The Marxist View of Religion and the Study of Religion in the New Era

2019 marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Research Office for the Marxist View of Religion at the Institute of World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Over the past decade, the office has forged ahead resolutely amid an atmosphere of serious cognitive divergence and intense ideological struggle within the field of religious studies. It has organized a series of academic activities involving scholars who uphold the guiding role of Marxism and who have a research interest in the Marxist view of religion, and has produced a series of academic achievements. Against the backdrop of a pronounced tendency toward the theologization and Westernization of religious studies, it has increased the opportunities for Marxist religious theory to appear on the stage, and has made the voice of Marxism heard on the theoretical stage of religious studies. At present, the New Era of adhering to and developing the study of religion with Chinese characteristics has arrived, and opportunities are emerging for the Marxist study of religion to uphold fundamental principles and break new ground. The Research Office for the Marxist View of Religion and the experts and scholars connected with it should unite more closely, rouse their spirits, strengthen their convictions, seize the opportunities, forge ahead with determination, actively advance, and break new ground through innovation, so as to carry out more work and achieve greater results in the next decade.

2019年是中国社会科学院世界宗教研究所马克思主义宗教观研究室成立十周年。十年来，研究室在宗教学领域认识分歧严重、思想斗争激烈的氛围中坚毅前行，组织坚持马克思主义指导地位和对马克思主义宗教观有研究兴趣的学者开展了一系列学术活动，推出了一系列学术成果；在宗教研究神学化、西方化倾向突出的形势下，增加了马克思主义宗教理论的出场机会，在宗教学理论的舞台上发出了马克思主义的声音。当前，坚持和发展中国特色宗教学的新时代已经来临，马克思主义宗教学守正创新的机遇正在出现。马克思主义宗教观研究室及其所联系的专家学者们应更加紧密地团结起来，振奋精神、坚定信念，把握机遇、砥砺前行，积极进取、开拓创新，在下一个十年里开展更多的工作，取得更大的成绩。

I. Remain True to Our Original Aspiration and Founding Mission, Strengthen Convictions, and Strive Unremittingly

一、不忘初心、牢记使命，坚定信念、不懈奋斗

Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology for the founding of our Party and our state. The guidance of Marxism is the fundamental characteristic and greatest strength of China’s philosophy and social sciences. The fundamental achievements of China’s research in religious studies have been attained under the guidance of Marxism, and the prominent problems in China’s research in religious studies have been caused by deviations from the basic principles of Marxism. The Marxist view of religion, as the embodiment of the basic principles of Marxism on the issue of religion, should be the ideological soul and theoretical guide for China’s research in religious studies. To uphold, safeguard, study, and apply the Marxist view of religion well is the fundamental task of China’s research in religious studies. When Chairman Mao [1]1 Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China and chairman of the Communist Party of China. instructed the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee to prepare for the establishment of the Institute of World Religions, the most fundamental requirement was that it be led by Marxists, using the viewpoint of historical materialism to study religion and criticize theology. This is the original aspiration and founding mission of China’s research in religious studies. The Research Office for the Marxist View of Religion and the experts and scholars connected with it must remain true to our original aspiration and founding mission, strengthen their belief in Marxism, improve their cultivation in Marxism, strive unremittingly to uphold and deepen the guiding role of Marxism in China’s research in religious studies, and raise the banner and sound the trumpet for producing more academic achievements that use the viewpoint of historical materialism to study religion and criticize theology!

马克思主义是我们立党立国的根本指导思想，马克思主义指导是我国哲学社会科学的根本特色和最大优势。我国宗教学研究的根本成就是在马克思主义指导下取得的，我国宗教学研究的突出问题是背离马克思主义基本原理造成的。马克思主义宗教观作为马克思主义基本原理在宗教问题上的体现，应该是我国宗教学研究的思想灵魂和理论指南。把马克思主义宗教观坚持好、维护好、研究好、运用好，是我国宗教学研究的根本任务。毛主席当年指示中宣部筹建世界宗教研究所，最根本的要求是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，这是我国宗教学研究的初心和使命。马克思主义宗教观研究室及其所联系的专家学者要不忘初心、牢记使命，坚定马克思主义信仰、提高马克思主义修养，为坚持和深化马克思主义对我国宗教学研究的指导地位不懈奋斗，为推出更多用历史唯物主义观点研究宗教、批判神学的学术成果而摇旗呐喊、擂鼓吹号！

II. Look Back at History, Clarify the Origins, Establish an Academic Tradition, Uphold Fundamental Principles and Break New Ground

二、回望历史、正本清源，建立学统、守正创新

Some people say that Marxism has only a view of religion, not a study of religion. I do not agree with this view. Marx (born 1818) and Engels (born 1820) are both older than Max Müller (born 1823), studied religion earlier than he did, and had a greater influence on the study of religion than he did.

有人说，马克思主义只有宗教观，没有宗教学。我不赞同这种观点。马克思（1818年生）和恩格斯（1820年生）都比麦克斯·缪勒（1823年生）大，研究宗教比他早，对宗教研究的影响也比他大。

In 1835, Marx, in his “Religious Essay for Secondary School Graduation Examination,” already “directed his gaze toward history, the great teacher of humanity,” [1]1 Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China and chairman of the Communist Party of China. comparing the so-called superstitions of ancient peoples who “offered sacrifices to the gods” with the Christian belief that “God created man out of nothing,” [2]2 The quotation is from Marx’s 1835 essay; the source is the Marx-Engels Collected Works. expressing the view that religion evolves and changes with historical development. In 1839, Marx began to study ancient Greek philosophy, and in his doctoral dissertation completed in 1841, he expounded a firm atheistic viewpoint. In 1842, in works such as “Comments on the Latest Prussian Censorship Instruction,” “Debates on the Law on Thefts of Wood,” and “The Leading Article in No. 179 of the Kölnische Zeitung,” Marx discussed major theoretical issues including religion and Christianity, religion and the state, religion and reason, religion and science, religion and morality, religion and philosophy, religion and politics, state and church, the secular and the sacred, this world and the other world, the present life and the afterlife, miracles and mysteries, fetishism and animal religion, Brahmanism and Buddhism, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophical study of religious issues, reflecting a broad knowledge and unique insights into religious issues. Thereafter, in works such as “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Law: Introduction,” “On the Jewish Question,” “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844,” “The Holy Family,” “Theses on Feuerbach,” “The German Ideology,” and even “Capital” and “Critique of the Gotha Program,” Marx continuously addressed religious issues, making enormous contributions in thought and theory and producing great social and historical impact. Among these, Marx’s “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Law: Introduction,” written in 1843, was even included in excerpted form in 1850 by the bourgeois scholar August von Cieszkowski in the book “What Is Religion from the Perspective of the Latest German Philosophy,” showing that Marx’s thought on the study of religion had already attracted the attention and interest of Western academia very early on.

1835年，马克思就在“中学考试宗教作文”中“把自己的目光投向历史这个人类的伟大导师”[1]，对古代各民族“向诸神贡献祭品”的所谓迷信和信仰“上帝从无中创造出人”的基督教进行比较[2]，表达出宗教随着历史发展演变的观点。1839年，马克思就开始研究古希腊哲学，并在1841年完成的博士论文中阐述了坚定的无神论观点。1842年，马克思就在《评普鲁士最近的书报检查令》《第六届莱茵省议会的辩论》《〈科隆日报〉第179号的社论》等著作中讨论了包括宗教与基督教、宗教与国家、宗教与理性、宗教与科学、宗教与道德、宗教与哲学、宗教与政治、国家与教会、世俗与神圣、此岸与彼岸、现世与来世、奇迹与神秘、拜物教与动物宗教、婆罗门教与佛教、宗教哲学与研究宗教问题的哲学等重大理论问题，反映出对宗教问题的广博知识和独到见解。此后，马克思又在《〈黑格尔法哲学批判〉导言》《论犹太人问题》《1844年经济学哲学手稿》《神圣家族》《关于费尔巴哈》《德意志意识形态》乃至《资本论》和《哥达纲领批判》等著作中不断论及宗教问题，作出了巨大的思想理论贡献，产生了巨大的社会历史影响。其中，马克思1843年撰写的《〈黑格尔法哲学批判〉导言》还在1850年被资产阶级学者艾韦贝克以节选的形式收入《从最新的德国哲学看什么是宗教》一书，可见马克思的宗教学思想很早就引起了西方学界的关注和重视。

Engels’s study of religion also ran through his entire life. Engels was instilled with Christian faith from childhood and was very devout, so his process of breaking free from religious theology and establishing an atheistic worldview was full of difficulty and struggle. This prompted him to engage in a sustained and in-depth study of religion, and therefore his writings on the study of religion are also more numerous than those of Marx. Among the more important are “The Condition of England: Review of Thomas Carlyle’s ‘Past and Present’,” “The Peasant War in Germany,” “Anti-Dühring,” “Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy,” “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State,” “Introduction to the English Edition (1892) of ‘Socialism: Utopian and Scientific’,” as well as “Natural Science in the Spirit World,” “Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity,” “The Book of Revelation,” and “On the History of Early Christianity.” Engels and Marx both influenced and complemented each other in their study of religion, making outstanding contributions to the creation and development of the Marxist study of religion.

恩格斯对宗教的研究同样贯穿其一生。恩格斯从小被灌输基督教信仰并且十分虔诚，所以他摆脱宗教神学、树立无神论世界观的过程充满了艰难和挣扎，这促使他对宗教进行了持久深入的研究，所以其宗教学论著也比马克思要多些，其中比较重要的就有《英国状况：评托马斯·卡莱尔的〈过去和现在〉》《德国农民战争》《反杜林论》《路德维希·费尔巴哈和德国古典哲学的终结》《家庭、私有制和国家的起源》《〈社会主义从空想到科学的发展〉1892年英文版导言》以及《神灵世界中的自然研究》《布鲁诺·鲍威尔和原始基督教》《启示录》《论原始基督教的历史》等。恩格斯与马克思在宗教研究上既相互影响又相互补充，为马克思主义宗教学的创立和发展做出了卓越的贡献。

From the perspective of the sub-disciplines of religious studies today, the thought of Marx and Engels on the study of religion belongs to historical, philosophical, political, sociological, and anthropological studies of religion, and its content is very rich. After Marx and Engels, their students and successors continued to conduct scientific research on religious issues. This includes not only Lenin’s “Materialism and Empirio-criticism,” “Socialism and Religion,” “On the Attitude of the Workers’ Party to Religion,” and “On the Significance of Militant Materialism,” which are philosophical, political, and sociological studies of religion, but also the systematic study of religion by other proletarian revolutionaries, theorists, and later experts and scholars from the socialist countries of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, forming a tradition of the Marxist study of religion different from the Western bourgeois liberal study of religion. After the founding of the Communist Party of China, it also attached importance to the scientific study of religious issues, producing a series of important achievements. This includes not only the religious critical thought of early Chinese Communists such as Li Dazhao and the philosophical, sociological, and political studies of religion by older-generation proletarian revolutionaries such as Mao Zedong, but also the philosophical and historical studies of religion by senior scholars such as Li Da, Ai Siqi, and Ren Jiyu, forming China’s own tradition of the Marxist study of religion.

从今天的宗教学分科来看，马克思和恩格斯的宗教学思想属于对宗教进行的史学、哲学、政治学、社会学、人类学研究，其内容是很丰富的。马克思和恩格斯之后，他们的学生和后继者继续对宗教问题进行科学研究，其中既包括列宁的《唯物主义和经验批判主义》《社会主义和宗教》《论工人政党对宗教的态度》《论战斗唯物主义的意义》等对宗教进行的哲学、政治学、社会学研究，也包括其他无产阶级革命家、理论家和后来苏东社会主义国家的专家学者们对宗教的系统性研究，形成了一个不同于西方资产阶级自由主义宗教学的马克思主义宗教学传统。中国共产党成立后，同样重视对宗教问题的科学研究，形成了一系列重要成果，其中既包括李大钊等早期中国共产党人的宗教批判思想和毛泽东等老一辈无产阶级革命家对宗教进行的哲学、社会学、政治学研究，也包括李达、艾思奇、任继愈等前辈学者对宗教进行的哲学研究和史学研究，形成了中国自己的马克思主义宗教学传统。

Since reform and opening up, China’s research in religious studies has experienced explosive development, with a significant improvement in the level of specialization and disciplinary formation. However, a misunderstanding has also emerged: the belief that only the study of religion conducted by armchair scholars under the name of religious studies counts as research in religious studies. Furthermore, Max Müller, the proposer of the concept of religious studies, is taken as the founder of research in religious studies, prostrating oneself before the theories and methods of Western liberal religious studies. Engels’s very specialized works on the study of religion, such as “Natural Science in the Spirit World,” “Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity,” “The Book of Revelation,” and “On the History of Early Christianity,” are excluded from the study of religion. Some have even put forward the academic viewpoint, lacking confidence in the theory, that Marxism has only a view of religion and not a study of religion.

改革开放以来，我国的宗教学研究获得了井喷式发展，专业化、学科化水平显著提高，但是也产生了一个误区，以为只有书斋式学者在宗教学名义下进行的宗教研究才算宗教学研究，而且把宗教学概念的提出者麦克斯·缪勒作为宗教学研究的创始人，拜倒在西方自由主义宗教学理论与方法的脚下，把恩格斯的《神灵世界中的自然研究》《布鲁诺·鲍威尔和原始基督教》《启示录》《论原始基督教的历史》等非常专业的宗教学著作排除在宗教学之外，甚至提出了马克思主义只有宗教观而没有宗教学这样缺乏理论自信的学术观点。

In conducting research on the Marxist view of religion today, we must thoroughly shatter the myth that Marxism has only a view of religion but no religious studies, and that only the West has religious studies. We must establish the academic standard that only religious research conducted using scientific theories and methods qualifies as religious studies, excluding so-called religious research conducted under the guidance of theological theories and methods. We must take the religious research initiated by Marx and Engels using the scientific worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism as the orthodox tradition of religious studies. In accordance with Chairman Mao’s directives on strengthening research on religious issues, we must uphold our original aspiration and founding mission; following Ren Jiyu’s model of religious research, we must rectify the source and establish the academic lineage; and in line with General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on religious work and philosophy and social sciences work, we must innovate the academic system, disciplinary system, and discourse system of Chinese religious studies.

我们今天开展马克思主义宗教观研究，必须彻底打破马克思主义只有宗教观没有宗教学、只有西方才有宗教学的神话，树立只有运用科学理论和方法进行的宗教研究才属于宗教学的学术标准，把那些在神学理论与方法指导下进行的所谓宗教研究排除在宗教学之外，把马克思恩格斯开创的运用辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义科学世界观和方法论进行的宗教研究作为宗教学的正统，按照毛主席关于加强宗教问题研究的指示守初心、担使命，按照任继愈研究宗教的示范正本源、立学统，按照习近平总书记关于宗教工作和哲学社会科学工作的重要论述创新中国宗教学的学术体系、学科体系、话语体系。

III. Study Foreign Countries, Exercise Rational Critique, Extract the Essence and Discard the Dross, and Establish Orthodoxy

三、研究外国、理性批判，去粗取精、树立正统

To develop Chinese religious studies in the New Era, we must strengthen research on foreign religious studies, especially Western liberal religious studies, conduct scientific analysis using Marxist standpoints, viewpoints, and methods, extract the essence and discard the dross, and firmly establish the orthodox status of Marxist religious studies.

发展新时代中国宗教学，必须加强对外国宗教学特别是西方自由主义宗教学的研究，用马克思主义立场观点方法进行科学分析，取其精华、去其糟粕，牢固树立马克思主义宗教学的正统地位。

Western religious studies, as an important tradition in the study of religion, has its own unique features. We must strengthen research on it, critically absorbing its elements. At present, it appears that the religious anthropology, religious sociology, and religious psychology within Western religious studies are relatively strong in scientific rigor and deserve particular attention. The development of religious anthropology is related to the colonial history of Western capitalism; its strength lies in fieldwork and phenomenological descriptions of non-Western religious traditions, while the Western-centrism and cultural relativism running through it are its dross. The development of religious sociology is related to capitalist industrialization and secularization; its strength lies in sociological investigation and analysis of religious phenomena, while the bourgeois standpoints, idealism, and metaphysical modes of thought running through it are its dross. For example, Max Weber’s *The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism* has the purpose of glorifying Christianity and capitalism. The development of religious psychology is related to the highly developed psychological tradition in the West; its academic achievements can be used for our religious governance and anti-cult work, but its natural-science characteristics are somewhat incompatible with the social-science tradition of religious studies in our country. A large part of Western religious philosophy belongs to religious theology and should be criticized, but the atheist currents within it should be absorbed. As for the history of religions, we must criticize its idealist historical components and absorb its outstanding achievements that emphasize historical facts and empirical evidence. In short, Western religious studies must be subjected to scientific analysis; we must not blindly believe in or copy it.

西方宗教学作为宗教学研究的重要传统自有其独到之处，我们要加强研究，批判吸收。现在看来，西方宗教学中的宗教人类学、宗教社会学、宗教心理学研究科学性比较强，特别值得重视。宗教人类学的发展与西方资本主义的殖民史有关，对非西方宗教传统的田野调查和现象学描述是其长处，而贯穿其中的西方中心论和文化相对论是其糟粕。宗教社会学的发展与资本主义的工业化、世俗化有关，对宗教现象的社会学调查和分析是其长处，贯穿其中的资产阶级立场和唯心主义与形而上学思想方法是其糟粕，例如马克斯·韦伯的《新教伦理与资本主义精神》就具有美化基督教和美化资本主义的目的。宗教心理学的发展与西方发达的心理学传统有关，其学术成果可以为我们的宗教治理和反邪教工作所用，但其自然科学特色与我国宗教学研究的社会科学传统不太适应。西方的宗教哲学，有很大一部分属于宗教神学，应该加以批判，但其中的无神论支流则应该加以吸收。至于宗教史学，则要批判其唯心史观成分，吸收其重史实、重实证的优秀成果。总之，对西方宗教学有科学分析，不能盲信照搬。

China’s history of religions and introduction to religious studies are outstanding disciplines developed under the guidance of historical materialism and the Marxist view of religion. They possess strong scientific rigor and Chinese characteristics and are advanced disciplines capable of leading global trends in religious studies. However, in recent years, many problems have emerged. Influenced by the tendencies toward the theologization and Westernization of religious research, the study of the history of religions in our country has shown a tendency to deviate from historical materialism, while the introduction to religious studies has nearly fallen into a state of stagnation. The textbook *Religious Studies* under the “Project for the Development of Marxist Theory and Research,” which received substantial investment, has not been completed in ten years. The fundamental reasons are a talent gap and ideological decline. Research offices on the Marxist view of religion and the experts and scholars connected with them must continuously enhance their confidence in the theory and professional competence, and establish Marxist religious studies on a firm footing.

我国的宗教史和宗教学概论是在唯物史观和马克思主义宗教观指导下发展起来的优秀学科，具有很强的科学性和中国特色，是可以引领世界宗教学潮流的先进学科，但是近年来问题不少。受宗教研究神学化和西方化倾向的影响，我国的宗教史研究出现了背离唯物史观的倾向，宗教学概论则几乎陷入停滞状态，投入巨资的“马克思主义理论研究和建设工程”教材《宗教学》十年都搞不出来，人才断档和思想滑坡是根本原因。马克思主义宗教观研究室及其联系的专家学者应不断增强理论自信和专业水平，把马克思主义宗教学立起来。

IV. Focus on Reality, Study Problems, Advance Governance, and Serve the People

四、关注现实、研究问题，推进治理、服务人民

Marxist religious studies is established to help the Party and government “understand religion,” “do mass work,” and improve the effectiveness of religious governance, not for certain people to make a living by deceiving others, or to bluff and fool people. Marxist research on religion should also include both theoretical and practical aspects.

马克思主义宗教学是为党和政府“懂得宗教”、“做群众工作”、提高宗教治理效能建立的，而不是为某些人跑江湖、混饭吃、忽悠人建立的。马克思主义的宗教学研究，也应该包括理论和现实两方面。

The theoretical research of Marxist religious studies should consist of the principles of religious studies and the history of religions. Its purpose is to clearly explain the essence, origins, forms, functions, and history of religion, as well as the laws of the emergence, development, and extinction of religion, and the attitudes and policies of Marxist political parties toward religion. This provides theoretical support and knowledge reserves for the Party and the state to correctly understand and handle religious issues, and to educate and guide people in establishing a scientific worldview, outlook on life, values, cultural outlook, and view of religion.

马克思主义宗教学的理论研究应该是宗教学原理和宗教史，目的是把宗教的本质、根源、形态、作用、历史和宗教产生、发展、消亡的规律以及马克思主义政党对待宗教的态度和政策讲清楚，为党和国家正确认识和处理宗教问题，教育和引导人们树立科学的世界观、人生观、价值观、文化观、宗教观提供理论支持和知识储备。

The practical research of Marxist religious studies should focus on the current state and situation of religion both domestically and internationally. Its purpose is to clearly understand the actual manifestations, demographic structure, social impact, focal points of contradictions, and development trends of religious beliefs, and to propose feasible and operable countermeasure suggestions that align with the fundamental interests of the Party and the people. To this end, various theories and methods from philosophy, history, political science, law, sociology, psychology, economics, cultural studies, ethnology, and other fields can all be used. However, we must never be led by the nose by Western theories and methods, deviating from Marxist standpoints, viewpoints, and methods, and deviating from the Marxist academic style of seeking truth from facts and integrating theory with practice. The theoretical methods of Western philosophy and social sciences can be used for reference, but they must be analyzed and differentiated; we must not blindly believe in or copy them.

马克思主义宗教学的现实研究应该是国内外宗教现状和形势，目的是把宗教信仰的现实表现、人口结构、社会影响、矛盾焦点、发展趋势等搞清楚，提出符合党和人民根本利益、行得通、可操作的对策建议。为此，哲学、史学、政治学、法学、社会学、心理学、经济学、文化学、民族学等各种不同的理论与方法都可以用。但是，我们决不能被西方的理论与方法牵着鼻子走，背离马克思主义立场观点方法，背离实事求是、理论联系实际的马克思主义学风。西方哲学社会科学的理论方法可以借鉴，但是要分析鉴别、不能盲信照搬。

In summary, the pursuit of Marxist religious studies in the New Era should be to establish learning for application and to apply what one learns. All theologized and Westernized research that runs counter to or is inconsistent with this, as well as so-called “suspension of belief” and “academic neutrality” postures and practices, are erroneous and must be resolutely discarded.

总之，新时代马克思主义宗教学的追求应该是为用立学、学以致用。一切与此背道而驰和不相符合的神学化、西方化研究和所谓悬置信仰、学术中立的标榜和做法都是错误的，要坚决摈弃。

(Author: Deputy Director and Researcher, Religious Research Center, United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee)

（作者：中央统战部宗教研究中心副主任、研究员）

Online Editor: Rainbow

网络编辑：彩虹

[1]1 Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China and chairman of the Communist Party of China. *Complete Works of Marx and Engels*, Vol. 1, People’s Publishing House, 2nd ed., 1995, p. 449. [3]3 This is a reference to the Chinese edition of the *Marx-Engels-Werke*.

[1] 《马克思恩格斯全集》第1卷，人民出版社1995年第2版，第449页。

[2]2 The quotation is from Marx’s 1835 essay; the source is the Marx-Engels Collected Works. *Complete Works of Marx and Engels*, Vol. 1, People’s Publishing House, 2nd ed., 1995, pp. 449–450.[4]4 This is a reference to the Chinese edition of the *Marx-Engels-Werke*.

[2] 《马克思恩格斯全集》第1卷，人民出版社1995年第2版，第449—450页。