Eliminating Superstition in Ghosts and Gods with Scientific Thought

The ideological foundation of cult members and violent terrorists who commit murder is an anti-scientific superstition in ghosts and gods. To oppose cults and terrorism, protect the safety of people’s lives and property, and maintain the long-term stability of the country, in addition to improving the system for opposing cults and terrorism and strengthening legal strikes and governance, it is also necessary to persistently popularize scientific and cultural knowledge and eliminate the ideological influence of superstition in ghosts and gods. Under circumstances where the social soil that breeds superstition in ghosts and gods is difficult to completely eliminate in the short term, only by vigorously popularizing scientific knowledge, continuously arming people’s minds with scientific thought, and gradually expanding the territory of a scientific worldview, outlook on life, and values can we gradually dispel the ideological fog of various anti-scientific fallacies, prevent people from being deceived by the heterodox doctrines spread by cult organizations and religious extremist forces, consciously practice the core socialist values, actively engage in the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and gather the powerful force to realize the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

邪教分子和暴恐分子疯狂杀人，思想基础是反科学的鬼神迷信。反邪反恐，保护人民生命财产安全、维护国家长治久安，除了完善反邪反恐体制、加强依法打击和治理之外，还要坚持不懈地普及科学文化知识，消除鬼神迷信的思想影响。在产生鬼神迷信的社会土壤短期内难以彻底消除的情况下，只有大力普及科学知识，不断用科学思想武装人们的头脑，逐步扩大科学世界观、人生观、价值观的地盘，才能逐渐驱散各种反科学谬论的思想迷雾，使人们不受邪教组织和宗教极端势力散布的歪理邪说蛊惑，自觉践行社会主义核心价值观，积极投身中国特色社会主义建设，凝聚起实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的强大力量。

I. Exposing the Anti-Scientific Nature of Superstition in Ghosts and Gods

一、揭露鬼神迷信的反科学本质

To eliminate superstition in ghosts and gods, it is necessary to use scientific thought to expose the essence of supernatural concepts. Superstition in ghosts and gods, that is, believing that supernatural forces dominate individuals, society, and the world, is a very ancient and widespread concept. The so-called supernatural force is a mysterious force that exceeds natural forces, that is, a spiritual force detached from matter. Motion is the fundamental attribute of matter, and the force generated by the motion of matter is natural force. The world is composed of matter in motion; forces that leave the motion of matter do not exist. Believing in the force of matter in motion is science; believing in forces detached from the motion of matter is superstition. Ancient people believed in supernatural forces detached from the motion of matter because they lacked scientific knowledge about the motion of matter.

消除鬼神迷信，要用科学思想揭露超自然观念的本质。鬼神迷信，即相信超自然力支配个人、社会及世界，是一种十分古老而普遍的观念。所谓超自然力，就是超出自然力的神秘之力，即脱离物质的精神力量。运动是物质的根本属性，物质运动产生的力是自然力。世界是运动着的物质构成的，离开物质运动的力是不存在的。相信物质运动的力是科学，相信脱离物质运动的力是迷信。古人相信脱离物质运动的超自然力，是因为缺乏关于物质运动的科学知识。

Homo sapiens in the middle and late Paleolithic period, due to a lack of scientific knowledge about the external nature around them and their own internal nature, did not understand the essence of life and biological evolution, nor did they understand that human sensation, cognition, and thinking are functions of the brain reflecting the motion of matter. Instead, they mistakenly believed in some kind of independent entity residing in the body that could be separated from it, thus giving rise to the concept of the soul. If one believes that the soul can continue to exist after a person is asleep, unconscious, or dead, there is no reason to think it will die itself, thus forming the concept of the immortality of the soul. Extending this concept to the natural world, believing that all things have souls, gave rise to animism, panpsychism, or pantheism.

旧石器时代中晚期的智人，由于缺乏关于周围外部自然和自身自然的科学知识，不懂得生命的本质和生物进化，不懂得人的感觉、认知和思维是大脑反映物质运动的机能，而误认为某种寓于身体、可以脱离身体的独立物，于是产生了灵魂观念。如果相信灵魂在人沉睡、昏迷及死亡后还可以继续存在，那就没有理由认为它本身还会死亡，这样就形成灵魂不灭观念。把这种观念推广到自然界，认为万事万物都有灵魂，这就产生了万物有灵论或泛灵论、泛神论。

The concept of the soul itself is a product of thought, an alienation or objectification of human thinking ability. Therefore, in scientific language, it gradually became synonymous with spirit, thought, etc. However, in theological language, the soul is still understood as an entity with supernatural power—the soul of a living person is called hun, the soul of a dead person is called gui, the soul detached from an object is called ling, and a ling with immense power is called shen. According to their relationship of benefit or harm to people, these spirits are further divided into benevolent gods, malevolent gods, righteous gods, evil gods, true gods, false gods, angels, demons, evil spirits, devils, etc., becoming a figurative expression and fantastical reflection of alien forces that dominate people’s daily lives.

灵魂观念本身是思维的产物，是人的思维能力的异化或对象化，因此在科学语言中逐渐成为精神、思想等的同义语。但是在神学语言中，灵魂仍然被理解为具有超自然力量的实体——活人的灵魂被称为魂，死人的灵魂被称为鬼，脱离物体的灵魂被称为灵，威力巨大的灵被称为神。根据与人们的利害关系，神灵们又被划分为善神、恶神、正神、邪神、真神、假神、天使、魔鬼、邪灵、恶魔等等，成为支配着人们日常生活的异己力量的形象化表达和幻想的反映。

The concept of spirits is, after all, a fantastical reflection of the ignorant brain on alien natural or social forces that dominate people’s daily lives. Therefore, primitive people also fantasized about using the power of thought to control them, creating various forms of witchcraft that used意念 (thought), talismans, rituals, etc., to mobilize supernatural forces (驱神役鬼, commanding gods and driving ghosts) to dominate nature. However, without real material means, relying solely on brain activity to change the motion of matter can only be naive fantasy or wishful thinking. With repeated lessons of failure, primitive witchcraft was gradually replaced by practical effort and devout prayer. Nevertheless, some sorcerers were unwilling to abandon supernatural fantasies. They stubbornly believed that supernatural forces must exist, and thus created various methods to regulate their bodies and minds to obtain supernatural divine powers or mystical states—this is what is called human body cultivation or religious practice. But aside from strange hallucinations and delusions, even mental disorders or going astray, nothing can be obtained. However, as long as the superstition that divine powers can be obtained through learning mystical knowledge and peculiar cultivation is not broken, so-called masters will continue to appear.

神灵观念毕竟是愚昧的大脑对支配着人们日常生活的异己的自然力量或社会力量的幻想的反映，所以原始人也曾幻想用思维的力量去控制它，创造出用意念、符咒、仪式等调动超自然力（驱神役鬼）来支配自然的各种巫术。可是，不通过现实的物质手段，仅仅依靠大脑的活动就想改变物质运动，只能是幼稚的幻想或痴心妄想。随着多次失败的教训，原始的巫术就逐渐被现实的努力和虔诚的祈祷所取代。但是，仍然有一些巫师不愿意放弃超自然的幻想，他们固执地相信一定有超自然力存在，于是就创造各种方法来调控自己的身体和思维以获得超自然的神通法力或神秘境界，这就是所谓的人体修炼或宗教修行。可是除了奇奇怪怪的幻觉和妄想，乃至精神错乱、走火入魔，并不能获得什么。但只要通过学习神秘知识和奇特修炼获得神通的迷信不破除，就会出现所谓的大师。

Although superstition in ghosts and gods has many names, its anti-scientific essence is nothing more than this. As long as we persistently propagate and popularize the above scientific truths to people, the territory of superstition in ghosts and gods will gradually shrink. Once people break free from superstition in ghosts and gods, the heterodox doctrines and extremist ideas fabricated by cult organizations and terrorist organizations will naturally be disbelieved.

鬼神迷信虽然名目繁多，反科学本质不过如此。只要坚持不懈地向人们宣传普及以上科学道理，鬼神迷信的地盘就会逐渐缩小。一旦人们破除了鬼神迷信，邪教组织和恐怖组织编造的歪理邪说和极端思想自然就没人相信了。

II. Criticizing Idealism and Metaphysics

二、批判唯心主义和形而上学

If it can be said that ordinary people who have not received sufficient education believe in ghosts and gods due to a lack of natural science knowledge, then how can intellectuals or even scientific workers who have received considerable education also believe in ghosts and gods? First, having received a certain level of education does not guarantee having sufficient scientific knowledge to break free from superstition in ghosts and gods. Second, even if one possesses considerable scientific knowledge, if one lacks correct methods of thinking, one can still fall into the quagmire of superstition in ghosts and gods. The direct cause of the emergence of supernatural concepts is a lack of necessary natural science knowledge; the indirect cause is a lack of correct theoretical thinking methods. Specifically, the erroneous thinking methods of idealism and metaphysics lead people’s understanding astray. These thinking methods originate from primitive ignorant superstitious concepts and in turn strengthen and consolidate these superstitious concepts; they are the philosophical and epistemological root of supernatural concepts. Therefore, to eliminate people’s superstitious ideas about ghosts and gods, in addition to strengthening the education and popularization of natural science and social science, especially religious knowledge, it is also necessary to strengthen education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism, thoroughly breaking the thinking methods of idealism and metaphysics.

如果说，没有受过足够教育的普通百姓迷信鬼神是因为缺乏自然科学知识，那么受过相当教育的知识分子甚至科技工作者迷信鬼神又如何解释？首先，受过一定教育并不能保证一定具有足够的科学知识来破除鬼神迷信。其次，即便拥有较多的科学知识，如果缺乏正确的思想方法，同样会陷入鬼神迷信的泥潭。超自然观念的产生，直接原因是缺乏必要的自然科学知识，间接原因是缺乏正确的理论思维方法。具体说，是唯心主义和形而上学的错误思想方法使人的认识走入歧途，这种思想方法来源于原始的愚昧迷信观念，又强化和巩固着这种迷信观念，是超自然观念的哲学认识论根源。因此，消除人们的鬼神迷信思想，除了加强自然科学和社会科学特别是宗教学知识的教育普及之外，还必须加强辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义教育，彻底破除唯心主义和形而上学的思想方法。

How do life phenomena arise? What is the essence and law of life movement? Why can the material physical body think ethereally? Why does the sleeping brain dream? Why does the sick or injured body produce hallucinations? Correctly answering these questions requires not only natural science knowledge, especially life science and biological evolution, but also correct theoretical thinking methods. Primitive people, lacking natural science knowledge to explain life phenomena, could not understand life movement as a function or mode of existence of some special matter. Instead, they mistakenly understood it as a “life force” that exists independently of specific matter, believing that life movement and thinking activity are the result of a magical “life force” dominating matter. This gave rise to the idealist thinking method of explaining matter with concepts. Similarly, primitive people, lacking knowledge of the universal connection, eternal motion, and developmental change of the material world, could not understand nature and human society as the result of the long-term movement and development of the material world. Instead, just as they understood stone tools as being made by humans striking and grinding stones, they mistakenly understood them as being suddenly created by the action of some special force. This gave rise to the metaphysical thinking method of explaining the motion of matter with isolated, static, and one-sided viewpoints.

生命现象是如何产生的？生命运动的本质和规律是什么？物质的肉体为什么会空灵地思想？沉睡的大脑为什么会做梦？伤病的身体为什么会制造幻觉？正确回答这些问题不仅需要自然科学特别是生命科学和生物进化知识，而且需要正确的理论思维方法。原始人由于缺乏解释生命现象的自然科学知识，不能把生命运动理解为某种特殊物质的机能或存在方式，而是错误地理解为某种不依赖特定物质而独立存在的“生命力”，认为生命运动、思维活动是神奇的“生命力”支配物质的结果，这就产生了用观念解释物质的唯心主义思想方法。同样，原始人由于缺乏物质世界普遍联系、永恒运动和发展变化的知识，不能把自然界和人类社会理解为物质世界长期运动发展的结果，而是像理解石器是由人用石块打砸磨制而成的那样，错误地理解为由于某种特殊力量的作用而突然创造的，这就产生了用孤立、静止、片面观点解释物质运动的形而上学思想方法。

Due to the long-term influence of concepts of ghosts and gods, theistic thought, as well as idealism and metaphysics, and because modern science began by studying different aspects of the world in isolation, idealist and metaphysical modes of thinking—especially narrow empirical observational methods—have long dominated the minds of scientific and technical workers, causing some intellectuals and even great scientists to be unable to shake off superstitious ideas. In “Natural Science in the Spirit World,” Engels analyzed “what is the surest way of getting from natural science to mysticism,” pointing out: “It is not the overgrowth of natural-philosophical theory, but the most shallow empiricism, which despises all theory and distrusts all thought. It is not the a priori necessity that proves the existence of spirits, but the empirical observations of Messrs. Wallace, Crookes, and their ilk.” *Marx and Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 9, People’s Publishing House, 2009, p. 451. “In fact, contempt for dialectics is not unpunished. However much one may despise all theoretical thinking, without it it is impossible to connect two facts in nature, or to perceive the connection existing between them. Here the only question is whether one thinks correctly or not, and contempt of theory is obviously the surest way to think naturalistically and therefore incorrectly. But, according to a well-known dialectical law, incorrect thinking, carried to its logical conclusion, inevitably leads to the opposite of its starting point. Hence, the empiricist’s contempt for dialectics is punished by the fact that even the most sober empiricists fall into the most absurd superstition, into modern spiritualism.” *Marx and Engels Collected Works*, Vol. 9, People’s Publishing House, 2009, p. 452.

由于鬼神观念、有神论思想以及唯心主义和形而上学的长期影响，由于近代科学是从孤立地研究世界的不同方面开始的，导致唯心主义和形而上学思想方法特别是狭隘的经验观察方法长期统治着科技工作者的头脑，致使一些知识分子甚至大科学家无法摆脱迷信思想。恩格斯在《神灵世界中的自然研究》里分析“究竟什么是从自然科学走向神秘主义的最可靠的道路”时指出：“这并不是过度滋蔓的自然哲学理论，而是蔑视一切理论、怀疑一切思维的最肤浅的经验。证明神灵存在的并不是那种先验的必然性，而是华莱士先生、克鲁克斯先生之流的经验的观察。”《马克思恩格斯文集》第9卷，人民出版社2009年版，第451页。 “实际上，蔑视辩证法是不能不受惩罚的。对一切理论思维尽可以表示那么多的轻视，可是没有理论思维，的确无法使自然界中的两件事实联系起来，或者洞察二者之间的既有的联系。在这里，问题只在于思维得正确或不正确，而轻视理论显然是自然主义地进行思维，因而是错误地进行思维的最可靠的道路。但是，根据一个自古就为人们所熟知的辩证法规律，错误的思维贯彻到底，必然走向原出发点的反面。所以，经验主义者蔑视辩证法便受到惩罚：连某些最清醒的经验主义者也陷入最荒唐的迷信中，陷入现代唯灵论中去了。”《马克思恩格斯文集》第9卷，人民出版社2009年版，第452页。

Although there are many kinds of erroneous modes of thinking, they can all be traced back to idealism and metaphysics. Only by thoroughly criticizing idealism and metaphysics can we eliminate the ideological roots of superstition about ghosts and gods, thereby completely cutting off the ideological retreat of such superstition, leaving it nowhere to hide under the radiance of scientific truth.

错误的思想方法固然有很多种，但都可以归结到唯心主义和形而上学上来。只有深入批判唯心主义和形而上学，才能消除鬼神迷信的思想根源，从而彻底断绝鬼神迷信的思想后路，使其在科学真理的光芒照耀下无所遁形。

III. Improving Education in Marxist Philosophy

三、改进马克思主义哲学教育

To break down idealist and metaphysical modes of thinking and eliminate the epistemological roots of ignorance and superstition, it is necessary to improve Marxist philosophy education in schools of all types. Regarding idealist and metaphysical modes of thinking and their errors, Engels discussed them at length in works such as *Socialism: Utopian and Scientific*, *Anti-Dühring*, *Dialectics of Nature*, and *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy*, and Lenin’s *Materialism and Empirio-Criticism* and *Philosophical Notebooks* also contain many incisive discussions. Unfortunately, our philosophy textbooks have long only touched on these points without giving them sufficient attention. If these ideas could be deeply excavated, refined, and summarized, and combined with a thorough analysis of various popular superstitions about ghosts and gods and theistic ideas, revealing their logical errors and the essence of their violation of materialist dialectics in a simple and profound way, it would greatly help students firmly establish the scientific worldview of dialectical materialism and historical materialism.

破除唯心主义和形而上学的思想方法，消除愚昧迷信的认识论根源，必须改进各类学校中的马克思主义哲学教育。关于唯心主义和形而上学的思想方法及其错误之处，恩格斯在《社会主义从空想到科学的发展》、《反杜林论》、《自然辩证法》和《路德维希·费尔巴哈和德国古典哲学的终结》等著作中多有论述，列宁的《唯物主义和经验批判主义》和《哲学笔记》等著作也有许多精辟论述，可惜我们的哲学教科书长期以来只是点到为止而没有给予足够重视。如果能对这些思想进行深入挖掘和提炼概括，再加上对各种流行的鬼神迷信和有神论思想进行透彻分析，深入浅出地揭示其逻辑错误和违反唯物辩证法的实质，将对帮助学生牢固树立辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的科学世界观大有帮助。

Philosophy is a systematized and theorized worldview. The core of philosophy education should be to help students establish a scientific worldview, not to cram them with a pile of so-called philosophical knowledge. As long as our philosophy education truly and thoroughly criticizes the three major enemies of the scientific worldview—idealism, metaphysics, and theism—students will naturally and willingly accept materialism, dialectics, and atheism, thereby firmly establishing the scientific worldview of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. Because with no opponent left, they have no choice but to accept it. In this way, the basic goal of our philosophy education can be achieved. Otherwise, although students receive long-term education in Marxist philosophy, they cannot effectively resist the erosion of various anti-Marxist trends of thought; some even easily become captives of superstition about ghosts and gods and bourgeois idealist thought. This can only prove the failure of our philosophy education.

哲学是系统化、理论化的世界观。哲学教育的核心应该是帮助学生树立科学的世界观，而不是灌输一大堆所谓的哲学知识。我们的哲学教育只要把科学世界观的三大敌人——唯心主义、形而上学和有神论——真正批透了，学生们自然就会心悦诚服地接受唯物论、辩证法和无神论，从而牢固树立辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的科学世界观。因为没有对手了，不接受也不行了。这样，我们的哲学教育的基本目的就可达到了。否则，学生们虽然长期接受马克思主义哲学教育，却不能有效地抵御各种反马克思主义思潮的侵蚀，有的甚至轻易做了鬼神迷信和资产阶级唯心主义思想的俘虏，这只能证明我们哲学教育的失败。

Furthermore, our philosophy education should greatly increase the weight given to criticizing erroneous ideas. Philosophy textbooks could use only two-thirds or even one-third of their space to positively expound the basic principles of Marxist philosophy, and use the remaining one-third or even two-thirds to criticize relevant erroneous ideas. As the saying goes: “If the old theory is not refuted, the new theory cannot be established.” The world’s phenomena are complex and varied, and various ideas compete with each other. In a situation of diverse interests and multiple ideas, if we do not truly and thoroughly criticize at least the representative erroneous ideas, how can we smoothly lead students to accept Marxist beliefs and adhere to them over the long term? Even religious figures understand the need to start by criticizing opposing viewpoints in order to propagate their faith and consolidate the beliefs of their followers. Marx said that materialist dialectics “is in its essence critical and revolutionary.” Marxist philosophy was itself established on the basis of criticizing old philosophy, and it has grown and developed in the process of continuously struggling against various newly emerging erroneous ideas. It is a sharp weapon for us to criticize erroneous trends of thought and blaze new paths forward. Faced with a jumble of diverse ideas and cultures, if we do not use this weapon to carry out revolutionary criticism—that is, scientific analysis—and effectively help students see through the anti-scientific essence of various erroneous ideas, then our Marxist philosophy education has not fulfilled its responsibility.

进一步说，我们的哲学教育应该大大地增加批判错误思想的分量。哲学教科书可以只用三分之二甚至三分之一的篇幅来正面阐述马克思主义哲学的基本原理，而用另外的三分之一甚至三分之二篇幅来批判相关的错误思想。常言道：旧说不破，新说不立。世间万象纷繁复杂，各种思想竞相争鸣。在利益多元、思想多样的情况下，不把相关的至少是有代表性的错误思想给真正地批透了，怎么能让学生们顺利地接受马克思主义信仰并长期坚持呢？连宗教家都懂得从批判对立的观点入手来传教并巩固其信徒的信仰。马克思说，唯物辩证法“按其本质来说，它是批判的和革命的”。马克思主义哲学本来就是在批判旧哲学的基础上建立起来的，也是在不断与新出现的各种错误思想作斗争的过程中发展壮大的，是我们批判错误思潮、开拓前进道路的锐利武器。面对纷然杂陈的多种思想文化，如果我们不运用这个武器进行革命的批判即科学的分析，切实帮助学生们透视各种错误思想的反科学本质，我们的马克思主义哲学教育就没有尽到责任。

IV. Strengthening the Popularization of Scientific Atheist Knowledge

四、加强科学无神论知识普及

In “On the Significance of Militant Materialism,” Lenin emphasized that general Marxist philosophy education can never replace specialized atheist education: “A Marxist who thinks that the millions of people (especially the peasants and artisans) who are condemned by the whole of modern society to ignorance and prejudice can be extricated from their ignorance only by the straight road of purely Marxist education is making the greatest and worst mistake. They must be supplied with the most varied atheist propaganda material, they must be acquainted with facts from the most diverse spheres of life, they must be approached in every possible way, in order to interest them, to awaken them from their religious torpor, to stir them up from all sides, by various methods, etc.” *Lenin Collected Works*, Vol. 4, People’s Publishing House, 2012, pp. 648-649. This work is regarded as Lenin’s philosophical testament in his later years on strengthening the Party’s ideological work, and it should attract our attention.

列宁在《论战斗唯物主义的意义》中强调，决不能用一般的马克思主义哲学教育代替专门的无神论教育：“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和囿于偏见这种境地的亿万人民群众（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。应该向他们提供各种无神论的宣传材料，告诉他们实际生活各个方面的事实，用各种办法接近他们，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，如此等等。”《列宁选集》第4卷，人民出版社2012年版，第648-649页。这篇著作被认为是列宁晚年关于加强党的意识形态工作的哲学遗嘱，应引起我们的重视。

The view that atheist thought is simple and shallow is mistaken. Superstition about ghosts and gods and theistic thought have a history of several thousand or even tens of thousands of years, have accumulated a vast ocean of texts, and have produced countless theories that violate materialism and dialectics, still influencing the majority of humanity today. According to foreign statistics, over 80% of the world’s population still believes in ghosts and gods. In China, the population believing in the five major religions also numbers in the hundreds of millions, and those who believe in ghosts, gods, and fate are even more numerous. Theism, believed by so many people, can by no means be a simple and shallow thing; and the atheism that studies, analyzes, and refutes theism is even less simple. Only scholars, thinkers, and theorists who are not only proficient in dialectical materialism and historical materialism as well as various modern scientific knowledge, but also have a comprehensive and thorough understanding of various religious and theological theories from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, can provide well-founded scientific analyses of the social and historical roots and ideological logical errors of superstition about ghosts and gods, thereby becoming conscious atheists and true experts in atheism.

那种认为无神论思想简单浅薄的观点是错误的。鬼神迷信和有神论思想已有几千年甚至数万年历史，积累了浩如烟海的典籍，制造了无数违反唯物论和辩证法的理论，至今影响着人类的大多数。据国外有关统计，全世界仍有80%以上的人口是相信鬼神的。我国信仰五大宗教的人口也以亿计，相信鬼神命运的就更多了。有那么多人相信的有神论，决不可能是简单浅薄的东西，而研究、分析、破斥有神论的无神论就更不简单了。只有既熟练掌握辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义以及多种现代科学知识而又全面透彻了解古今中外各种宗教神学理论的学问家、思想家、理论家，才能对鬼神迷信的社会历史根源和思想逻辑错误作出有理有据的科学解析，从而成为自觉的无神论者和真正的无神论专家。

The view that strengthening the propaganda and education of scientific atheism contradicts the implementation of the Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief and uniting religious figures and believers is also mistaken. Our Party implements a comprehensive policy of freedom of religious belief: there is both the freedom to believe and to propagate theism, and the freedom not to believe and to propagate atheism, but religious believers may not propagate theism outside religious venues, and atheists may not propagate atheism inside religious venues. This is an understanding reached between our Party and religious circles, and has long been written into the Party’s religious work documents. Atheism is the ideological foundation and basic content of the scientific worldview, and is an inherent part of the Party’s ideological and theoretical propaganda. As long as proper methods and approaches are employed to avoid hurting religious feelings, the propaganda and education of atheism is entirely legitimate and absolutely necessary.

那种认为加强科学无神论宣传教育与落实党的宗教信仰自由政策、团结宗教界人士和信教群众有矛盾的观点也是错误的。我们党实行全面的宗教信仰自由政策：既有信教和宣传有神论的自由，也有不信教和宣传无神论的自由，但宗教徒不能在非宗教场所宣传有神论，无神论者也不能在宗教场所宣传无神论，这是我们党与宗教界达成的默契，早已写入了党的宗教工作文件。无神论是科学世界观的思想基础和基本内容，是党的思想理论宣传的应有之义。只要讲究方式方法、避免伤害宗教感情，无神论宣传教育是完全正当和绝对必要的。

In our Party’s documents on religious work, there are many discussions on strengthening the propaganda and education of scientific atheism, and the relevant work deployments and requirements are also clear, but their implementation in actual work has always been poor. There are at least two reasons for this situation: first, unclear ideological understanding and insufficient attention; second, a lack of necessary work institutions and personnel. Our Party’s policies and work requirements on atheist propaganda and education are generally written in religious work documents, rather than in propaganda work and education work documents. Since they are religious work documents, the main bodies responsible for implementation are naturally the United Front Work Department and the Religious Affairs Bureau, not the Propaganda Department and the Education Bureau. The basic duties of the United Front Work Department and the Religious Affairs Bureau are naturally to unite religious figures and serve religious believers, not to propagate atheism. Meanwhile, the Propaganda Department and the Education Bureau, which engage in propaganda work and education work, naturally will not take religious work documents as seriously as they take propaganda work documents and education work documents. Added to this, the Propaganda Department and the Education Bureau do not have specialized institutions and personnel to study and respond to religious issues, so this work naturally tends to fall through the cracks. To change this situation, first, attention should be paid to transplanting relevant discussions from religious work documents into propaganda work documents and education work documents to attract sufficient attention; second, corresponding institutions and personnel should be added within the Propaganda Department and the Education Bureau to specifically conduct investigation and research on the influence of religious theology and superstition on cadres and the masses, and to implement relevant policies.

在我们党关于宗教工作的文件中，有关加强科学无神论宣传教育的论述是很多的，相关的工作部署和要求也是明确的，但实际工作中的贯彻落实一直不好。造成这种局面，至少有两个原因：一是思想上认识不清、重视不够；二是缺乏必要的工作机构和人员。我们党有关无神论宣传教育的政策和工作要求一般都写在宗教工作文件中，而不是写在宣传工作和教育工作的文件中。既然是宗教工作文件，贯彻落实的主体部门自然是统战部和宗教局，而不是宣传部和教育局。统战部和宗教局的基本职责，自然是团结宗教界人士和服务信教群众，而不是宣传无神论。而从事宣传工作和教育工作的宣传部和教育局，自然不会像重视宣传工作文件和教育工作文件那样重视宗教工作文件。再加上宣传部和教育局并没有专门研究应对宗教问题的机构和人员，这个工作自然就容易落空。改变这种局面，一是要注意在宣传工作文件和教育工作文件中移植宗教工作文件中的相关论述，以引起足够重视；二是要在宣传部和教育局增设相应的机构和人员，专门开展宗教神学和鬼神迷信影响干部群众情况的调查研究，并落实相关政策。

V. Strengthening the Party’s Leadership over the Study of Religious Studies

五、加强党对宗教学研究的领导

This year marks the 52nd anniversary of the establishment of China’s first Marxist research institution for religious studies—the Institute of World Religions. On January 23, 1961, Mao Zedong said in a conversation with the Panchen Lama: “There are so many people in the world who believe in religion, and we do not understand religion. I approve of some communists studying the scriptures of various religions, studying the scriptures of Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and so on. Because this is a mass issue, there are so many people among the masses who believe in religion, and we need to do mass work, yet we do not understand religion. Being only red but not expert will not do.” [4]4 Mao Zedong, *Chronicle of Mao Zedong 1949–1976*, Vol. 4 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, December 2013, 1st ed.), p. 528. This was the first time the importance of Chinese communists studying religion and understanding religion was emphasized.

今年是我国成立第一个马克思主义的宗教学研究机构——世界宗教研究所52周年。1961年1月23日，毛泽东在同班禅额尔德尼的谈话中说：“世界上有那么多的人信教，我们不懂得宗教。我赞成有一些共产主义者研究各种宗教的经典，研究佛教、伊斯兰教、耶稣教等等的经典。因为这是个群众问题，群众中有那样多人信教，我们要做群众工作，我们却不懂得宗教，只红不专，是不行的。”《毛泽东年谱1949—1976》第4卷，人民出版社2013年12月第1版，第528页。 第一次强调了我国的共产主义者研究宗教、懂得宗教的重要性。

On December 30, 1963, Mao Zedong, while reviewing a report submitted on December 25 by the Central Foreign Affairs Leading Group and the Central Propaganda Department to the Central Committee on strengthening research on foreign countries, commented: “This document is very good. But it does not mention the study of religion. Regarding the three major world religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism), which still influence a vast population, we have no knowledge. Domestically, there is not a single research institution led by Marxists, and not a single readable publication in this field. ‘Modern Buddhism’ is not led by Marxists, and the level of its articles is also very low. In other publications, articles written from the perspective of historical materialism are also very few. For example, the few articles on Buddhist studies published by Ren Jiyu are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, and articles on Christianity and Islam have never been seen. Without criticizing theology, it is impossible to write a good history of philosophy, nor a good history of literature or world history. Please consider this point, comrades of the Propaganda Department.” [5]5 Mao Zedong, *Chronicle of Mao Zedong 1949–1976*, Vol. 5 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, December 2013, 1st ed.), pp. 298–299. This further raised the task of studying religion and criticizing theology. Based on this instruction, under the direct leadership of Premier Zhou Enlai, Ren Jiyu and several comrades from Peking University and the State Council Religious Affairs Bureau, among others, in 1964 prepared and established China’s first research institution for religious studies—the Institute of World Religions, led by Marxists, using the perspective of historical materialism to study religion and criticize theology, ushering in a new era for the study of religion.

1963年12月30日，毛泽东在阅中共中央外事小组、中央宣传部12月25日关于加强研究外国工作给中央的报告时批示：“这个文件很好。但未提及宗教研究。对世界三大宗教(耶稣教、回教、佛教)，至今影响着广大人口，我们却没有知识，国内没有一个由马克思主义者领导的研究机构，没有一本可看的这方面的刊物。《现代佛学》不是由马克思主义者领导的，文章的水平也很低。其他刊物上，用历史唯物主义的观点写的文章也很少，例如任继愈发表的几篇谈佛学的文章，已如凤毛麟角，谈耶稣教、回教的没有见过。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。这点请宣传部同志们考虑一下。”《毛泽东年谱1949—1976》第5卷，人民出版社2013年12月第1版，第298—299页。 进一步提出了研究宗教、批判神学的任务。根据这个批示，在周恩来总理亲自领导下，由任继愈和北京大学、国务院宗教事务局等部门的几位同志于1964年筹建创办了我国第一个宗教学研究机构——由马克思主义者领导、用历史唯物主义观点研究宗教、批判神学的世界宗教研究所，开启了宗教研究的新时代。

Over more than 50 years, especially since reform and opening up, China’s study of religion has achieved great accomplishments, initially changing the situation where our Party had no knowledge of religions influencing the world’s vast population. However, under new historical conditions, China’s study of religion has also encountered a worrying situation. A prominent problem is the gradual weakening of the guiding position of Marxism, with idealist, metaphysical, and even theist modes of thought becoming prevalent. Anyone with discerning eyes can understand this situation just by taking a look at the religious books section in a large bookstore. In recent years, a large number of research institutions for religious studies have been established one after another in China, and the number of personnel engaged in religious research has gradually increased. However, scholars who clearly adhere to Marxist guidance, especially those who can persist in “criticizing theology” while “studying religion,” are becoming fewer and fewer, deviating from the original purpose of our Party in establishing research institutions for religious studies.

50多年来，特别是改革开放以来，我国的宗教学研究取得了巨大成就，已初步改变了我们党对影响世界广大人口的宗教没有知识的局面。但是，在新的历史条件下，我国的宗教学研究也出现了令人堪忧的局面，一个突出问题是马克思主义的指导地位逐渐削弱，唯心主义、形而上学甚至有神论的思想方法大行其道。这个情况，明眼人只要到图书大厦的宗教类图书那里看一眼就能了解。近年来，我国相继成立了一大批宗教学研究机构，从事宗教研究的人员逐渐增多，但是旗帜鲜明地坚持马克思主义指导特别是在“研究宗教”的同时能坚持“批判神学”的学者却越来越少，背离了我党成立宗教学研究机构的宗旨。

Under the new situation, it is necessary to strengthen the Party’s leadership over the study of religious studies. The efforts and appeals of Comrade Ren Jiyu before his death to strengthen the propaganda and education of scientific atheism, the criticism by Comrade Lü Daji in his posthumously published “A Study of Marxist Theory on Religion” of the unhealthy tendencies in China’s religious studies, and especially the opinions published by Comrade Du Jiwen, former director of the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the journal “Marxist Studies” in 2013 and 2014, as well as the article on improving the study of religious studies published by Comrade Tian Xinming, former director of the Ministry of Education’s Social Science Center, in the same issue of “Marxist Studies” in 2014, should attract the attention of relevant parties. The leadership over China’s study of religion should be firmly held in the hands of steadfast Marxists. Under the new situation, efforts should be made to uphold the guiding position of Marxism in the study of religion, ensure the correct direction of China’s study of religion, and give full play to the special role of Marxist religious studies in criticizing theology, eliminating superstition, and spreading truth.

新形势下，要加强党对宗教学研究的领导。任继愈先生临终前关于加强科学无神论宣传教育的努力和呼吁，吕大吉先生临终前出版的《马克思主义宗教理论研究》对我国宗教学不良倾向的批评，特别是中国社科院世界宗教研究所前所长杜继文先生2013年和2014年在《马克思主义研究》杂志上发表的意见，以及教育部社科中心原主任田心铭先生在2014年同期《马克思主义研究》上发表的关于搞好宗教学研究的文章，应该引起有关方面的重视。中国宗教学研究的领导权应牢牢掌握在坚定的马克思主义者手中，新形势下应该努力坚持马克思主义在宗教学研究中的指导地位，确保我国宗教学研究的正确方向，发挥马克思主义的宗教学研究在批判神学、破除迷信、传播真理方面的特殊作用。

(Author: Researcher and Deputy Director of the Research Center of the State Administration for Religious Affairs)

（作者：国家宗教局研究中心研究员、副主任）

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