固地确立唯物主义世界观。党中央强调指出，这与贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策并不矛盾。

Why is atheist research, propaganda, and education not contradictory to implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief? How can these two be unified? Studying and answering these questions is an important theoretical topic and an urgent practical task for removing ideological obstacles to atheist research, propaganda, and education and for safeguarding the discourse power of atheism. This is because some comrades dare not confidently and resolutely conduct research and propaganda on atheism, fearing that doing so would violate the Party’s religious belief policy; some people oppose the propaganda of atheism, believing that propagating atheism would undermine the policy of freedom of religious belief. Regarding the Party’s theories and policy propositions, we must not only clearly explain “what they are,” but also understand “why they are so” and “how to implement them,” so that the spirit of the Party Central Committee can be transformed into the conscious action of the masses.

为什么无神论研究和宣传教育与贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策并不矛盾? 怎样才能把这二者统一起来? 研究和回答这些问题，对于排除无神论研究和宣传教育的思想障碍，维护无神论的话语权，是一个重要的理论课题，也是一个紧迫的现实任务。因为，有些同志不敢理直气壮地研究和宣传无神论，怕违背了党的宗教信仰政策；有些人反对宣传无神论，认为宣传无神论就会破坏宗教信仰自由政策。对于党的理论和政策主张，我们不仅要讲清楚“是什么”，更要弄清楚“为什么”和“怎么办”，这样才能把中央的精神变成群众的自觉行动。

I. The Basis of Unity

一 统一的基础

Marxism, as the guiding ideology of our Party, and the Party’s policies and the state’s laws and regulations based on this theory, whether taken as a whole or in any of their specific aspects, are systems containing rich content. Their various components are interrelated and interconnected, forming an organic system. The parts within this system are not mutually exclusive but are unified. Conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education and implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief, as closely linked organic components of the Party’s theories, policies, and the state’s legal and regulatory system, share a common foundation and are therefore unified.

作为我们党的指导思想的马克思主义和建立在这一理论基础上的党的方针政策、国家的法律法规，无论其就整体或其中的某一方面来说，都是包含诸多丰富内容的体系，它的各个组成部分之间相互关联、相互衔接，构成一个有机的系统。这一系统中的各个部分不是相互排斥的，而是统一的。开展无神论研究宣传教育与贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策，作为党的理论、政策和国家的法律法规体系中紧密关联的有机构成部分，具有共同的基础，因而是统一的。

First, they both take our country’s Constitution as the fundamental legal basis; their legal basis is unified.

第一，它们都以我国宪法为根本法律依据，其法律依据是统一的。

Article 36 of our country’s Constitution stipulates: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief.” The second paragraph of the same article of the Constitution stipulates: “No state organ, public organization, or individual may compel citizens to believe in or not to believe in religion, nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in or do not believe in religion.” This indicates that “believing in religion” and “not believing in religion” are both rights of “freedom of religious belief” enjoyed by citizens; not believing in religion and adhering to atheism are also inherent meanings of “freedom of religious belief.” Furthermore, according to Article 35 of the Constitution, concerning citizens’ freedom of speech and publication, and Article 47, concerning citizens’ freedom to engage in scientific research, literary and artistic creation, and other cultural activities, citizens who “do not believe in religion” conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education are undoubtedly exercising their rights granted by law. Article 24 of the Constitution, regarding the state’s “conducting education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism,” further indicates that conducting education in the scientific worldview of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, including atheism, is advocated and implemented by the state. Thus, from a legal perspective, conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education, and respecting and protecting freedom of religious belief, are both rights of our country’s citizens granted by the Constitution.

我国宪法第三十六条规定：“中华人民共和国公民有宗教信仰自由。”宪法同一条第二款规定：“任何国家机关、社会团体和个人不得强制公民信仰宗教或者不信仰宗教，不得歧视信仰宗教和不信仰宗教的公民。”这表明，“信仰宗教”与“不信仰宗教”，同样都是公民享有的“宗教信仰自由”的权利，不信仰宗教而坚持无神论，也是“宗教信仰自由”的题中应有之义。而按照宪法第三十五条关于公民有言论、出版自由的规定，第四十七条关于公民有进行科学研究、文学艺术创作和其他文化活动的自由的规定，“不信仰宗教”的公民进行无神论的研究和宣传教育，无疑是他们依法享有的权利。宪法第二十四条关于国家“进行辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的教育”的规定则进一步表明，进行包括无神论在内的辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义科学世界观的教育，是由国家倡导并且实行的。可见，从法理上说，开展无神论研究和宣传教育，与尊重和保护宗教信仰自由，二者同样是宪法赋予我国公民的权利。

Second, they both take Marxism as the guiding theoretical foundation; their theoretical foundation is unified.

第二，它们都以马克思主义为指导思想的理论基础，其理论基础是统一的。

Marxism is a complete and rigorous scientific worldview. “The philosophical foundation of Marxism is dialectical materialism, which fully inherits the historical tradition of French materialism of the 18th century and Feuerbach’s materialism of the first half of the 19th century in Germany—the tradition of absolute atheism and resolute opposition to all religion.” (Lenin’s Collected Works on the Proletarian Party, People’s Publishing House, 2009 edition, p. 171.) [1]1 Engels, *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy* (1886). At the level of philosophical worldview, it adheres to thorough materialism and uncompromisingly opposes religious theology. At the same time, according to the Marxist view of religion, it is necessary to fully recognize the long-term nature, mass character, and complexity of religious issues. Religion cannot be artificially eliminated by administrative force; it can only be allowed to naturally wither away, under the premise of guaranteeing freedom of religious belief, through the development of socialist material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, gradually eliminating the social and cognitive roots of religion’s existence. Therefore, conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education, and implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief, are both scientific conclusions reached by applying the Marxist worldview to understand the world and human society.

马克思主义是完备而严密的科学世界观。“马克思主义的哲学基础是辩证唯物主义，它完全继承了法国18世纪和德国19世纪上半叶费尔巴哈的唯物主义的历史传统，即绝对无神论的、坚决反对一切宗教的唯物主义的历史传统。”（《列宁专题文集•论无产阶级政党》，人民出版社2009年版，第171页。）从哲学世界观的层面说，它坚持彻底的唯物主义，毫不妥协地反对宗教神学。同时，按照马克思主义的宗教观，必须充分认识宗教问题的长期性、群众性和复杂性，不能用行政力量人为地消灭宗教，只能在保障宗教信仰自由的前提下，通过社会主义物质文明和精神文明的发展，逐步消除宗教得以存在的社会根源和认识根源，使宗教自然消亡。因此，开展无神论研究和宣传教育，贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策，同样都是运用马克思主义世界观去认识世界、认识人类社会得出的科学结论。

Third, they are both based on the essence and laws of development of the material world and human society, embodying the scientific spirit of seeking truth from facts; their objective basis is unified.

第三，它们都以物质世界和人类社会的本质和发展规律为依据，体现了实事求是的科学精神，其客观根据是统一的。

Proceeding from reality in everything and seeking truth from facts are the basic principles we must follow in understanding and transforming the world. We propagate atheism because the world is a world of matter in motion; there are originally no gods in the world. Theism is a fantastic reflection in people’s minds of external forces that dominate their daily lives, an understanding of the objective world that does not conform to reality. Erroneous understanding fetters people’s thinking; an inverted worldview should be turned right side up. Propagating atheism is for pursuing truth and emancipating the mind, embodying the scientific attitude of seeking truth from facts. We respect and protect freedom of religious belief because the fact that millions of people believe in religion is an objective reality that still exists and will inevitably exist for a long time under current social and historical conditions. The emergence, development, and extinction of religion have objective laws independent of human will. Not respecting freedom of religious belief means breaking away from objective reality and violating objective laws, which will inevitably bring serious consequences. This has been confirmed by historical experience. Therefore, conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education, and implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief, are both decisions made based on objective reality and objective laws, and are both the implementation and embodiment of the Party’s ideological line of seeking truth from facts.

一切从实际出发，实事求是，是我们认识世界、改造世界必须遵循的基本准则。我们之所以宣传无神论，是因为世界就是运动着的物质世界，世界上本来就没有什么神，有神论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，是对客观世界的不符合实际的认识。错误的认识束缚了人们的思想，颠倒的世界观应该颠倒过来。宣传无神论是为了追求真理、解放思想，体现了实事求是的科学态度。我们之所以尊重和保护宗教信仰自由，是因为千百万群众信仰宗教是当今社会历史条件下依然存在并且必然长期存在的客观事实，宗教的产生、发展和消亡有其不依人们意志为转移的客观规律。不尊重宗教信仰自由，就是脱离客观实际，违背客观规律，必然带来严重后果。这已经为历史经验所证实。因此，开展无神论研究和宣传教育，贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策，同样是以客观实际、客观规律为根据作出的决策，都是党的实事求是的思想路线的贯彻和体现。

Fourth, they both take the fundamental interests of the Chinese people as their starting point and ultimate goal; their political stance and values are unified.

第四，它们都以中国人民的根本利益为出发点和落脚点，其政治立场和价值观是统一的。

Serving the people wholeheartedly and taking the realization, safeguarding, and development of the fundamental interests of the vast majority of the people as the starting point and ultimate goal of all work are the most distinctive political stance of Chinese Communists and also the core of our values. Conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education is aimed at helping people establish a correct worldview, outlook on life, and value system, scientifically understand nature, society, and humanity itself, eradicate ignorance and superstition, enjoy a healthy and civilized life, consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological domain, strengthen the common ideological foundation for the unity and struggle of the entire people, and promote the comprehensive development of socialist cultural-ethical progress and material civilization, so as to realize the fundamental interests of the people. The fundamental starting point and ultimate goal of our implementation of the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief is to vigorously strengthen the unity of the vast numbers of religious believers and non-believers, promote harmony in religious relations, concentrate the strength of the people on the common goal of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Therefore, conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education, and implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief, are both decisions made from the fundamental interests of the people, and are both manifestations of the political stance, fundamental purpose, and values of Communists.

全心全意为人民服务，把实现好、维护好、发展好最广大人民的根本利益作为一切工作的出发点和落脚点，是中国共产党人最鲜明的政治立场，也是我们的价值观的核心。开展无神论研究和宣传教育，是为了帮助人们树立正确的世界观、人生观、价值观，科学地认识自然、认识社会、认识人自身，破除愚昧迷信，享受健康文明的生活，是为了巩固马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位，打牢全国人民团结奋斗的共同思想基础，推动社会主义精神文明和物质文明全面发展，以实现人民的根本利益。我们贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策的根本出发点和落脚点，是要大力加强广大信教群众和不信教群众的团结，促进宗教关系的和谐，把人民群众的力量凝聚到建设中国特色社会主义这个共同目标上来，实现中华民族的伟大复兴。因此，开展无神论研究和宣传教育，贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策，同样都是从人民根本利益出发作出的决策，都是共产党人的政治立场、根本宗旨和价值观的体现。

In summary, whether from the perspective of legal basis, theoretical foundation, objective basis, or fundamental starting point, atheist research, propaganda, and education and the implementation of the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief are unified and not contradictory. However, in real life, there indeed exist thoughts and actions that oppose these two, viewing them as mutually exclusive, insisting on one aspect while negating and opposing the other. Below, in connection with these phenomena, we will discuss how to deeply understand the unity of these two and how to achieve unity.

综上所述，无论从法律依据、理论基础、客观根据和根本出发点来说，无神论研究宣传教育和贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策都是统一的，并不矛盾。但是，实际生活中确实存在着将这二者对立起来，视之为相互排斥的关系，坚持一方面就否定、反对另一方面的思想和行为。以下我们联系这些现象，分别就如何深入理解这二者的统一以及怎样才能实现统一作一些讨论。

II. Several Relationships That Need to Be Clarified to Understand Unity

二 理解统一需要弄清几个关系

To deeply understand the unity of atheist research, propaganda, and education with freedom of religious belief, both religion and atheism should be analyzed dialectically. Several relationships need to be clarified here.

为了深入理解无神论研究宣传教育与宗教信仰自由的统一，对宗教、对无神论都应作辩证的分析。这里需要弄清几个关系。

Religion is theism, but theism is not always religion; it also includes other manifestations such as superstition and cults. Religion is also not identical with its own theism. The connections and distinctions between religion and its theism can be discussed at two levels.

宗教都是有神论，但有神论并不都是宗教，还有迷信、邪教等其他表现。宗教和它自己的有神论也并不等同。宗教和它的有神论之间的联系和区别可以分两个层次来讨论。

(I) Religion and Religious Ideology

（一）宗教和宗教意识形态

Religion and religious ideology are two concepts. Religion is an ideology, but it is not only an ideology; it also contains more constituent elements. The distinction between the two is that between a whole thing and one of its basic constituent elements.

宗教和宗教意识形态是两个概念。宗教是一种意识形态，但又不只是意识形态，它还包含更多的构成要素。这二者的区别是事物整体同构成它的一个基本要素之间的区别。

In the organism of human society, religion first manifests itself in the ideological sphere, taking the form of religious doctrine and theory, religious concepts, religious sentiment, religious psychology, and other ideological forms. The founders of Marxism also first studied religion as an ideology. Marx said that religion is "an inverted world-consciousness." (Marx and Engels Collected Works, Vol. 1, People's Publishing House, 2009 edition, p. 3.) In Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy, Engels provided an in-depth exposition of religion as an ideology, particularly noting that "the Middle Ages knew only one form of ideology, namely religion and theology." (Marx and Engels Collected Works, Vol. 4, People's Publishing House, 2009 edition, p. 289) The core element constituting religion is its ideology. Therefore, it is entirely justified to focus on examining religion as an ideology. However, this does not mean that religion is merely an ideology. Mature religions, over long historical development, have formed into social groups and organizations with both shared ideological beliefs and common interests. Religious groups and organizations have their own religious behaviors or practical activities, such as religious rituals. Consequently, religion is not merely a social consciousness or cultural phenomenon; it emerges as a social force with a fairly broad mass base, influencing various fields of social life—economic, political, and cultural—and exerting multifaceted effects on society. Religious believers have their own ideological beliefs as well as their own economic interests and political attitudes. In terms of its own structure, religion contains multiple factors, including economic, political, and ideological-cultural elements.

在人类社会有机体中，宗教首先是在意识形态领域显现出来的，它表现为宗教教义和理论、宗教观念、宗教感情、宗教心理等意识形态的形式。马克思主义的创始人对宗教也首先是作为一种意识形态来研究的。马克思说，宗教是“一种颠倒的世界意识”。（《马克思恩格斯文集》第1卷，人民出版社2009年版，第3页。）恩格斯在《路德维希•费尔巴哈和德国古典哲学的终结》中，把宗教作为意识形态的一种作了深入的阐述，他特别指出，“中世纪的历史只知道一种形式的意识形态，即宗教和神学。”（《马克思恩格斯文集》第4卷，人民出版社2009年版，第289页）构成宗教的核心要素，是它的意识形态。因此，着重把宗教当作一种意识形态去考察是理所当然的。但这并不意味着宗教仅仅是一种意识形态。成熟的宗教在长期的历史发展中已经形成为一种既有共同思想信仰又有共同利益诉求的社会群体、社会组织，宗教群体、宗教组织有自己的宗教行为或实践活动，如宗教仪式等。因此，宗教不仅仅是一种社会意识或文化现象，而是作为一种具有相当广泛的群众性的社会力量出现在社会的经济、政治、文化各个领域，对社会生活发生多方面的影响。信教群众既有自己的思想信仰，也有自己的经济利益和政治态度。宗教就其自身的结构来说，包含了经济、政治和思想文化等多方面的因素。

Precisely because of this, the question of how to treat religion is not merely a matter of the ideological sphere. The relationship between religion and society, between religion and the state, and between religious believers and non-believers is far broader and richer than the ideological relationship between theism and atheism. Among people's various social relations, economic interests are the foundation, politics is the concentrated expression of economics, and differences in ideological belief occupy a secondary position compared to common political stances and economic interests. Therefore, in addressing the question of how to treat religion, the aspect of ideological belief must be distinguished from the political and economic aspects, each placed in its proper position, and the question of ideological belief must not be given primacy. From the perspective of worldview, Marxism resolutely opposes all religious theism and idealism; at the same time, Marxism resolutely opposes "waging war on religion politically," opposes elevating the religious question to an undeserved primary position that disperses the forces of political and economic struggle, and demands that atheist propaganda must be subordinated to the Party's basic tasks.

正因为如此，如何对待宗教的问题，不只是一个思想领域的问题。宗教与社会、与国家的关系，信教群众与不信教群众的关系，比之有神论与无神论这种思想领域的关系，要宽泛、丰富得多。在人们的各种社会关系中，经济利益是基础，政治是经济的集中表现，思想信仰上的差异与共同的政治立场、经济利益相比，处于次要的地位。因此，在如何对待宗教的问题上，必须将其思想信仰方面同政治、经济方面区分开来，把它们各自放在应有的位置，而不能把思想信仰问题放在首位。从世界观上说，马克思主义坚决反对一切宗教的有神论和唯心主义；与此同时，马克思主义又坚决反对“在政治上对宗教作战”，反对把宗教问题提到它所不应有的首要地位而分散了政治斗争和经济斗争的力量，要求无神论的宣传必须服从党的基本任务。

Conducting atheist research, education, and propaganda certainly cannot avoid opposing religious theism and idealism in one form or another. However, as an activity in the ideological and cultural sphere, it not only possesses full rationality and legitimacy in thought and theory because it seeks truth from facts and upholds truth, but it is also compatible with and unified with politically respecting the freedom of religious belief of religious citizens, uniting religious and non-religious masses, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and fundamental interests of every citizen. It by no means opposes legitimate religious organizations and normal religious activities, still less does it aim to artificially abolish religion. If religious phenomena are not subjected to comprehensive analysis, and if religion is simply equated with its ideology, it becomes possible to exaggerate the ideological work of propagating atheism and criticizing theism into the entirety of work concerning religion, thereby equating it with "waging war on religion" and setting it in opposition to the implementation of the policy on freedom of religious belief. This is an important reason why some Party members and leading cadres dare not strengthen atheist research, education, and propaganda in accordance with the guiding principles of the Party Central Committee.

开展无神论的研究和宣传教育，当然不能不以这样那样的形式反对宗教的有神论和唯心主义。但它作为一种思想文化领域的活动，不仅因为实事求是、坚持真理而在思想上、理论上有其充分的合理性、正当性，而且是同政治上尊重信教公民的宗教信仰自由、团结信教和不信教的群众、维护每个公民的合法权利和根本利益并行不悖、相互统一的，决不是反对合法的宗教组织和正常的宗教活动；更不是要人为地取消宗教。如果不对宗教现象作全面的分析，把宗教简单地等同于它的意识形态，就有可能把宣传无神论、批评有神论这一意识形态方面的工作夸大成对待宗教的全部工作，因而等同于“对宗教作战”，把它同贯彻宗教信仰自由政策对立起来。这是一些党员和领导干部不敢按照党中央的指示精神加强无神论研究和宣传教育的一个重要原因。

(II) Religious Ideology and Theism

（二）宗教意识形态和有神论

To correctly understand and treat religion and its relationship with atheism, it is necessary not only to distinguish religion from its ideology but also to further distinguish religious ideology from its theism. Theism is the core concept of religious ideology; it runs through all religious concepts, centrally embodies the essential characteristics of religion, and distinguishes religion from other forms of ideology. Without theism or theology, there would be no religious ideology, and there would be no religion. However, religion as an ideology or social consciousness cannot be entirely reduced to or simply equated with theism. It interpenetrates and intermingles with other forms of social consciousness, each containing elements of the other, interwoven together, and thus as a whole contains rich ideological and cultural content.

正确认识和对待宗教及其同无神论的关系，不仅要对宗教和它的意识形态加以区分，还要进一步对宗教意识形态和它的有神论也加以区分。有神论是宗教意识形态的核心观念，它贯穿在宗教的全部观念之中，集中体现了宗教的本质特征，把宗教同意识形态的其他形式区分开来。离开有神论或神学，就没有宗教意识形态，就没有宗教。但是，宗教作为一种意识形态或社会意识，又不能仅仅归结为或简单地等同于有神论。它同社会意识的其他形式相互渗透、相互包含，你中有我，我中有你，交织在一起，因而从整体上看包含着丰富的思想文化内容。

Religion is an ideology that emerged relatively early in social history. As early as primitive society, religious concepts appeared in forms such as totem worship. Social ideologies were initially undifferentiated as a whole, only later differentiating into various forms and becoming independent of one another in the course of development. In the "Introduction" to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, Marx said: "Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium." This phenomenon of religion serving as the "general theory of the world" existed not only in primitive society; even after various forms of ideology such as morality, art, philosophy, and political and legal thought had differentiated, it remained the case for a considerable historical period in terms of religion's position and influence in the ideological sphere. For example, in the Christian-dominated European Middle Ages, as Engels pointed out: "The Middle Ages amalgamated all other forms of ideology—philosophy, politics, jurisprudence—into theology and made them subdisciplines of theology." (Marx and Engels Collected Works, Vol. 4, People's Publishing House, 2009 edition, p. 310)

宗教是社会历史中较早产生的一种意识形态。早在原始社会中，宗教观念就已经以图腾崇拜等形式出现。社会的意识形态最初是浑然一体的，后来才在发展中分化为不同的形式而彼此独立。马克思在《〈黑格尔法哲学批判〉导言》中说：“宗教是这个世界的总理论，是它的包罗万象的纲要”。这种以宗教为“世界的总理论”的现象，不仅存在于原始社会，即使是在道德、艺术、哲学、政治法律思想等意识形态的各种形式分化之后，就宗教在意识形态领域的地位、影响而言，在相当长的历史时期中仍然是如此。例如在基督教占统治地位的欧洲中世纪，正如恩格斯所指出的：“中世纪把意识形态的其他一切形式——哲学、政治、法学，都合并到神学中，使它们成为神学中的科目。”（《马克思恩格斯文集》第4卷，人民出版社2009年版，第310页）

Therefore, in comprehensively understanding the ideology of religion and evaluating religious scriptures and various related matters, one must not overlook the rich ideological and cultural content contained within them. For instance, the relationship between philosophy and religion is very close. Philosophy emerged later than religion and differentiated itself from it; conversely, some religions absorbed intellectual nourishment from philosophy during their formation. Engels pointed out that Christianity arose “quietly from a mixture of generalized Oriental theology, especially Jewish theology, and vulgarized Greek philosophy, especially Stoic philosophy.” [1]1 Engels, *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy* (1886). The scholastic philosophy of medieval Europe was both religious theology and a form of philosophical thought. China’s ethnic religion, Daoism, directly elevated the classic philosophical works *Laozi* and *Zhuangzi* to the status of religious scriptures and enshrined the philosopher Laozi as an immortal. Religion employs various forms of art to manifest deities, create atmosphere, disseminate doctrine, and win over believers. Historically, the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, poetry, opera, and other arts has all been influenced by religion. Many classic works handed down through generations take religious figures and events as their themes, to the point where it is difficult to distinguish whether they are art carried by religion or religion carried by art. Religion influences social morality and customs; moral concepts, ultimately determined by social economic relations, are also reflected in religion, so that religious morality, in one form or another, incorporates elements of secular morality. The historical combination of religion and education also prompted religion to continuously incorporate realistic ideological content into its development. Religion also absorbs and utilizes certain achievements of science for its own purposes. Mao Zedong said: “Without criticizing theology, one cannot write a good history of philosophy, nor a good history of literature or world history.” (Collected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 8, People’s Publishing House, 1999, p. 353) This assertion points out the influence of religious theology on philosophy, literature, and world history, and also recognizes that religious theology contains ideological and cultural content—philosophical, literary, and otherwise—that has influenced world history.

因此，全面地认识宗教的意识形态，评价宗教典籍和各种相关事物，不可忽视包含在其中的丰富的思想文化内容。比如，哲学与宗教的关系甚为密切。哲学的产生晚于宗教，它是从宗教中分化出来的；而一些宗教的形成，又从哲学中吸收了思想养料。恩格斯曾指出，基督教是“从普遍化了的东方神学，特别是犹太神学同庸俗化了的希腊哲学，特别是斯多亚派哲学的混合中悄悄地产生”的。欧洲中世纪的经院哲学，既是宗教神学，又是一种哲学思想。中国的民族宗教道教，直接把经典的哲学著作《老子》、《庄子》奉为宗教经典，把哲学家老子当作神仙供奉。宗教借助于艺术的各种形式彰显神祗、营造氛围、传播教义、争取信众，历史上绘画、雕塑、建筑、音乐、诗歌、戏曲等等艺术的发展，都受到宗教的影响，许多经典的传世之作以表现宗教的人物、事件为主题，以至于很难区分它们究竟是以宗教为载体的艺术，还是以艺术为载体的宗教。宗教影响着社会的道德风尚；归根到底由社会经济关系决定的道德观念也反映到宗教中来，使宗教的道德中也以这样那样的形式包含了世俗道德的内容。历史上宗教与教育的结合，也促使宗教在其发展中不断纳入现实的思想内容。宗教还吸收、利用科学发展的某些成果来为自己服务。毛泽东说：“不批判神学就不能写好哲学史，也不能写好文学史或世界史。”（《毛泽东文集》第8卷，人民出版社1999年版，第353页）这一论断指出了宗教神学对哲学、文学和世界历史的影响，也看到了宗教神学中包含着哲学、文学等影响了世界历史的思想文化内容。

Therefore, in conducting Marxist atheist education and propaganda, one does not completely negate or simply discard religious ideology. Instead, while criticizing theism, one critically inherits all valuable ideological and cultural elements within it. For a philosophical system like Hegel’s, which starts from and returns to the Absolute Idea, Marx, while criticizing its idealist viewpoint and discarding its system, rescued the dialectical thought contained within that system. Our Party adheres to the Marxist view of religion and adopts this same scientific analytical attitude toward religious ideology and culture. It goes so far as to preserve and maintain religious scriptures, religious artifacts, and sites of religious activity. This further demonstrates that conducting atheist research, education, and propaganda by no means negates all aspects of religion, and therefore can be entirely unified with the implementation of the Party’s policy on freedom of religious belief within the organic whole of a single theory or policy.

所以，进行马克思主义的无神论宣传教育，对宗教意识形态也不是全盘否定、简单抛弃，而是在批评有神论的同时，批判地继承其中一切有价值的思想文化。对于黑格尔哲学这样的从绝对观念出发又回到绝对观念的唯心主义体系，马克思在批判它的唯心主义观点、抛弃其体系的同时，拯救了包含在这个体系中的辩证法思想。我们党坚持马克思主义的宗教观，对于宗教思想文化也是采取这种科学分析的态度，对于宗教典籍、宗教文物和宗教活动场所，更是加以维护和保存。这就进一步说明，开展无神论的研究和宣传教育，决不是否定宗教的一切方面，因而同贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策完全可以统一在同一个理论或政策的有机整体之中。

(III) Atheism and Marxist Atheism

（三）无神论和马克思主义无神论

To comprehensively and correctly understand and handle the relationship between upholding atheism and upholding the policy of freedom of religious belief, it is also necessary to analyze atheism itself and distinguish Marxist from non-Marxist atheism.

全面正确地认识和处理坚持无神论和坚持宗教信仰自由政策的关系，还需要对无神论也加以分析，把马克思主义的和非马克思主义的无神论区别开来。

Marxism upholds atheism, but not all atheism is Marxist atheism; therefore, upholding atheism does not necessarily mean upholding Marxism. Upholding atheism always implies opposing theism. However, there are important differences in understanding and behavior regarding what kind of atheism one upholds and how one treats theism. Without distinguishing Marxist from non-Marxist atheism, one cannot correctly understand the unity of atheist research, education, and propaganda with the policy of freedom of religious belief.

马克思主义坚持无神论，但无神论并不都是马克思主义无神论，因而坚持无神论并非就一定是坚持马克思主义。坚持无神论总是意味着反对有神论，但是，坚持什么样的无神论，在如何对待有神论的问题上，认识和行为都是有重要区别的。如果不区分马克思主义的和非马克思主义的无神论，就不能正确理解无神论研究宣传教育同宗教信仰自由政策的统一。

Atheism has gone through different stages of development in history. Naive atheism emerged in ancient times. Nearly two thousand years ago, Wang Chong used his naive materialist view of nature and epistemology to criticize theism. [2]2 Wang Chong (27 – c. 97 CE), a Chinese philosopher of the Han dynasty, known for his rationalist and materialist critiques of superstition and theism. Fan Zhen’s theory of the extinction of the spirit left a shining page in the history of atheism. [3]3 Fan Zhen (c. 450–515 CE), a Chinese philosopher of the Liang dynasty, argued in his *Treatise on the Extinction of the Spirit* that the soul does not exist independently of the body. The materialist atheism that emerged on the basis of modern natural science is commonly called scientific atheism. In particular, the atheism of 18th-century French materialism was an open, thorough atheism that cast aside the cloak of religion. Engels praised it as “the highest achievement of the French spirit.” [4]4 Engels, *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy*. Lenin called it “militant atheism.” He proposed, following Engels’ instructions, “to translate the literature of the militant atheists of the end of the 18th century and widely distribute it among the people.” [5]5 Lenin, “On the Significance of Militant Materialism” (1922). There is no doubt that ancient naive atheism and modern scientific atheism are both precious intellectual heritages of humanity. Marxists should inherit this heritage and form an alliance with all contemporary atheists. However, it is worth pondering that Lenin simultaneously called the atheism of 18th-century French materialism “old atheism and old materialism,” and said it was necessary “to supplement the old atheism and old materialism with the corrections of Marx and Engels.” [6]6 Ibid. Lenin emphasized that to achieve complete victory in ideological struggle, one should “become a conscious supporter of the materialism represented by Marx, that is, one should become a dialectical materialist.” [7]7 Ibid.

无神论在历史上经历了不同的发展阶段。古代就产生了朴素无神论。近二千年前，王充就用他的朴素唯物主义的自然观和认识论批评了有神论。范缜的神灭论，在无神论史上留下了闪光的一页。在近代自然科学基础上产生的唯物主义无神论通常被称为科学无神论。特别是其中18世纪法国唯物主义的无神论，是抛开了宗教外衣的公开的彻底的无神论，恩格斯称赞它是“法兰西精神的最高成就”。列宁称之为“战斗的无神论”，他提出，要遵照恩格斯的嘱咐，“把18世纪末战斗的无神论的文献翻译过来，在人民中间广泛传播”。毫无疑问，古代的朴素无神论和近代的科学无神论都是人类宝贵的思想遗产。马克思主义者应当继承这份遗产，并且同当代一切无神论者结成联盟。但是，值得深思的是，列宁同时又把18世纪法国唯物主义的无神论称为“旧无神论和旧唯物主义”，他说要“用马克思和恩格斯的修正意见来补充旧无神论和旧唯物主义”。列宁强调指出，为了在思想斗争中取得完全胜利，就应该“做一个以马克思为代表的唯物主义的自觉拥护者，也就是说，应当做一个辩证唯物主义者”

Marxist atheism is founded on dialectical materialism and historical materialism. As a component of the Marxist scientific system of thought, it is inseparable from the entire system and is intimately linked with all other fundamental principles of Marxism. Religion is a social-historical phenomenon; therefore, only on the basis of the materialist conception of history can one truly reveal the essence and laws of development of religion and attain a scientific understanding of it. Marx’s discovery of the materialist conception of history was an epoch-making great transformation in the history of human cognition. Before this, idealism need not be discussed, and even various materialisms, when entering the realm of social history, fell into idealist conceptions of history, becoming half-baked materialisms, and thus failed to correctly understand the history of society and the essence of social phenomena, including religion. In this regard, only Marxist atheism is scientific atheism in the strict sense, and only it is atheism that treats religion and theology with a truly scientific attitude. It not only distinguishes between religion and its ideology, and between religious ideology and its theism, but also subjects them all to dialectical and historical analysis. First, it views the emergence of theism and religion from a historical and developmental perspective, regarding them as the result of the development of human thinking ability along with practice, as a manifestation of humanity’s separation from nature and distinction from animals, and thus as a historical progress. Second, it opposes the old metaphysical materialism’s simplistic view of religious theology as “the fabrication of swindlers” or “nonsense cobbled together by swindlers.” Instead, it “explains the origin and development of religion based on the historical conditions under which it arose and achieved dominance” (Complete Works of Marx and Engels, Vol. 25, People’s Publishing House, 2001, 2nd ed., pp. 549, 550), comprehensively analyzing its historical, social-class, and cognitive roots, regarding its emergence, existence, and development as the inevitable product of social history and human cognition at a certain stage, and considering it a “flower without fruit growing on the living tree of human cognition.” Third, it reveals the path to the disappearance of religion and elucidates the scientific attitude we should adopt toward religion. Since the roots of religious theology lie in actual society, as long as the factual basis it reflects still exists, the religious reflection itself will continue to exist. Only “when society, through taking possession and planned use of all means of production, frees itself and all its members from the state of servitude,” and “when things are planned by people and accomplished by people, will the last alien force still reflected in religion disappear, and consequently the religious reflection itself will disappear.” Religion cannot be artificially eliminated; it can only naturally disappear when social-historical conditions are ripe. Therefore, the struggle against religious theology cannot be reduced solely to abstract ideological propaganda, nor can religion be eliminated by administrative force. Instead, while making efforts to conduct atheist ideological propaganda and education, we should unite believers and non-believers in the cause of revolution, construction, and reform, promote social development and progress, and create conditions for the natural disappearance of religion.

马克思主义的无神论是建立在辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义基础上的，它作为马克思主义科学思想体系中的一部分，同整个体系不可分割，同马克思主义其他各方面的基本原理血肉相联。宗教是一种社会历史现象，因而只有以唯物主义历史观为基础，才能真正揭示宗教的本质和发展规律，达到对它的科学认识。马克思发现唯物主义历史观是人类认识史上划时代的伟大变革。在此之前，唯心主义自不必论，各种唯物主义也无不在进入社会历史领域时陷入唯心史观而成为半截子的唯物主义，因而未能正确认识社会的历史和包括宗教在内的社会现象的本质。就此而论，只有马克思主义的无神论才是严格意义上的科学无神论，才是真正以科学的态度对待宗教和神学的无神论。它不仅对宗教和它的意识形态、对宗教意识形态和它的有神论加以区分，而且对它们都给予辩证的历史的分析。第一，它用历史的发展的观点看待有神论和宗教的产生，把它们看作是人类思维能力随着实践发展的结果，是人类把自己从自然界中分离出来、同动物区别开来的一种表现，因而是一种历史的进步。第二，它反对像旧的形而上学的唯物主义那样把宗教神学简单地看成是“骗子手的捏造”、“骗子凑集而成的无稽之谈”，而是“根据宗教借以产生和取得统治地位的历史条件，去说明它的起源和发展”（《马克思恩格斯全集》第25卷，人民出版社2001年第2版，第549、550页。），全面地分析它的历史根源、社会阶级根源和认识根源，把它的产生、存在和发展看作是社会历史和人类认识在一定阶段上的必然产物，认为它是生长在“人类认识这棵活树上的一朵无实花”。第三，它揭示了宗教消亡的途径，阐明了我们对待宗教应有的科学态度。既然宗教神学的根源存在于现实社会之中，那么，只要它反映的事实基础仍然存在，宗教反映本身也就继续存在。只有“当社会通过占有和有计划地使用全部生产资料而使自己和一切社会成员摆脱奴役状态的时候”，“当谋事在人，成事也在人的时候，现在还在宗教中反映出来的最后的异己力量才会消失，因而宗教反映本身也就随着消失。”宗教不能人为地消灭，只能在社会历史条件具备时自然消亡。因此，同宗教神学作斗争不能仅仅归结为抽象的思想宣传，更不能用行政力量去消灭宗教，而应该在努力做好无神论思想宣传教育的同时，团结信教和不信教的群众致力于革命、建设和改革事业，推动社会的发展、进步，为宗教自然消亡创造条件。

This shows that if one does not distinguish between Marxist and non-Marxist atheism, and departs from the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method, one cannot correctly understand and handle religious issues. Propaganda for atheism and criticism of religious theism may then go wrong, violating the objective laws of religious development and deviating from the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief. However, as long as we consciously adhere to Marxist atheism, we can unify the research, propaganda, and education of atheism with the implementation of the policy of freedom of religious belief.

这说明，如果不区分马克思主义的和非马克思主义的无神论，离开了马克思主义的立场、观点、方法，就不能正确地认识和处理宗教问题，对无神论的宣传和对宗教有神论的批评就可能发生错误，违背宗教发展的客观规律，背离党的宗教信仰自由政策。而只要我们自觉坚持马克思主义的无神论，就能把无神论的研究宣传教育同贯彻宗教信仰自由政策统一起来。

III. Achieving Unity Requires Conscious Effort

三 实现统一要经过自觉的努力

The development of human society is the unity of objective regularity and subjective initiative. Social development is governed by inherent general laws, yet it is also constituted by the conscious activities of human beings as subjects. Social laws, as essential and necessary connections in social movement, are not mysterious forces imposed on society from outside; they exist within human activities. The realization of social laws cannot be separated from human conscious effort. Conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education, and implementing the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief share a common foundation, so there is no logical contradiction of mutual exclusion between them. However, this does not mean that, regardless of people’s understanding and behavior, they are always naturally unified. The realization of unity depends on consciously recognizing and properly handling the dialectical relationship between the two. This requires effort from two aspects.

人类社会的发展是客观规律性和主体能动性的统一。社会发展是受内在的一般规律支配的，同时又是由作为主体的人的自觉活动构成的。社会规律作为社会运动中本质的必然的联系，不是从社会之外强加于社会的神秘力量，它就存在于人的活动之中。社会规律的实现，离不开人的自觉努力。开展无神论研究和宣传教育，贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策，二者具有共同的基础，因而并不存在相互排斥的逻辑矛盾；但这并不是说，无论人们的认识和行为如何，它们之间自然而然地总是统一的。统一的实现，要靠自觉认识和处理好二者之间的辩证关系。这需要从两方面努力。

(1) In conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education, one must earnestly study and consciously abide by the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief

（一）开展无神论的研究和宣传教育，必须认真学习和自觉遵守党的宗教信仰自由政策

Atheist research and atheist propaganda and education are two interrelated aspects of work. On the one hand, atheist research can provide theoretical support and academic resources for propaganda and education. The strength or weakness of research efforts, the abundance or scarcity of results, and the correctness or error of research directions and viewpoints all affect propaganda and education. On the other hand, conducting atheist propaganda and education is necessary to apply research results to ideological propaganda, national education, and the promotion of cultural-ethical progress, transforming them into the thinking of the masses and improving the ideological and cultural quality of the entire nation. Atheist research, propaganda, and education are inevitably linked to religious issues. They are both a scientific endeavor, with strong intellectual, academic, and theoretical characteristics, and a mass-oriented work, with strong political, policy-related, and social sensitivity. If one merely expounds that atheism is truth consistent with reality and that theism is error deviating from objective reality, one remains at the level of old materialism and old atheism, which is far from sufficient. In-depth study of the Marxist view of religion and mastery of the Party’s religious policies and national laws and regulations are indispensable conditions for correctly conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education. For example, one must respect the beliefs and legitimate rights and interests of religious believers, live in harmony with them, refrain from conducting atheist propaganda in religious venues, avoid interfering with the normal religious activities of religious groups and venues, refrain from initiating debates among believers over the existence or non-existence of gods, and avoid hurting the religious feelings of believers. These are all matters that should be given full attention in conducting atheist research, propaganda, and education. In response to the Blanquists’ proposition that “all religious propaganda and religious organizations should be prohibited,” Engels pointed out: “Persecution is the best means of strengthening bad beliefs,” and “the only thing that can help God in our time is to declare atheism a compulsory creed.” Lenin also pointed out that declaring “war” on religion like the Blanquists “is the best means of increasing people’s interest in religion and hindering the true disappearance of religion.” If atheist propaganda violates the Party’s religious belief policy, it will be counterproductive, helping theism and harming atheism. Moreover, it may intensify contradictions, affect harmony, and provide opportunities for foreign hostile forces attempting religious infiltration into China and for those who stir up trouble, endangering social stability.

无神论的研究和无神论的宣传教育，是相互关联的两方面的工作。一方面，无神论研究可以为宣传教育提供学理支撑、学术资源。研究力量的强或弱，成果的多或少，研究方向和观点的正确或错误，都会对宣传、教育发生影响。另一方面，开展无神论的宣传教育，才能把研究成果运用到思想宣传、国民教育和精神文明建设中去，转化为人民群众的思想，提高全民族的思想文化素质。对无神论的研究和宣传教育，必然同宗教问题联系在一起，既是一项科学工作，具有很强的知识性、学术性、理论性，又是一项面向群众的工作，具有很强的政治性、政策性和社会敏感性。如果仅仅阐发无神论是符合实际的真理、有神论是背离客观实际的谬误，那就停留在了旧唯物主义和旧无神论的水平，是远远不够的。深入学习马克思主义的宗教观，掌握党的宗教政策和国家的法律法规，是正确开展无神论研究和宣传教育不可缺少的条件。比如，必须尊重信教群众的信仰和合法权益，与他们和睦相处，不得到宗教场所进行无神论的宣传，不得干扰宗教团体、宗教活动场所正常的宗教活动，不得在信教群众中发动有神还是无神的辩论，不得伤害信教群众的宗教感情等等，都是开展无神论研究和宣传教育应予以充分注意的。针对布朗基主义者“一切宗教宣传和宗教组织都应当加以禁止”的主张，恩格斯曾指出：“迫害是巩固不良信念的最好手段”，“在我们的时代唯一能替神帮点忙的事情，就是把无神论宣布为强制性的信条”。列宁也指出，像布朗基主义者那对宗教“宣战”，“是提高人们对宗教的兴趣、妨碍宗教真正消亡的最好手段”。宣传无神论如果违反了党的宗教信仰政策，就会适得其反，替有神论帮忙，为无神论帮倒忙，而且可能激化矛盾、影响和谐，还会给力图对我国进行宗教渗透的国外敌对势力和制造事端者以可乘之机，危害社会稳定。

(2) Overcoming Misinterpretations of the Policy of Freedom of Religious Belief, and Strengthening Marxist Atheist Research, Propaganda, and Education

（二）克服对宗教信仰自由政策的误读，加强马克思主义无神论研究和宣传教育

As discussed above, freedom of religious belief inherently includes respect for citizens’ freedom not to believe and to adhere to atheism. Therefore, the view that atheist research, propaganda, and education will hinder the implementation of the policy and affect religious harmony is itself a one-sided and incorrect understanding of the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief. Marx said: “The bourgeois ‘freedom of belief’ is nothing but the tolerance of all kinds of religious belief.” The phenomenon of not surpassing the bourgeois level and understanding “freedom of belief” merely as the freedom to believe in religion, in this way, still exists today.

如前所述，宗教信仰自由内在地包含了尊重公民不信教、坚持无神论的自由，所以认为无神论研究和宣传教育会妨碍政策的贯彻、影响宗教和谐，这本身就是对党的宗教信仰自由政策片面的不正确的理解。马克思说：“资产阶级的‘信仰自由’不过是容忍各种各样的宗教信仰自由而已”。不能越过资产阶级的水平、按照这样的方式把“信仰自由”仅仅理解为信仰宗教的自由的现象，今天仍然存在。

The establishment of China’s socialist system and the development of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics have provided fundamental institutional guarantees and strong economic strength for upholding the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain and expanding the ideological阵地 of Marxism, including atheism. However, we also observe that, against the backdrop of the general global decline of religion in modern times, religion and theistic thought have shown a trend of rapid development in China in recent years. Surveys indicate that approximately 10 percent of adolescent students in China harbor relatively serious superstitious beliefs in ghosts and gods. (Scientific Atheism: A Reader for University Students, People’s Publishing House, 2004, p. 27) The proportion of religious believers among university students is around 10 percent. The expansion of religion and theism implies the contraction of the ideological阵地 of atheism. The reasons for this, aside from factors such as the diversification of economic components and modes of distribution, the vicissitudes of the market economy that make people feel unable to control their own destinies, the influence of corruption and other negative social phenomena, and setbacks in the world socialist movement, include the severe weakening of atheism research, education, and propaganda. This has led to phenomena such as “theism has people to preach it, while atheism has no one to preach it” and “theism has money, while atheism has no money.” This cannot but be considered an important cause, and this weakening is often linked to a misinterpretation of the policy on freedom of religious belief.

我国社会主义制度的建立和中国特色社会主义事业的发展，为坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位、扩大马克思主义包括无神论的思想阵地提供了根本制度保障和强大经济实力。但是我们也看到，在近代以来宗教在世界上总体上走向衰落的背景下，近些年来宗教和有神论思想在我国呈迅速发展的趋势。在调查显示，我国有百分之十左右的青少年学生有较为严重的鬼神迷信思想。（《科学无神论大学生读本》，人民出版社2004年版，第27页）高校大学生信教人员的比例在百分之十左右。宗教和有神论的扩展意味着无神论思想阵地的萎缩。究其原因，除了经济成分和分配方式多样化、市场经济中的风云变幻使人感到不能掌握自己的命运、腐败和其他社会消极现象的影响，以及世界社会主义运动遭遇挫折等因素外，无神论研究和宣传教育严重削弱，出现了“有神论有人讲，无神论无人讲”、“有神论有钱，无神论无钱”的现象，不能说不是一个重要原因，而这种削弱往往是同对宗教信仰自由政策的误读相关联的。

This one-sided, incorrect understanding manifests itself in various ways.

这种片面的、不正确的理解有各种表现。

For example, the freedom of religious belief for citizens is mistaken as the freedom for Communist Party members to believe in religion. Some Party members have not established a Marxist faith, blurring the boundary between materialism and idealism, between atheism and theism, and forgetting that not believing in religion is a minimum condition for being a Communist Party member. Some believe that, as citizens, Party members also enjoy the constitutional right to religious belief. Some think that as long as Party cadres uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics and implement the Party’s line, their ideological beliefs are a private matter. They fail to understand that from the day they join the Party, they have pledged to the Party to choose, in accordance with the Party Constitution and within the scope of the constitutional freedom of religious belief, the dialectical materialist and atheist worldview. The Party Central Committee has clearly stated: “Our Party’s declaration and implementation of the policy of freedom of religious belief certainly does not mean that Communist Party members are free to believe in religion.” “Communist Party members must not believe in religion or participate in religious activities; those who persist in doing so after long-term education should be persuaded to withdraw from the Party.” (Basic Views and Basic Policies on Religious Questions during the Socialist Period in Our Country, Selected Important Documents since the Third Plenary Session, Vol. 2, People’s Publishing House, 1982, p. 1233) According to a survey by the “Scientific Literacy of County-Level Public Servants in China” research group, over half of the surveyed officials believed in superstitious phenomena such as “physiognomy,” “Zhou Gong’s dream interpretation,” “horoscope prediction,” and “divination lots,” to a degree equal to or higher than the general public. (Guangming Daily, November 12, 2010) Some leading Party cadres, seeking promotion, burn incense and worship Buddha, believe in feng shui, and even abuse their power to change place names, invest funds in building gates, altering roads, and erecting idols to pray for “official fortune” and “wealth.” Party members, especially leading cadres, who believe in gods and religion have a pernicious influence and are an important reason for the abnormal development of the influence of religion and theism throughout society. Within the scope of power of such Party members and leading cadres, atheism cannot but lose its right to speak.

比如，把公民有宗教信仰的自由当成了共产党员有信仰宗教的自由。一些党员没有确立马克思主义信仰，模糊了唯物主义与唯心主义、无神论与有神论的界限，忘记了不信仰宗教是做一名共产党员的起码条件。有人认为，党员作为公民，同样也享有宪法规定的信仰宗教的权利。有人认为，党员干部只要拥护中国特色社会主义，执行党的路线，思想信仰是私人的事情。他们不懂得，党员从入党那一天起，就已经向党保证自己按照党章的要求在宪法规定的宗教信仰自由的范围内选择了辩证唯物主义的无神论的世界观。党中央明确指出：“我们党宣布和实行宗教信仰自由的政策，这当然不是说共产党员可以自由信奉宗教。”“共产党员不得信仰宗教，不得参加宗教活动，长期坚持不改的要劝其退党。”（《关于我国社会主义时期宗教问题的基本观点和基本政策》，《三中全会以来重要文献选编》（下），人民出版社1982年版，第1233页）据“中国县处级公务员科学素质调查”课题组的调查，有半数以上的被调查者相信“相面”、“周公解梦”、“星座预测”和“求签”等迷信现象，其程度相当于或高于一般公众。（《光明日报》，2010年11月 12日）一些党员领导干部为求升迁，烧香拜佛，迷信风水，甚至利用职权，更改地名，投入资金修门、改道、建筑偶像，以求“官运”、“财运”。党员特别是领导干部信神信教，影响恶劣，是宗教和有神论的影响在全社会非正常发展的重要原因。在这样的党员领导干部权力所及的范围，无神论不能不丧失了话语权。

Another example is the mistaken equation of respecting and protecting freedom of religious belief with actively developing religion. “Respect” is not “endorsement”; “protection” is not “promotion.” Respect means not imposing one’s own views on others and not demanding that others abandon their religious beliefs; endorsement means changing one’s own views in accordance with another’s religious beliefs. Mistaking respect for religious belief as endorsement means abandoning one’s own Marxist atheist stance. When our Party elucidates the policy on religious belief, it always solemnly points out: “We Chinese Communists are atheists and do not believe in any religion.” The policy of respecting and protecting freedom of religious belief, while we ourselves do not endorse religious theism, is formulated based on the objective reality of religion’s long-term nature, mass character, and complexity, and in accordance with the objective law that religion can only naturally wither away when social and historical conditions are ripe, and cannot be artificially eliminated. It is a policy for correctly dealing with existing religions until their eventual natural disappearance, and by no means a policy of encouraging religious belief or developing religion. To correctly understand and handle religion, one cannot fail to draw a clear line between respect and endorsement, protection and promotion. However, some leading Party cadres fail to understand the truth that one step beyond the truth becomes fallacy. Following their one-sided outlook on political performance and their metaphysical, extreme way of thinking, they intentionally or unintentionally promote the development of religion in order to highlight their “political achievements.” During the Cultural Revolution, the Party’s religious policy, religious work, and the normal religious activities of believers were disrupted. Therefore, correcting the mistakes and implementing the religious policy, which led to a restorative development of religious groups and venues for a period, was an achievement of the Party’s religious work. However, one must not, divorced from specific historical conditions, treat the development of religion at any time as a “political achievement.” For some time, in certain places, religious activities have been chaotic, the spread of believers has been rampant, temples and churches have been built indiscriminately, and Buddhist statues have been erected excessively. Some localities are keen on “religion sets the stage, the economy performs the play,” attempting to use the power of religion to develop the economy, and in turn, use the power of the market economy to develop religion. Some places compete with each other over who builds a taller pagoda or a larger temple, pursuing “firsts” and flaunting them as political achievements. These actions fuel the religious fervor. Some Party cadres have forgotten that “we must combat religion—this is the ABC of all materialism, and consequently of Marxism.” They fail to understand that religion can neither be eliminated nor developed by administrative force. The Party Central Committee has solemnly pointed out: “Our protection of freedom of religious belief does not mean that we encourage religious belief, nor does it mean that we artificially expand the influence of religion.” The Central Committee has also explicitly demanded: “Strive to resolve problems such as chaotic religious activities, abnormal development, indiscriminate construction of temples and churches, and excessive erection of outdoor religious statues in some areas, and resolutely stop phenomena such as religion interfering in administration, justice, and education.” The behavior of some leading Party cadres who intentionally or unintentionally “artificially expand the influence of religion” has played a role in “encouraging religious belief,” eroding and squeezing the ideological阵地 of Marxist atheism. Blurring the line between respect and endorsement, protection and promotion also deviates from the Party’s policy of guiding religion to adapt to socialist society. Religion itself has no fixed content; it inevitably changes itself in response to social changes. The relationship between religion and society is ultimately one where society determines religion, not the other way around. The law governing the development of religion under socialist conditions is that religion should adapt to socialist society, and by no means that society should adapt to religion. If one intentionally or unintentionally mistakes respect for freedom of religious belief as endorsement of religious ideas, and protection of existing religions as artificially expanding their influence, then the relationship between religion and society is reversed. The active guidance of religion to adapt to socialist society is transformed into allowing society to undergo negative changes under the influence of religion. The increase in superstitious beliefs and religious believers among Party cadres and young people is a manifestation of such negative changes.

再如，把尊重和保护宗教信仰自由当成了积极发展宗教。“尊重”不是赞同，“保护”不是提倡。尊重，是不把自己的观点强加于人，不要求别人放弃宗教信仰；赞同，是按照别人的宗教信仰改变自己的观点。把对宗教信仰的尊重当成了赞同，就丧失了自己马克思主义无神论的立场。我们党在阐明宗教信仰政策的同时，总是严肃地指出：“我们中国共产党人是无神论者，不信仰任何宗教”。尊重和保护宗教信仰自由，是在自己不赞成宗教有神论的同时，从宗教具有长期性、群众性、复杂性的客观实际出发，遵循宗教只能在社会历史条件具备时自然消亡而不能人为去消灭的客观规律制定的政策，它是正确对待已经存在的宗教直到其将来自然消亡的政策，而决不是提倡信教、发展宗教的政策。正确认识和对待宗教，不能不划清尊重与赞同、保护与提倡的界限。但是，有些党员领导干部不懂得真理向前多走一步就会变成谬误的道理，按照他们片面的政绩观和形而上学的走极端的思维方式，为了凸显“政绩”，有意无意地推动宗教发展。“文化大革命”中，党的宗教政策、宗教工作和信教群众的正常宗教活动遭到破坏，因此，拨乱反正，贯彻落实宗教政策，使宗教团体和宗教活动场所在一个时期中得到恢复性的发展，这是党的宗教工作的成绩。但是，不能因此而脱离具体历史条件在任何时候都把宗教的发展当成一种“政绩”。一个时期以来，一些地方宗教活动混乱，教徒发展泛滥，乱建寺观教堂，滥塑佛像。有些地方热衷于“宗教搭台，经济唱戏”，企图借宗教的力量发展经济，又借市场经济的力量发展宗教。有些地方互相攀比谁新建的塔更高、庙更大，追求“第一”，以此当作政绩眩耀。这些行为助长了宗教热。一些党员干部忘记了，“我们应当同宗教作斗争，这是整个唯物主义的起码原则，因而也是马克思主义的起码原则”，不懂得既不能用行政力量去消灭宗教，也不能用行政力量去发展宗教。党中央严肃地指出：“我们保护宗教信仰自由，并不是要提倡信教，也不是要人为扩大宗教影响”。中央还明确要求：“努力解决部分地区宗教活动混乱、不正常发展、乱建寺观教堂、滥塑露天宗教造像等问题，坚决制止宗教干预行政、司法和教育等现象”。部分党员领导干部有意无意地“人为扩大宗教影响”的行为，起了“提倡信教”的作用，侵蚀、挤压了马克思主义无神论的思想阵地。模糊了尊重与赞同、保护与提倡的界限，还会偏离党的引导宗教与社会主义社会相适应的方针。宗教本身是没有内容的，它必然要适应社会的变化而改变自己。宗教与社会的关系，最终是社会决定宗教，而不是宗教决定社会。社会主义条件下宗教发展的规律，是宗教应当与社会主义社会相适应，而决不是社会去适应宗教。如果有意无意地把尊重宗教信仰自由当成赞同宗教观念，把保护现存宗教当成人为扩大宗教影响，就颠倒了宗教与社会的关系，把积极引导宗教与社会主义社会相适应变成了让社会受宗教的影响而发生消极的变化。党员干部和青少年中鬼神迷信和信教人员的发展，就是这种消极变化的表现。

Another example is the one-sided understanding of the mass character of religion, which forgets the responsibility to conduct atheism education among the vast number of non-believing masses; the one-sided understanding of the long-term nature of religion, which forgets the mutability inherent in the long-term existence of religion. Religion is a mass social phenomenon, and its existence presupposes the adherence of large numbers of people. In China, there are over 100 million people who believe in various religions. Therefore, religious work is an important form of mass work. Correctly understanding and handling the issue of religion means correctly understanding and handling the issue of the masses. Respecting and protecting the freedom of religious belief is to respect the broad masses of religious believers and is an important manifestation of safeguarding the people's interests. At the same time, what must not be forgotten is that among China's more than 1.3 billion people, there are even more non-believing masses. The education and propaganda of atheism, which is directed at the broad masses, especially young people, is equally an important form of mass work and an important manifestation of respecting citizens' freedom of belief and safeguarding the people's interests. Religion is a social and historical phenomenon; it is a process of change. Individual beliefs are even more changeable. Increases or decreases in the number of believers and their proportion reveal changes in belief among the population: some who previously did not believe now do, and some who previously believed now do not. Therefore, acknowledging the long-term nature of religion does not mean viewing people's religious beliefs as innate and immutable. People's religious concepts are not innate; children have no religious consciousness. Religious concepts are the result of various acquired factors. Children's religious consciousness comes from the indoctrination of adults. Some young people who originally did not believe, under the influence of an artificially and deliberately created religious atmosphere, shift from atheism to theism and embrace religion. This is hardly a fortunate thing, whether for the individuals themselves or for society. We must, of course, respect the choice they have already made today, but we should also reflect on whether this change is related to the inadequacy of our own work in the past. Although under the current social and historical conditions in contemporary China, it is difficult to completely avoid some young people believing in gods or religions, the phenomenon of a considerable proportion of young people believing in gods or religions is by no means a historical inevitability. If Party committees and governments at all levels could, in accordance with the requirements of the Party Central Committee, treat atheism research, education, and propaganda as a long-term task, incorporating it into the scientific research plan and the overall deployment of propaganda and ideological work, and carry it out persistently, then the phenomenon of young people believing in gods or religions could be minimized and avoided as much as possible. Marx demanded that workers' parties "strive to liberate faith from the sorcery of religion" (Marx and Engels Collected Works, Vol. 3, People's Publishing House, 2009 edition, p. 448). The Party has an even greater responsibility to help the masses who originally did not believe, especially young people, not to lose themselves in the fog of religious theism, because religious theism is, after all, an illusory and erroneous understanding. Therefore, to fully implement the Party's policy on freedom of religious belief, it is necessary both to respect and protect the right to religious belief and to carry out atheism research and education to safeguard the interests of non-believing masses. The rights and interests of the broad masses of the people, including both religious believers and non-believers, must be unified. Especially for young students, in accordance with the provision of our Constitution that the state "conducts education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism," Marxist atheism education should be made an important part of national education, included in the syllabi of political theory courses, ideological and moral education courses, and relevant specialized courses. Targeted education should be carried out according to the characteristics of students at different ages, ensuring that the teaching content and requirements are effectively implemented. We must adhere to the principle of separation of education from religion stipulated in our Education Law, prohibiting any organization or individual from using religion to engage in activities that hinder the national education system. We must be vigilant against and guard against the propagation of religious theology in schools under the guise of academic research and academic exchange.

又如，片面理解宗教的群众性，忘记了对广大不信教群众进行无神论宣传教育的责任；片面理解宗教的长期性，忘记了宗教长期存在过程中的变动性。宗教是一种群众性的社会现象，宗教的存在以大量群众信奉为前提。中国信仰多种宗教的群众有一亿多人。因此，宗教工作是重要的群众工作。正确认识和对待宗教的问题，是正确认识和对待群众的问题。尊重和保护信仰宗教的自由，就是尊重信仰宗教的广大群众，是维护人民利益的重要体现。而与此同时不可忘记的是，中国十三亿多人口中，还有更多的不信教的群众。无神论的宣传教育，是面向广大群众特别是青少年进行的，这同样是重要的群众工作，是尊重公民信仰自由、维护人民利益的重要体现。宗教是一种社会历史现象，它是一个变化着的过程。个人的信仰更是可变的。信教人数和所占比例的增减，显现出人群中信仰的变化，有从前不信教而现在信教的，也有从前信教而现在不信教的。因此，承认宗教的长期性并非是把人们的宗教信仰看成生来固有的和不变的。人的宗教观念不是天生的，儿童没有宗教意识。宗教观念是后天各种因素起作用的结果。儿童的宗教意识来自成年人的灌输。一些本不信教的青少年在人为的刻意渲染的宗教氛围感染下从无神论转向有神论，投入宗教的怀抱，无论对他们个人或对社会而言都并非幸事。我们当然要尊重他们今天已经作出的这种选择，但也应该反思这种变化是否也同我们昨天的工作做得不够相关。虽然在当代中国的社会历史条件下，青少年中有人信神信教难以完全避免，但现实中占相当比例的青少年信神信教的现象决非是历史的必然。如果我们的各级党委和政府都能按照党中央的要求，把无神论研究和宣传教育当作一项长期任务，纳入科学研究规划和宣传思想工作的总体部署，锲而不舍地进行，那么，青少年信神信教的现象是可以尽量减少和避免的。马克思要求工人政党“力求把信仰从宗教的妖术中解放出来”（《马克思恩格斯文集》第3卷，人民出版社2009年版，第448页。）。党更有责任帮助本来不信教的群众特别是青少年不要迷失在宗教有神论的迷雾之中，因为宗教有神论终究是一种虚幻的错误的认识。因此，全面贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策，既要尊重和保护信仰宗教的权利，又要开展无神论的研究和宣传教育，以维护不信教群众的利益，要把维护包括信教群众和不信教群众在内的广大人民群众的权利和利益统一起来。尤其是对青少年学生，应该依据我国宪法关于国家“进行辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的教育”的规定，把马克思主义无神论宣传教育作为国民教育的重要内容，列入政治理论课、思想品德课和有关专业课程的教学大纲，根据不同年龄段学生的特点，有针对性地开展宣传教育，切实保证教学内容和教学要求落到实处。要坚持我国教育法规定的教育与宗教相分离的原则，禁止任何组织和个人利用宗教进行妨碍国家教育制度的活动。要警惕、防范以学术研究和学术交流的名义在学校传播宗教神学。

In summary, only by taking Marxist views on religion as the guide, comprehensively and deeply understanding the Party's policy on freedom of religious belief, and clarifying various one-sided understandings and misinterpretations, can we deeply grasp the unity of atheism research and education with the implementation of the Party's policy on freedom of religious belief, realize this unity in practice, and, while doing a good job of the Party's and the state's religious work, uphold and develop the ideological and theoretical position of Marxist atheism.

综上所述，只有以马克思主义宗教观为指导，全面深入地理解党的宗教信仰自由政策，澄清各种片面的认识和曲解，才能深刻领会无神论研究和宣传教育同贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策的统一，并在实践中实现这种统一，在做好党和国家宗教工作的同时，坚持和发展马克思主义无神论的思想理论阵地。

Online Editor: Jia Fei

网络编辑：嘉扉