Preserving the Militant Edge of Marxist Atheism

In a certain sense, the study of atheism has two levels. The first level is the philosophical level, which answers the question of whether supernatural mystical forces such as God, Buddhas and bodhisattvas, saviors, and demons and ghosts exist in the world. When research at this level is linked to the emergence and development of Marxist philosophy, it enters a higher level—the political level—and becomes a sharp ideological tool for the proletariat to understand and transform the world. Therefore, we generally do not equate religious belief among the masses with political issues. However, when religious issues are linked to the political movement for the proletariat's own liberation, Marxist atheism cannot but carry the militant edge of political struggle.

一定意义上说，无神论研究有两个层面。第一个层面是哲学层面，也就是回答世界上是否存在上帝、神佛、救世主以及妖魔鬼怪等超自然的神秘力量的问题。当这一层面的研究同马克思主义哲学的产生与发展联系在一起，它就进入了一个更高层面——政治层面，成为无产阶级认识和改造世界的思想利器。所以，我们一般不把群众中的宗教信仰问题都等同于政治问题，但是当宗教问题同无产阶级自身解放的政治运动联系在一起的时候，马克思主义无神论就不能不带有政治斗争的锋芒。

In China, Marxist atheism was never merely a philosophical doctrine from the very beginning. Because of the profound suffering of the Chinese people in the old society, the Communist Party of China, from its founding, closely integrated Marxist atheism with solving China's practical religious problems and the practical problems of the Chinese revolution, playing an important role in the spiritual liberation of the Chinese people and accumulating rich experience. In particular, over the seventy years since the founding of New China, a new path for solving religious issues under socialism with Chinese characteristics, based on the stance of Marxist atheism, has been forged, making special contributions to national economic development, people's unity, social stability, and the consolidation of the leadership position of the Communist Party of China.

在中国，马克思主义无神论从一开始就不仅是一种哲学学说。由于旧中国人民苦难之深重，中国共产党从建党开始，就把马克思主义无神论同解决中国宗教的实际问题、中国革命的实际问题紧密结合起来，为中国人民精神上的解放发挥了重要作用，积累了丰富的经验。特别是新中国建立七十年来，走出一条基于马克思主义无神论立场的中国特色社会主义的解决宗教问题的新路子，为国家经济发展、人民团结、社会稳定、中国共产党领导地位巩固，做出了特殊的贡献。

Under the socialist conditions in our country, religious issues have not disappeared as quickly as some comrades once expected; on the contrary, along with social development and transformation, more and more new issues of various kinds have continuously emerged. On the one hand, we must continue to deepen our understanding of the laws governing religion under the new historical conditions, acknowledge the long-term nature and mass character of religion, unswervingly implement the policy of freedom of religious belief, and more closely unite the broad masses of religious believers and figures from religious circles around the Party and government to strive together for building a modern socialist country. On the other hand, we must also recognize that the opposition and struggle between theism and atheism, as manifestations of idealism and materialism in the religious sphere, have not disappeared; they will not only persist for a long time but can sometimes be very acute and intense. Only Marxist atheism can open the ideological path to objective truth; only by adhering to Marxist atheism can the common fundamental interests of both religious and non-religious masses be served. To make this truth accepted by more people may still require arduous work, struggle, and even conflict.

在我国社会主义条件下，宗教问题并没有如同一些同志曾经所预期的那样将会很快消失，相反，却随着社会的发展与变革不断出现更多的各种新课题。我们一方面要继续深化对新的历史条件下宗教规律性的认识，承认宗教的长期性、群众性，坚定不移地实行宗教信仰自由政策，把广大信教群众和宗教界人士更紧密地团结到党和政府周围，为建设社会主义现代化国家共同奋斗；另一方面，也要看到有神论和无神论，作为唯心主义和唯物主义两种世界观在宗教领域的体现，其对立和斗争并没有消失，不仅将长期存在，有时还很尖锐激烈。只有马克思主义无神论才可能开辟通往客观真理的思想道路，只有坚持马克思主义无神论才能符合信教和不信教群众的共同根本利益。要使这个道理被更多的人接受，可能还需要经过艰巨的工作、较量乃至斗争。

For example: The first issue is whether theism or Marxist atheism can bring happiness to the Chinese people. All religions promise that by believing in their own deities (other religions do not count), believers can attain happiness through resurrection, reincarnation, transmigration, and other means. But Marxism has long pointed out that all of these are nothing but "imaginary flowers" and "the sacred halo of the vale of tears." [1]1 Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) was the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China (1949–1976) and a key leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The quoted remark was made during a meeting with representatives of Chinese Christian churches on May 2, 1950, as part of the Party’s effort to guide the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement. In the early period of his leadership of the Chinese revolution, Mao Zedong listed the "divine authority" of old China together with political authority, clan authority, and the authority of the husband as the four thick ropes binding the Chinese people, especially the peasants. [2]2 The "four thick ropes" is a reference to Mao Zedong's 1927 "Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan," where he identifies political, clan, divine, and husband authority as the four systems of authority that bound the Chinese people. In his writings, whenever he discussed religion, he studied it as the antithesis of the Marxist worldview, adopting a clear and resolute critical attitude, always holding high the banner of "replacing idealism with materialism, replacing theism with atheism," while simultaneously paying constant attention to the political guidance and winning over of the broad masses of religious believers. However, the social reality we see and experience today once again shows how difficult it is to make the masses, and even Party members and cadres, know atheism, identify with atheism, and apply atheism, and to always maintain the dominant position of Marxist atheism as the mainstream ideology in the minds of the people. In some places, the number of religious believers and religious sites has grown too rapidly and disorderly; religion has interfered in the secular life of the masses and even in politics; some forces have used social resources to fuel a religious fervor; foreign forces have used religion for political infiltration and subversion; and in certain areas of religious work and research, the guidance of Marxism has been abandoned or even rejected... Our Party, as a Marxist political party, was able to grow so naturally from the people and gain their broad and lasting support; after our Party came to power, its ruling position has been so stable—these are inseparable from our nation's atheistic tradition and the national conditions in the religious sphere. I have always had this groundless worry: if the propaganda and influence of atheism continue to weaken in the future, if the demographic structure of believers and non-believers in China undergoes a major change or even reverses, if our country's religion gradually "de-Sinicizes," [3]3 "De-Sinicization" refers to efforts by some religious groups or foreign forces to remove Chinese cultural and political characteristics from religious practice in China, often linked to promoting foreign religious authority or agendas. "radicalizes," and "converges" with foreign religions, then this cannot but have a negative impact on our Party's ruling position and on the future and destiny of our country. If we claim to be Marxists, we should face reality rather than evade it, regard the adherence to, implementation of, and propaganda for atheism as our own responsibility, and bravely take it up.

比如：第一个问题，是有神论还是马克思主义无神论能给中国人民带来幸福。所有的宗教都许愿，只要信仰本宗教的神灵（其他宗教不算数），就可以通过复活、轮回、转世等途径使信奉者得到幸福。但马克思主义早就指出，所有这些都不过是“虚构的花朵”、“苦难尘世的神圣光环”。毛泽东在他领导中国革命早期就把旧中国“神权”同政权、族权、夫权一起列为束缚中国人民特别是农民的四大绳索，在他的著作中，凡是谈到宗教都是把它作为马克思主义世界观的对立面来研究，持鲜明、坚决的批判态度，始终高举着“用唯物论代替唯心论，用无神论代替有神论”的大旗，同时又始终十分关注对广大信教群众在政治上的引导和争取。但是我们今天所看到、所经历的社会现实再一次表明，让群众乃至党员、干部知道无神论、认同无神论、运用无神论，始终保持马克思主义无神论作为主流意识形态在人民群众思想中占据主导地位有多么艰难。一些地方信教人数和宗教场所过快无序增长，宗教干预群众世俗生活甚至干政，一些势力利用社会资源助长宗教热，境外利用宗教进行政治渗透、颠覆，宗教工作和研究的某些领域放弃乃至排斥马克思主义的指导……我们党作为一个马克思主义的政党，能够如此自然地从人民中生长出来，并得到人民长期广泛的拥护；我们党执政后，执政地位如此稳固，这些都是与我们民族的无神论传统和宗教领域的国情分不开的。我一直有这个杞忧：如果今后无神论的宣传与影响继续弱化下去，如果今后中国信教与不信教人口结构发生重大改变甚至颠倒，如果我国宗教逐渐“去中国化”、“极端化”，与境外“共融”，那么对我们党的执政地位、对我们国家的前途命运不能不产生负面作用。如果我们自诩为马克思主义者，就应当直面而不是逃避现实，把对无神论的坚持、贯彻与宣传视为自己的责任，勇敢地担当起来。

The second issue is whether Party members can believe in religion. In society and even in the social sciences, one often hears the argument that the regulation prohibiting Communist Party members from believing in religion confuses the choice of political program with the choice of worldview, and represents a dogmatic and rigid imposition on Party members' choice of worldview. Some scholars have openly proposed that "Party members can believe in religion." After this view was severely criticized by the Party Central Committee, they openly proposed that "religious believers can join the Party." In short, they are determined to bring religion into the Party. A distinctive feature of the Communist Party of China, a key to its victory, is precisely the high degree of consistency between its political program and its worldview; all of the Party's theories, thoughts, and actions are built on the foundation of the Marxist worldview of dialectical materialism. It is precisely because of this scientific atheistic worldview that our Party can lead the people to rely on their own long-term and arduous exploration and struggle to gradually win victories in the revolutionary cause and achieve initial prosperity, rather than leading the people to place their hopes on the protection of various deities and to pursue the "Kingdom of Heaven" and the "afterlife"; it can continuously deepen the understanding of the objective laws of the Chinese revolution, construction, reform, and opening up through the practice of hundreds of millions of people, rather than begging for divine revelation or engaging in subjective fantasies; and it can also lay a solid foundation for the Party's unified and strict organizational discipline from the height of worldview, rather than turning the Party into a social organization like Western political parties, where each member believes in their own deity and gathers and disperses for immediate temporary interests. If we abandon the advantage of the high consistency between the Party's political program and the atheistic worldview, and abandon the requirement for the worldview of the broad masses of Party members, the edifice of the Party will collapse, and then we would not be called the Communist Party of China.

第二个问题，党员能不能信教。在社会上乃至社会科学界，经常会听到的一个论点：共产党员不能信仰宗教的规定，是将政治纲领与世界观的选择混为一谈，是对党员世界观选择的专制与僵化。有学者公然提出“党员可以信教”，在此观点受到中央严厉批判后，又公然提出“宗教徒可以入党”，总之，非要把宗教弄到党内来才放心。中国共产党的一个鲜明特征，一个取胜要诀，恰恰是政治纲领和世界观高度一致，党的全部理论、思想和行动都建立在马克思主义的辩证唯物主义世界观基础上。正是由于这个科学无神论的世界观，我们党才能领导人民依靠自己长期、艰苦的探索和奋斗，一步一步夺取革命事业的胜利和实现初步富裕，而不是引领人民把希望寄托于各路神灵的护佑，去追求“天国”与“来世”；才能通过亿万人民的实践不断深化对中国革命、建设和改革开放的客观规律的认识，而不是乞求神灵的启示和主观主义的臆想；也才能从世界观的高度为党保持统一的、严格的组织性和纪律性奠定坚实的基础，而不是把党搞成各信各的神灵，为眼前一时的利益而聚散的西方政党那样的社会团体。如果放弃党的政治纲领与无神论世界观高度一致的优势，放弃对广大党员世界观的要求，党的大厦就要坍塌，那我们就不叫中国共产党。

The third issue is whether theism or Marxist atheism can truly realize freedom of religious belief. As an ancient social phenomenon, religion has complex class roots, social roots, natural roots, and epistemological roots. Issues such as its emergence, development, disappearance, and social functions cannot be clarified by religious believers themselves, and in many cases are simply taboos. It is precisely these roots that lead to varying degrees of exclusivity, monopolistic tendencies, and a one-sided understanding of freedom of religious belief in all religions without exception. Only after the emergence of historical materialism, which "explains all historical events and ideas, all politics, philosophy, and religion on the basis of the material economic conditions of life in a given historical period," [4]4 This is a paraphrase of a core tenet of historical materialism, most famously articulated by Marx in "A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy" (1859), stating that the economic structure of society forms the real basis on which a legal and political superstructure arises. was the essence of religion as a social phenomenon truly revealed. The reason why our Party's policy of freedom of religious belief can bring into play the positive role of religion and restrain its negative role, why it can unite the broad masses of religious believers around the Party and the government, and why it can guide religion to gradually adapt to socialist society, is not because we have abandoned atheism and made unprincipled compromises, concessions, or pandering to religion, but precisely because we adhere to Marxist atheism, can provide a scientific theoretical explanation of religious phenomena, and on this basis formulate correct religious policies.

第三个问题，是有神论还是马克思主义无神论能够真正实现宗教信仰自由。宗教作为一种古老的社会现象，有其复杂的阶级根源、社会根源、自然根源和认识根源，其产生、发展、消亡以及宗教的社会功能等问题，在宗教信仰者那里是无法说清的，在很多情况下干脆就是禁忌。而正是这些根源，导致宗教无例外地存在着不同程度的排他性、独占性，以及对宗教信仰自由理解的片面性。只有唯物史观出现后， “以一定历史时期的物质经济生活条件来说明一切历史事件和观念，一切政治、哲学和宗教的”，宗教作为一种社会现象，其本质才被真正揭示出来。我们党的宗教信仰自由政策之所以能够发挥宗教的积极作用、抑制其消极作用，之所以能把广大信教群众团结在党的党和政府周围，之所以能够引导宗教逐步与社会主义社会相适应，不是因为我们放弃了无神论，对宗教无原则地妥协、迁就、迎合，而恰恰是因为我们坚持了马克思主义无神论，能够对宗教现象做出科学的理论说明并据此制定正确的宗教政策。

The fourth question: whether to propagate Marxist atheism. Whether from the perspective of the Party’s theoretical propaganda or from the perspective of solving practical social problems, the propagation of Marxist atheism should be strengthened. We must not only uphold Marxist atheism, but also actively propagate Marxist atheism, popularize scientific and cultural knowledge, help and guide people to draw clear distinctions between materialism and idealism, atheism and theism, science and superstition, civilization and ignorance, and gradually eliminate the ideological and social foundations for the emergence and spread of religion. However, there is also another opinion in society that denies the necessity of atheist propaganda on the grounds that “talking loudly about Party members not being allowed to believe in religion in front of religious believers will cause unnecessary ambiguity and suspicion.” It must be recognized that the Party’s adherence to and propagation of its own worldview is precisely a prerequisite for building a positive and healthy relationship between politics and religion. As long as we respect the freedom of religious belief of religious circles and religious believers and explain this clearly to them, it will only help them enhance their understanding of the socialist theory of religion with Chinese characteristics and better cooperate with the Party’s work. Marxist atheism is open and aboveboard; there is absolutely no need to hide it, as if we have done something to be ashamed of. When Premier Zhou Enlai spoke with Christian figures on May 2, 1950, he said: “Religious thought is idealistic. Idealism and materialism are different; there is no need to conceal the difference.” [1]1 Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) was the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China (1949–1976) and a key leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The quoted remark was made during a meeting with representatives of Chinese Christian churches on May 2, 1950, as part of the Party’s effort to guide the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement. We should not underestimate the understanding of the Party’s ideology and organizational principles that religious circles have gained through long-term practice in the united front, and even less should we ourselves set atheist propaganda and united front work in opposition to each other.

第四个问题，要不要宣传马克思主义无神论。无论是从党的理论宣传的角度还是从解决社会现实问题的角度，马克思主义无神论的宣传都应当加强。我们不仅要坚持马克思主义无神论，而且要积极宣传马克思主义无神论，普及科学文化知识，帮助和引导人们划清唯物论和唯心论、无神论和有神论、科学和迷信、文明和愚昧的界限，逐渐消除宗教产生和传播的思想基础和社会基础。但是社会上也有另一种舆论，以“在信教群众面前大谈党员不得信教会引出不必要的歧义和疑虑”为由，对无神论宣传的必要性加以否定。必须认识到，党坚持和宣传自己的世界观，恰恰是构建积极健康的政教关系的前提性条件。只要我们尊重宗教界和信教群众的宗教信仰自由权利，对他们讲清楚这一点，只会有利于他们增强对中国特色社会主义宗教理论的理解，更好地配合党的工作。马克思主义无神论光明正大，完全不必藏着掖着，好像做了什么对不起人的事。1950年5月2日周恩来总理与基督教人士谈话时说：“宗教思想是唯心主义的。唯心主义和唯物主义，不同就是不同，不必隐瞒”。我们不要低估宗教界在长期的统一战线实践中对党的思想、组织原则的了解，更不要自己把无神论宣传和统一战线工作对立起来。

Recently, there has been another controversy in public opinion over whether “the freedom not to believe in religion and to propagate atheism” conforms to the constitutional provisions; this can be considered the fifth question. Some people have argued: China’s Constitution stipulates that “citizens have freedom of religious belief,” but it does not contain wording such as citizens having “the freedom not to believe in religion and to propagate atheism.” This proves that “the freedom not to believe in religion and to propagate atheism” has been “completely negated” since reform and opening up, and therefore “‘the freedom to propagate atheism’ is a mistaken slogan.” Comrade Tian Xinming, in issue No. 5, 2019, of the journal *Science and Atheism*, offered a forceful refutation of this, pointing out: The Constitution simultaneously stipulates that “no state organ, social organization, or individual may compel citizens to believe in or not to believe in religion, nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in religion or citizens who do not believe in religion.” This shows that the “freedom of religious belief” mentioned in the Constitution includes the freedom to “believe in religion” and the freedom “not to believe in religion”; believing or not believing in religion are equally rights granted to citizens by the Constitution, and one must never exclude “the freedom not to believe in religion” from “freedom of religious belief,” nor interpret “freedom of religious belief” solely as the freedom to believe in religion. He also pointed out that the Constitution clearly stipulates that the state conducts “education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism” among the people, and propaganda and education in atheism is undoubtedly an integral part of “education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism.” Here, I would like to add one point: while our country is making every effort to uphold “citizens’ freedom of religious belief,” some people are distorting the spirit of the Constitution and plotting to eradicate “the freedom not to believe in religion and to propagate atheism” in our country. The arrogance and high-handedness revealed in this are things we have become very familiar with when reading the history of religion, and they are not uncommon in the world today. If we continue to take this lightly, it is not impossible that one day, upholding and propagating atheism will become illegal and prohibited in our country.

最近，舆论界又发生“不信仰宗教和宣传无神论的自由”是否符合宪法规定的争论，可以算第五个问题。有人提出：我国宪法规定了“公民有宗教信仰自由”，却没有出现公民有“不信仰宗教和宣传无神论的自由”这样的文字，这就证明，“不信仰宗教和宣传无神论的自由”在改革开放以后已经被“彻底否定”，所以“‘宣传无神论的自由’这个口号是错误的”。田心铭同志在2019年第5期《科学与无神论》杂志上对此予以有力的反驳，指出：宪法同时规定“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，不得歧视信仰宗教的公民和不信仰宗教的公民”，这就表明，宪法所说的“宗教信仰自由”，包括“信仰宗教”的自由和“不信仰宗教”的自由；信仰宗教或者不信仰宗教，同样都是宪法赋予公民的权利，决不能把“不信仰宗教的自由”排除于“宗教信仰自由”之外，把“宗教信仰自由”仅仅解读为信仰宗教的自由。他又指出，宪法明确规定，国家在人民中“进行辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的教育”，而无神论宣传教育无疑是“辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的教育”的题中应有之意。在此，我想补充一句：当我们国家在竭力维护“公民有宗教信仰自由”时，却有人歪曲宪法精神，图谋在我国铲除“不信仰宗教和宣传无神论的自由”。这其中透出的蛮横和霸道，我们在读宗教史的时候已经很熟悉了，在当今世界上也不罕见。我们如果继续对此掉以轻心，那么不排除有一天，坚持和宣传无神论将会在我们国家成为非法的、被禁止的行为。

In short, as Marxist atheists, we must continue to strive under new historical conditions to preserve the combat edge based on the worldview of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, and strive to seize the initiative in engaging with various forms of theistic thought across a broader ideological domain.

总之，作为马克思主义无神论者，我们要在新的历史条件下继续努力保持建立在辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义世界观基础上的斗争锋芒，努力在更广阔思想领域掌握同形形色色有神论思想交锋的主动权。

(Author: former Executive Deputy Minister of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, Chair of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference)

（作者：中央统战部原常务副部长，十二届全国政协民族和宗教委员会主任）

Online Editor: Rainbow

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