Cause, Achievement, and Value: A Three-Dimensional Interpretation of Engels’s Late Study of Christianity

At the National Conference on Religious Work held in December 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to fully implement the Party’s theory on religious work in the New Era, fully implement the Party’s basic policy on religious work, fully implement the Party’s policy on freedom of religious belief, adhere to the direction of sinicizing religion in China, and actively guide religion to adapt to socialist society. Marxist religious theory is a component of Marxism, and the religious question is also an issue that must be confronted and properly handled in China’s social development at the present stage. Therefore, research on Marxist religious theory based on the texts of the classical Marxist writers possesses important theoretical and practical significance. In his later years, the death of Bauer and the needs of the real socialist struggle prompted Engels to turn his attention once again to the field of religion. Unlike his youth, when he criticized religion as a general object, in his later years Engels began to study early Christianity and the history of Christianity, researching and discussing aspects not previously emphasized in his religious critique, thereby further enriching the content and method of Marxist religious theory. Starting in 1882, Engels successively wrote *Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity*, *The Book of Revelation*, and *On the History of Early Christianity*, specifically addressing the Christian question, which collectively embody the achievements and value of Engels’s late study of Christianity.

习近平总书记在2021年12月会议召开的全国宗教工作会议中强调，要全面贯彻新时代党的宗教工作理论，全面贯彻党的宗教工作基本方针，全面贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策，坚持我国宗教中国化方向，积极引导宗教与社会主义社会相适应。马克思主义宗教理论是马克思主义的组成部分，宗教问题也是现阶段我国社会发展必须面对和处理好的问题。因此，基于马克思主义经典作家文本进行的马克思主义宗教理论研究具有重要的理论和现实意义。恩格斯晚年，鲍威尔的逝世和现实社会主义斗争的需要，促使他再一次把目光投向了宗教领域。不同于青年时期对宗教这一概括性对象的批判，恩格斯晚年开始进行早期基督教和基督教史的研究，对之前宗教批判中未重点论及的部分进行研究和论述，进一步丰富了马克思主义宗教理论的内容和方法。从1882年开始，恩格斯先后写作《布鲁诺·鲍威尔和原始基督教》《启示录》《论原始基督教的历史》专门探讨基督教问题，集中体现了恩格斯晚年基督教研究的成果和价值。

I. The Causes of Engels’s Late Study of Christianity

一、恩格斯晚年基督教研究的起因

In the 1840s, the young Engels had already begun to criticize real religious questions and to undertake political and economic critiques behind religious phenomena. In his later years, Engels once again engaged in religious critique, focusing his attention on early Christianity. The causes of Engels’s late study of Christianity are multifaceted, but the most important thread running through it throughout was the need of the real socialist movement. Regarding the question of the socialist movement, both Marx and Engels paid close attention to it in their later years. Through his investigation of Eastern countries, Marx attempted to demonstrate an Eastern socialist model that could bypass the capitalist “Caudine Forks” [1]1 A reference to the ancient Roman defeat at the Caudine Forks (321 BCE), used by Marx to denote a path of development that avoids the full brunt of capitalist exploitation.. Engels, on the one hand, continued to enrich the theory of scientific socialism theoretically through the editing of Marx’s manuscripts; on the other hand, he provided concrete guidance for the real workers’ movement, testing the effectiveness of the socialist movement in practice.

19世纪40年代，年轻的恩格斯就已经开始对现实的宗教问题进行批判，并着手宗教现象背后的政治批判、经济批判。晚年的恩格斯再一次进行宗教批判，并将关注点放在早期基督教上。恩格斯晚年基督教研究的起因是多方面的，其中最为重要的，也是贯穿恩格斯晚年基督教研究始终的一个主线，就是现实的社会主义运动的需要。关于社会主义运动的问题，马克思和恩格斯晚年都给予了高度关注。马克思通过对东方国家的考察，尝试论证跨越资本主义“卡夫丁峡谷”的东方社会主义模式。恩格斯一方面通过对马克思手稿的整理在理论上继续丰富科学社会主义理论；一方面为现实的工人运动提供具体指导，在实践中检验社会主义运动成效。

(1) A Continuation of the Early Critique of Religion

（一）对早期宗教批判的承接

The critique of religion is an important component of the historical materialist worldview and also the starting point for the formation of Engels’s atheist viewpoint. Engels grew up in a wealthy factory-owning family; this favorable family environment allowed Engels to receive a systematic theological education from childhood. But when the young Engels saw the reality of workers suffering oppression and exploitation, and saw the hypocritical fact that the Pietists [2]2 A movement within German Protestantism emphasizing personal piety and strict moral conduct, often associated with conservative social attitudes. “did everything possible to lower workers’ wages,” Engels began to seek a genuine path of liberation for the working class, and it was precisely in this process that Engels achieved his transformation to atheism. The young Engels, through his critique of the Young Hegelians’ [3]3 Followers of G.W.F. Hegel who, in the 1830s-1840s, drew radical, often atheistic and revolutionary conclusions from his philosophy, including Bruno Bauer. idealist religious critique and his critique of the so-called “atheism” prevalent at the time, clarified his own scientific atheist viewpoint. Once Marx and Engels discovered the economic roots behind religion, the liberation of real people became far more important than negating a presupposed God, and the two turned their attention to the study of political economy.

对宗教的批判是历史唯物主义世界观的重要组成部分，也是恩格斯无神论观点形成的起点。恩格斯生长于富有的工厂主家庭，良好的家庭环境使得恩格斯自小接受过系统的神学教育。而当年轻的恩格斯看到工人饱受压迫和剥削的现实，看到虔诚派教徒“千方百计降低工人的工资”这一伪善的事实时，恩格斯开始为工人阶级寻求真正的解放道路，也正是在这个过程中恩格斯实现了向无神论的转变。年轻的恩格斯通过对青年黑格尔派唯心主义宗教批判进行批判，以及对当时盛行的所谓“无神论”的批判，明确了自己科学的无神论观点。当马克思和恩格斯发现宗教背后的经济根源之后，关于现实的人的解放远比否定预设的神更为重要，二人开始将目光投向政治经济学的研究。

Compared with Marx’s assertions such as “religion is the opium of the people” and “the illusory flowers on the chain,” Engels’s discussions on religion were more detailed and comprehensive. In *Anti-Dühring*, Engels pointed out: “All religion, however, is nothing but the fantastic reflection in men’s minds of those external forces which control their daily life, a reflection in which the terrestrial forces assume the form of supernatural forces.” This statement profoundly reveals the essence and real basis of religion, containing Engels’s historical materialist reflection on the essence of religion. Although after this Engels’s attention to the religious question relatively diminished, in his other research he still occasionally expounded Marxist viewpoints through the critique of religion. For example, in *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy*, Engels drew a line of demarcation from humanist materialism by criticizing Feuerbach’s religious view of love.

相比马克思提出的“宗教是人民的鸦片”“锁链上的那些虚幻的花朵”等论断，恩格斯对于宗教的论述更加详细全面。《反杜林论》中恩格斯指出：“一切宗教都不过是支配着人们日常生活的外部力量在人们头脑中的幻想的反映，在这种反映中，人间的力量采取了超人间的力量的形式。”这一论述深刻揭露了宗教的本质和现实基础，包含着恩格斯关于宗教本质的历史唯物主义思考。虽然在此之后，恩格斯对宗教问题的关注相对减少，但在其进行的其他研究中仍然会在一些场合通过对宗教的批判来阐释马克思主义的观点。比如《LUDE维希·费尔巴哈和德国古典哲学的终结》中，恩格斯就通过批判费尔巴哈关于爱的宗教观，与人本主义唯物主义划清界限。

In his later years, Engels once again turned his attention to the field of religion, studying the history of the evolution and development of Christianity. Building on his early religious critique, he further enriched the ideological and methodological content of Marxist religious theory. At this time, Engels adopted a historical materialist stance, using mature Marxist viewpoints and methods to view the religious question. This was not only another profound exposition of his thought on religious critique but also a review and summary of all his previous research involving religion.

晚年的恩格斯再一次把目光投向宗教领域，对基督教演变发展历史进行研究，在承袭早期宗教批判的基础上进一步丰富了马克思主义宗教理论的思想和方法内容。此时的恩格斯以历史唯物主义的立场，运用成熟的马克思主义观点和方法看待宗教问题，既是其宗教批判思想的又一次深刻阐述，同时也是对其前面所有涉及宗教的研究的回顾与总结。

(2) Bauer’s Death as the Direct Cause of Engels’s Late Study of Christianity

（二）鲍威尔的逝世是恩格斯晚年进行基督教研究的直接原因

On April 13, 1882, Bruno Bauer died in Berlin. Bauer had made certain contributions in demonstrating the relationship between Christianity and Judaism and in critiquing prophetic revelation. Starting from historical materials and religious texts, Engels re-examined this philosopher who had once criticized the Christian Gospels, and this became the direct cause of Engels’s late study of Christianity. Engels’s attitude and evaluation of Bauer in his later years differed from those in his early works. In the early works of Marx and Engels, Bauer mostly played the role of a “critical theologian,” while Marx and Engels pointed out that the “critical theologian” was always a theologian, which was essentially a basically negative attitude toward Bauer. In his later years, Engels placed Bauer in the position of a philosopher, evaluating his certain contributions to religious critique. It must be said that where Engels discussed Bauer in his late study of Christianity, there was indeed a certain element of reflection on his earlier evaluation of Bauer. Of course, regarding his stance on Bauer, Engels always maintained an objective evaluation from the height of historical materialism. While affirming Bauer’s contributions, Engels pointed out the fundamental defect of Bauer’s idealist conception of history: “he could not make clear observations and precise explanations. Often at critical moments, he had to replace facts with empty phrases,” which led to his stagnation in the study of Christianity and religious critique. And the “critical moment” where Bauer stopped was precisely where Engels’s research began and the key to the religious question.

1882年4月13日，布鲁诺·鲍威尔逝世于柏林。鲍威尔曾在论证基督教与犹太教的关系和对启示预言的批判上做出了一定贡献。恩格斯从历史资料和宗教文本入手，对这位曾经批判基督教福音的哲学家重新进行审视，这也成为恩格斯晚年进行基督教研究的直接原因。恩格斯晚年对于鲍威尔的态度和评价较早期作品中是有区别的，在马克思恩格斯早期作品中，鲍威尔更多的是扮演“批判的神学家”的角色，而同时马克思恩格斯指出“批判的神学家”始终是神学家，实际上是对鲍威尔持基本否定的态度。晚年的恩格斯将鲍威尔放在哲学家的位置评价他对于宗教批判所做出的一定贡献。不得不说，恩格斯晚年基督教研究中论及鲍威尔的地方确实有一点对其早年评价鲍威尔的反思意味。当然，在对于鲍威尔的立场上，恩格斯始终站在历史唯物主义的高度进行客观评价，在肯定鲍威尔所做贡献的同时，指出鲍威尔唯心主义历史观“不能作明晰的观察和精确的说明。往往在紧要关头，不得不用空话来代替事实”这一根本缺陷，导致了他在基督教研究和宗教批判上的止步。而鲍威尔止步的“紧要关头”，正是恩格斯研究开始的地方和宗教问题的关键所在。

(3) The Practical Needs of the Socialist Movement

（三）社会主义运动的实际需要

As long as one examines the timing of the texts related to Engels’s late study of Christianity, one can find that the writing of *Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity* and *The Book of Revelation* was separated from the writing of *On the History of Early Christianity* by a full ten years. Bauer’s death was certainly one cause of Engels’s late study of Christianity, but the reason Engels wrote *On the History of Early Christianity* ten years later was more profound. This was the true cause of Engels’s late study of Christianity: the needs of the real socialist movement compelled Engels to theoretically defend Marxism.

只要对恩格斯晚年基督教研究相关文本的时间进行考察，就能发现《布鲁诺?鲍威尔和原始基督教》和《启示录》的写作时间与《论原始基督教的历史》的写作时间相隔有十年之久。鲍威尔逝世固然是恩格斯晚年基督教研究的一个起因，但相隔十年后，恩格斯写作《论原始基督教的历史》的原因则更加深刻，这也就是恩格斯晚年基督教研究的真正原因，即现实的社会主义运动的需要促使恩格斯必须从理论上对马克思主义进行捍卫。

At that time, the socialist cause encountered some problems: the Fabian Society [4]4 A British socialist organization founded in 1884, known for its gradualist, reformist approach rather than revolutionary change., which was essentially a bourgeois liberal organization, as a bourgeois “socialist” group, advocated “reformism” and “gradualism,” seriously hindering the progress of the workers’ movement; the “Youth” faction [5]5 A radical, anti-parliamentary faction within the German Social Democratic Party in the early 1890s, criticized by Engels for its sectarian and adventurist tactics. within the Social Democratic Party, which ultimately degenerated into anarchism, abused “materialism” as a catchphrase, exerting a destructive influence on the dissemination and development of Marxism. Even within specific socialist currents, there existed phenomena of deception similar to religion. In *On the History of Early Christianity*, Engels pointed out that members of the Weitling faction [6]6 Followers of Wilhelm Weitling, a German utopian socialist and tailor, active in the 1840s, whose movement combined communist ideas with Christian millenarianism., taking advantage of Weitling’s imprisonment, used the method of “preaching the gospel” to deceive workers, thereby causing serious harm to the communist branches of the Weitling faction.

当时，社会主义事业遭遇了一些问题：资产阶级自由派实质的费边社，作为资产阶级的“社会主义者”，鼓吹“改良主义”和“渐进主义”，严重阻碍着工人运动的进步；最终沦为无政府主义的社会民主党内部的“青年派”将“唯物主义”作为套语进行滥用，对马克思主义的传播和发展产生了破坏性的影响。甚至在具体的社会主义流派内部也存在着类似宗教的欺骗现象。在《论原始基督教的历史》中，恩格斯指出魏特林派成员趁魏特林坐牢之际，运用“传福音”的方式欺骗工人，从而给魏特林派共产主义支部带来严重危害。

As the mentor of the proletarian cause, Engels, in the process of leading the working class in its struggle against these false forms of socialism, needed to theoretically highlight the powerful guiding role of Marxism. In particular, the comparative argument Engels made in *On the History of Early Christianity* concerning the origins, development, and essence of early Christianity and socialism became a forceful interpretation of his demonstration of scientific socialism. Through the comparative study of early Christianity and socialism, he clarified that the socialist movement should aim at transforming the world, thereby both indicating the true direction of the socialist movement and drawing a clear line of demarcation from currents such as opportunism.

作为无产阶级事业的导师，恩格斯在领导工人阶级同这些虚假的社会主义做斗争的过程中，需要在理论上突出马克思主义的强大指导作用。尤其是在《论原始基督教的历史》中恩格斯所做的关于早期基督教与社会主义起源、发展、实质的对比论证，成为恩格斯论证科学社会主义的一次有力诠释。通过早期基督教与社会主义的比较研究，明确社会主义运动应该实现改造世界的目的，既指明了社会主义运动的真正方向，也与机会主义等流派划清了界限。

II. Main Achievements of Engels’s Late Study of Christianity

二、恩格斯晚年基督教研究的主要成果日

(1) On Early Christianity and Socialism

（一）论早期基督教与社会主义

At the beginning of *On the History of Early Christianity*, Engels compared the similarities between early Christianity and socialism manifested in the history of early Christianity: first, both early Christianity and the socialist movement were resistance movements of the oppressed; second, both aimed at liberation from servitude and poverty; third, both achieved certain victories in history. These three points constitute the historical basis for the comparability of early Christianity and socialism.

在《论原始基督教的历史》开篇，恩格斯比较了早期基督教历史中表现出的与社会主义的相似之处：首先，早期基督教和社会主义运动都是被压迫者的反抗运动；其次，二者都以解脱奴役和贫苦为目标；再次，二者都在历史中取得了一定的胜利。这三点构成了早期基督教与社会主义可比较的历史基础。

As resistance movements of the oppressed, both the early Christian movement and the socialist movement manifested as “mass movements,” and both movements initially produced chaos due to the spontaneity of the mass movement. Consequently, leading figures emerged in these two mass movements, beginning to play a leading role in the actual struggle. The leading figures of Christianity became so-called “prophets,” acting as God’s representatives on earth, holding the power to interpret religious laws and precepts. At the same time, while struggling against the external world, both early Christianity and socialism also generated internal struggles and splits. Within religion, due to differences in the interests and views of the prophets, they split into numerous factions, while within the socialist movement, similarly due to differences in stance, class, and viewpoint, currents such as the Weitling faction, Proudhonism, and Bakuninist anarchism emerged. The difference is that the continuous struggle among the different factions of early Christianity laid the groundwork for the future unification of Christianity; this was the internal logic of Christianity’s development through its own struggles. As Engels pointed out, Christianity was spontaneously formed in an era when hundreds of sects and prophets appeared, as “an intermediate product arising from the mutual influence of the most developed of these sects.” [7]7 Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” in *Marx and Engels Collected Works*, vol. 26 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 2014), p. 475. [Translator’s note: This is a back-translation from the Chinese text; the original English source may differ slightly.] In contrast, the struggles among the various so-called “socialist” factions within the socialist movement affected and threatened the progress of the socialist movement, damaging its achievements. Therefore, it was necessary for Engels at that time, from the perspective of comparing religion and socialism, to explain the essence and trends of socialism in the sense of “radically reforming” the socialist movement. [8]8 “正本清源” (zheng ben qing yuan) is a Chinese four-character idiom meaning “to radically reform or rectify from the root source.”

作为被压迫者的反抗运动，早期基督教运动与社会主义运动都表现为“群众运动”，并且两个运动在最初都由于群众运动的自发性而产生了混乱。因此，在这两种群众运动中出现了领袖人物，开始在实际斗争中起领导作用。基督教的领袖人物成为所谓“先知”，作为上帝的人间代言人，掌握宗教律法和规定的解释权。同时，早期基督教和社会主义在同外部世界做斗争的同时也在自己内部产生了斗争和分裂。在宗教中，由于先知们的利益和观点不同分裂成众多派系，而社会主义运动中同样由于立场、阶级、观点不同出现了魏特林派、蒲鲁东主义、巴枯宁无政府主义等流派。所不同的是，早期基督教不同派系之间的不断斗争，为基督教日后的统一埋下了伏笔，这是基督教在自身斗争中发展的内在逻辑。正如恩格斯指出，基督教是在宗派和先知数以百计出现的时代，作为“这些宗派中最发达的宗派相互影响而产生的中间物”而自发形成的。而社会主义运动中各种所谓“社会主义”派别之间的斗争却影响和威胁着社会主义运动的进行，损害社会主义运动成果。因此，恩格斯在当时有必要从宗教与社会主义比较的角度，从对社会主义运动“正本清源”意义上阐释社会主义的本质和趋势。

As a “mass movement” of the oppressed, early Christianity naturally contained positive elements of resistance against oppression. However, like other religions, early Christianity located the goal of resistance in an “otherworldly realm” beyond the real world. Engels affirmed that the otherworldly realm constructed by religion bore certain formal similarities to socialism, but the fundamental difference lay in the distinction between the illusory nature of the “other shore” in religious consciousness and the reality of “this shore” in the socialist ideal. In terms of possibility, the empirically experienced world of this shore is far more accessible and attainable than the transcendental religious otherworldly realm, and liberation and freedom in the real world are more foreseeable and realizable than salvation in heaven. Because the Christian doctrine that believers are saved through Christ’s sacrifice, in Engels’s view, was a most crude form of expression, since Christians “how they are saved and why they are saved—remains completely inexplicable.” [9]9 Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” p. 473. Marxism, on the other hand, proceeds from the actual living conditions of the proletariat, critiques capitalist private ownership, and points out the direction of the socialist movement and the practical path to real liberation.

作为被压迫者的“群众运动”，早期基督教自然带有反压迫的积极成分。但是，早期基督教同其他宗教一样将反压迫的目标定位在现实世界以外的“彼岸世界”。恩格斯肯定了宗教营造的彼岸世界与社会主义存在着某些形式上的相似，但根本就在于，宗教意识中“彼岸”的虚幻性与社会主义理想中“此岸”的现实性的区别。在可能性上，经验着的此岸世界远比超验的宗教彼岸世界更容易接近和到达，现实世界的解放和自由也比天国的解脱更加可以预见和实现。因为基督教所宣扬的信徒因为基督的牺牲而得救，在恩格斯看来是一种最粗糙的表现形式，因为基督徒“怎样得救和为什么得救——却根本无法解释”。而马克思主义则是从无产阶级现实生活状况出发，通过对资本主义私有制的批判，指明社会主义运动方向和现实解放的实践道路。

Regarding “mass movements” in the religious sphere, Engels pointed out: “All these movements conducted under the cloak of religion were caused by economic reasons.” [10]10 Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” p. 474. Only by analyzing and seeking the economic roots of religion in the real material world can one grasp the essence of religion and solve religious problems. All human history except that of primitive society is the history of class struggle, and the essence behind class struggle is the struggle for economic interests. As a product of the development of human society, religion necessarily has its own laws of historical development. When Marx and Engels discussed the history of class struggle, they treated primitive society as a special stage for investigation and analysis. Similarly, in the study of religion, spontaneous primitive religions also differ to some extent from later mature religions and cannot be treated uniformly. As Engels pointed out, the idol worship of Black people and the primitive religion of the Aryans did not contain elements of deception at their inception; it was only in their later development that fraud quickly emerged. [11]11 Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” p. 474. For a scientific understanding of religion, it is necessary to concretely analyze the specific factors within the social roots from which it arises. “Only by explaining its origin and development based on the historical conditions under which religion arose and achieved dominance can the problem be solved.” [12]12 Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” p. 475.

对于宗教领域的“群众运动”，恩格斯指出：“所有这些在宗教的外衣下进行的运动都是由经济原因引起的。”只有在现实物质世界中分析和找寻宗教产生的经济根源，才能把握宗教的本质，也才能解决宗教问题。除原始社会外的人类社会历史都是阶级斗争的历史，而阶级斗争背后的实质是经济利益斗争。宗教作为人类社会发展的产物，必然有着自身的历史发展规律，马克思恩格斯在论述阶级斗争史的时候将原始社会作为特殊阶段予以考察分析，同样在宗教研究上，自发的原始宗教也与后期成熟的宗教存在一定差别，不能一概而论。正如恩格斯指出，黑人的偶像膜拜和雅利安人的原始宗教产生之初并不带有欺骗成分，只不过在其后来的发展中却很快产生了欺诈。对于宗教的科学认识，必须具体地分析其产生的社会根源中的具体因素，“只有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，才能解决问题。”

As a form of “ideological consolation” under specific social background conditions, early Christianity differed from later mature institutional religions in terms of economic roots, but this does not negate that economic factors still played a role in the emergence and development of early Christianity, because “behind every religious frenzy there are hidden very real worldly interests.” [13]13 Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” p. 475. Engels used historical materialism to analyze the emergence of the first Christians. When slaves, small peasants, and bankrupt free men faced real difficulties such as bankruptcy and usury burdens, these diverse “suffering people,” due to differences in origin and material interests, could only find a common way out in the religious sphere, because religion could provide them with ideological and spiritual consolation. True socialism and communism, on the other hand, represent the interests of the broad proletariat. The consistency of the proletariat’s interests necessarily leads the proletariat to achieve the unity of the world’s proletarians and, through the appropriation of the means of production, to realize genuine and complete liberation.

早期基督教作为特定社会背景条件下的一种“思想上的安慰”，与后期成熟的建制宗教在经济根源上有所差别，但并不能否认经济因素在早期基督教的产生和发展中仍然发挥了作用，因为“在宗教狂热的背后，每次都隐藏有实实在在的现世利益”。恩格斯用唯物史观分析了最初的基督徒的产生，当奴隶、小农、破产的自由人面对破产和高利贷负担等现实困境时，这些形形色色的“受苦受难的人”由于出身和物质利益的差别，唯一能找到的共同出路就在宗教领域，因为宗教能使他们获得思想和精神上的安慰。而真正的社会主义和共产主义代表的是广大无产阶级利益，无产阶级在利益上的一致性必然使无产阶级实现的是全世界无产者的联合，并通过对生产资料的占有实现真正的、彻底的解放。

The similarities manifested in the forms of resistance, goals of resistance, and achievements of resistance cannot obscure the essential difference between religion and socialism. Engels pointed out that Christian liberation occurs in the otherworldly realm after death, while socialism directly acts upon and transforms the real material world through human practice. Engels’s discussions on the origin, development, and demise of religion are all imbued with profound principles and methods of historical materialism. In the process of discussing the history and essence of early Christianity, he further elucidated scientific socialism, demonstrating that the socialist movement is a practical mass movement, standing on the position of the proletariat and aiming to realize the real interests of the proletariat, thereby defending the class stance and guiding role of Marxism.

在反压迫形式、反压迫目标以及反压迫成果方面表现出的相似，并不能掩盖宗教与社会主义的本质区别。恩格斯指出，基督教的解脱发生于死后的彼岸世界，而社会主义则通过人的实践直接作用于改造现实的物质世界。恩格斯对宗教起源、发展、消亡的论述无不包含着深刻的历史唯物主义原理和方法，在论述早期基督教历史和本质的过程中进一步对科学社会主义做出阐释，论证了社会主义运动是在无产阶级立场上，以实现无产阶级现实利益为目标的实践着的群众运动，捍卫了马克思主义的阶级立场和指导地位。

(2) On the Essence and Conditions of Production of Religious Prophecy

（二）论宗教预言的实质与产生条件

In *On the History of Early Christianity*, Engels affirmed Bruno Bauer’s critique of the Gospels and the Apostolic Epistles. However, the idealist worldview led Bauer to “always treat history very lightly,” [14]14 Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” p. 470. which became the fundamental limitation preventing him from truly understanding the origin and essence of religious prophecy.

在《论原始基督教的历史》中，恩格斯肯定了布鲁诺?鲍威尔对于福音书和使徒书的批判，但是，唯心主义世界观导致鲍威尔“总是十分轻率地对待历史”，又成为其无法真正认识宗教预言起源和实质的根本局限。

Beginning with Strauss’s writing of *The Life of Jesus*, revelation and prophecy began to return from heaven to earth, transforming from divine revelation into human creation. Strauss had a great influence on the religious criticism of the time, to the extent that the young Engels called himself a “Straussian.” [15]15 “施特劳斯主义者” (Straussian) refers to a follower of David Friedrich Strauss (1808–1874), a German theologian and writer whose *The Life of Jesus* critically examined the historical basis of the Gospels. Through *The Life of Jesus*, Strauss discussed the narrative characteristics of revelation and prophecy, attributing them to the unconscious achievements of religious groups’ consciousness. On this basis, Bauer criticized Strauss’s view, completely denying the historical authenticity of the figure Jesus, and pointed out that revelation and prophecy were purposeful creations. Both Strauss and Bauer recognized the secular foundation of revelation and prophecy, but neither was able to reveal the true cause of their emergence.

从施特劳斯写作《耶稣传》开始，启示预言就开始从天国回到人间，从神的启示变成了人间创作。施特劳斯对于当时的宗教批判影响很大，以致年轻的恩格斯在当时称自己为“施特劳斯主义者”。施特劳斯通过《耶稣传》论述了启示预言的故事性特征，将启示预言归结为宗教团体无意识的意识成果。鲍威尔在此基础上对施特劳斯的说法予以批判，彻底否定耶稣其人的历史真实性，并指出启示预言是带有目的性的创作。施特劳斯和鲍威尔都认识到了启示预言的世俗基础，但都没能揭示其产生的真正原因。

The study of revealed prophecy is one of the main components of Engels’s late study of Christianity. In *Revelation*, Engels, by enumerating the results of research on revealed prophecy from different angles, denies the mystique of revealed prophecy. In the study of Christian texts, Bauer proved that “the apostolic letters often copy Seneca word for word.” [16]16 Frederick Engels, “The Book of Revelation,” in *Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Collected Works*, vol. 26 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1990), p. 135. The reference is to Bruno Bauer’s argument that the New Testament epistles borrow from the Stoic philosopher Seneca. This is because early Christianity absorbed much of the content of Stoic philosophy and only gradually established its doctrines through connection with gospel legends. Through his examination of Christian texts, Engels, from the perspective of divergent doctrinal interpretations and chaotic grammar and wording, points out that the “Gospel of John,” the “Epistles of John,” and “this book” [17]17 “This book” refers to the Book of Revelation itself, which Engels analyzes as a composite text. belong to different authors, and further exposes the deceptive principle of revelatory works in hoodwinking readers. In fact, the emergence of different versions of the Bible also to some extent illustrates the self-contradiction of religion concerning revealed prophecy. Through his analysis of the apocalypses of various schools, Engels concludes that two conditions are necessary for the production of revealed prophecy: first, it must be falsely attributed to an earlier author; second, its true author must occupy an important theological position in his own era. These two conditions are the prerequisites for the creation of revealed prophecy. Falsely attributing the work to an earlier author enhances the mystique and predictive quality of revealed prophecy, while the important position of the true author in theology and the church at the time gives revealed prophecy a false “authenticity,” facilitating its dissemination. Applying the principles of historical materialism, Engels analyzes and reveals the essence and conditions of production of religious prophecy, making this one of the important achievements of his study of early Christianity. Moreover, the exposure of the deceptive principle and conditions of production of revealed prophecy is also an explanation within Marxist religious theory of the reasons why religious functions take effect.

对启示预言的研究是恩格斯晚年基督教研究的主要内容之一。《启示录》中，恩格斯通过列举对启示预言不同角度的研究成果，否认启示预言的神秘性。在基督教文本的研究上，鲍威尔证明了“使徒书信常常一字不差地抄袭塞涅卡”。因为，早期基督教吸收了很多斯多葛学派哲学的内容，通过与福音传说的联系才逐步确定教义。恩格斯通过对基督教文本的考察，从教义阐释互异、文字语法错乱的角度，指出“约翰福音”“约翰书信”“本篇”分属不同的作者，并进一步揭露启示作品蒙蔽读者这一欺骗性原则。事实上，不同版本的《圣经》的出现也一定程度上说明了宗教关于启示预言的自我矛盾。恩格斯通过对各派启示录的分析，得出了启示预言产生必须具备的两个条件：一是，必须要假托前人所作；二是，其真正作者在所处时代占有重要的神学地位。这两个条件是启示预言创造的先决条件。假托前人所作增强了启示预言的神秘性和预示性，而启示预言真正作者当时在神学和教会中所处的重要地位则使启示预言具有了虚假的“真实性”，为其传播提供了便利。恩格斯运用历史唯物主义原理分析揭示了宗教预言的本质和产生条件，成为其对早期基督教研究的重要成果之一。并且，对启示预言欺骗性原则和产生条件的揭露也是马克思主义宗教理论关于宗教功能发生作用的原因的解释。

(III) On the Formation of World Religion

（三）论世界宗教的形成

Engels points out that spontaneous primitive religion did not contain an element of deception at its inception; it was only in later development that economic and political interests gradually became incorporated, deception began to emerge, and it thereby acquired a class character. From the history of Christianity, the earliest Christianity was merely a sect of Judaism. Although Judaism constituted the beginning of the entire Hebrew system, as Christianity continuously triumphed in its struggle with Judaism, Christianity ultimately became the most important religious component of Western civilization and acquired the character of a world religion. Building on Bauer’s study of the relationship between Greco-Roman civilization and Christianity, Engels, proceeding from historical facts, analyzes the role of the Roman Empire in promoting the formation of Christianity as a world religion. The rule of the Roman Empire cleared obstacles for the development of Christianity, because “in destroying the political and social distinctiveness of individual peoples, the Roman Empire also destroyed their distinctive religions.” [18]18 Frederick Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” in *Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Collected Works*, vol. 27 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1990), p. 447. By eliminating the social foundation on which national religions depended for their survival and development, the Roman Empire accelerated the demise of national religions, provided the necessary conditions for the development of Christianity, and set Christianity on the first stage of its evolution into a world religion. In his analysis and investigation, Engels clarifies that the process by which Christianity grew into a world religion was accompanied by the dissolution of the social foundation of primitive and national religions during the Roman Empire period, once again demonstrating that the socio-political and economic base is the decisive factor in the development and demise of religion. Moreover, Engels places the demise of religion and the causes of world religion within the same dialectical process for analysis, fully demonstrating that the succession of religious sects is a reflection of class struggle and a result of economic struggle. This is a manifestation of the application of mature Marxist viewpoints and methods to the analysis of religion, and also a enrichment and great development of the Marxist theory of religion concerning the theory of the demise of religion.

恩格斯指出，自发的原始宗教产生之初并不带有欺骗成分，只是在后来的发展中逐渐融入了经济和政治利益，开始产生了欺骗，也因此具有了阶级性。从基督教的历史来看，最初的基督教只是作为犹太教的一个流派，虽然犹太教构成整个希伯来体系的发端，但随着基督教在与犹太教的斗争中不断取得胜利，基督教最终成为西方文明中最主要的宗教成分，并具有了世界宗教的性质。恩格斯在鲍威尔研究希腊罗马与基督教关系的基础上，从历史事实出发分析了罗马帝国对基督教世界宗教形成的促进作用。罗马帝国的统治为基督教的发展扫清了障碍，因为“罗马帝国在消灭各民族政治和社会独特性的同时，也消灭了他们独特的宗教”。罗马帝国通过消灭民族宗教赖以生存发展的社会基础加速了民族宗教的消亡，为基督教的发展提供了必要的条件，使基督教开始了向世界宗教演进的第一个发展阶段。恩格斯在分析考察中明确了基督教成长为世界宗教的过程伴随着罗马帝国时期原始宗教和民族宗教的社会基础的解体过程，再一次论证了社会政治、经济基础是宗教发展和消亡的决定因素。并且，恩格斯将宗教消亡与世界宗教成因置于同一个辩证的过程中予以分析，充分论证了宗教派别的更替是阶级斗争的反映和经济斗争的结果，是运用成熟的马克思主义观点和方法分析宗教的表现，也是对马克思主义宗教理论关于宗教消亡理论的丰富和极大发展。

Christianity, which grew up amid the gradual demise of other national religions, absorbed the concept of “sacrificial atonement” widely believed in religious faith at the time and transformed it into the specifically Christian concept that “believers are saved through Christ’s sacrifice.” In the Christian conception, Jesus was nailed to the cross to atone for the sins of the world, and “believers from every tribe and nation are forgiven of their sins before God through his blood.” [19]19 Ibid., p. 448. Engels calls this view the “fundamental view” of Christianity’s becoming a world religion and the doctrinal basis for its ability to rapidly attract followers. Christianity thereby became a “universal religion,” offering the possibility for all kinds of lower-class people to become Christians. When slaves and bankrupt people could also believe in Christianity, it had already begun to possess a “universal” community of believers and a “worldwide” potential community of believers.

在其他民族宗教的逐渐消亡中成长起来的基督教，吸收了当时宗教信仰中普遍信奉的“牺牲赎罪”观念，并改造出“信徒因基督的牺牲而得救”的基督教特有的观念。在基督教观念中，耶稣被钉在十字架上替世人赎罪，“各族各方的信徒都由于他的血而在神面前得蒙赦罪”。恩格斯称这一观点是基督教成为世界宗教的“根本观点”，是它能够迅速吸引信众的教义基础。基督教也因此成为一种“普遍的宗教”，给形形色色的下层人提供了成为基督徒的可能，当奴隶和破产者也能信仰基督教的时候，它就已开始具备“普世的”信仰群体和“世界性”的潜在信仰群体。

The simplification of Christian religious rituals is another important factor in its becoming a world religion. Alongside the formation of a universal concept, corresponding simplified forms of belief and religious rituals also emerged. Christianity’s “shedding of these rituals that hindered or prohibited interaction with pagans was the primary condition for a world religion.” [20]20 Ibid., p. 449. Religious rituals are important acts in religious life and are usually regarded as expressions of religious piety. Religious reforms in history often involve the content of religious rituals and invariably make simplified adjustments to religious rituals to make them more compatible with daily life. Whether it was the establishment of the early Daoist “home altars” in China or Luther’s Protestant Reformation’s advocacy of “justification by faith,” [21]21 “Justification by faith” is a central doctrine of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, holding that salvation is granted through faith alone, not through good works or rituals. these were adjustments made to attract followers and develop religion. Because “Christianity had no rituals that created separation,” when Christianity “negated all national religions and their common rituals and treated all peoples without distinction, it itself became the first viable world religion.” [22]22 Engels, “On the History of Early Christianity,” p. 449.

基督教宗教仪式简化是它成为世界宗教的另一个重要因素。在普世观念形成的同时，与之相适应的简化的信仰方式和宗教仪式也随之产生，基督教“摆脱这些妨碍或禁止与异教徒交往的礼仪，则是世界宗教的首要条件”。宗教仪式是宗教生活中的重要行为，通常也被视作宗教虔诚的表现。历史上的宗教改革往往都会涉及到宗教仪式的内容，并且也都会对宗教仪式做出更符合日常化的简化改造。无论是中国道教早期“在家社坛”的建立还是LUDE新教改革宣扬的“因信称义”，都是为了吸引信众、发展宗教而做出的调整。由于“基督教没有造成隔绝的仪式”，因此当基督教“否定一切民族宗教及其共有仪式，毫无差别地对待一切民族，它本身就成了第一个可行的世界宗教。”

On the question of religious study, Engels points out: “The problem can be solved only by explaining the origin and development of religion in terms of the historical conditions under which it arose and achieved dominance.” [23]23 Ibid., p. 447. Looking at the results of Engels’s late study of Christianity, the embryonic trend of early Christianity toward a world religion benefited from the social environment brought about by Roman imperial rule. In the “period of total dissolution in economy, politics, intellect, and morality,” [24]24 Ibid., p. 449. Christianity conformed to the psychology of people who, pessimistic about their material conditions, sought salvation for their souls. Through its own simplification of rituals and the shaping of a universal concept, it acquired the conditions for becoming a world religion. Of course, Christianity’s becoming a world religion was the result of the combined action of multiple factors, including both the impetus of the external political and economic environment and Christianity’s own multiple advantages for becoming a world religion. For example, Christianity’s openness and initiative in its methods of proselytizing clearly distinguished it from the secrecy of other national religions and Eastern religions. In Engels’s late study of Christianity, the causes of Christianity’s becoming a world religion fully demonstrate that Christianity, “as a world religion, is precisely the most authentic product of this world.” [25]25 Ibid., p. 450. It is precisely on the basis of this judgment that the root of the demise of religion can be found in the real world.

在宗教研究问题上，恩格斯指出：“只有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，才能解决问题。”就恩格斯晚年基督教研究成果来看，早期基督教的世界宗教发展趋势的萌芽得益于罗马帝国统治带来的社会环境，在“经济、政治、智力和道德的总解体时期”，基督教顺应了当时人们因为物质现状的悲观而追寻灵魂得救的心理，通过自身仪式简化和普世观念的塑造而具备了成为世界宗教的条件。当然，基督教成为世界宗教是多种因素综合作用的结果，既有外部政治经济环境的推进，也有基督教自身具有的成为世界宗教的多种优势。比如，基督教在传教方式上表现的开放性、主动性，明显区别于其他民族宗教和东方宗教传教的隐秘性等。恩格斯晚年基督教研究中，关于基督教世界宗教的成因充分说明了基督教“作为世界性宗教的形成而言，它正是这个世界的最道地的产物”。也正是基于这个判断，才能在现实世界中找到宗教消亡的根源所在。

III. The Value of Engels’s Late Study of Christianity

三、恩格斯晚年基督教研究的价值

(I) In Content: Introducing Religious Historical Materials into the Study of Marxist Religious Theory

（一）内容上：将宗教史料引入马克思主义宗教理论研究

During the period of Engels’s and Marx’s first meeting, the philosophical world at the time was preoccupied with the critique of religion, and this period therefore became the most concentrated period of Marx and Engels’s critique of religion. However, Marx himself conducted relatively little research and discussion on the history of religion. Until Marx’s death, religion never became a topic of genuine concern and interest for him. As the main works of Engels’s late study of Christianity, *Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity*, *Revelation*, and *On the History of Early Christianity* together, through a rich combination of historical facts and theory, made the Marxist theory of religion more systematic and comprehensive in the study of the history of religious development.

恩格斯与马克思初次会面时期，当时的哲学界流行对宗教的批判，因此这一时期成为马克思恩格斯对宗教批判最为集中的一个时期。但马克思本人对于宗教史所做的研究和论述相对较少，直至马克思去世，宗教始终没能成为其真正关心和关注的内容。作为恩格斯晚年基督教研究的主要作品，《布鲁诺?鲍威尔和原始基督教》《启示录》和《论原始基督教的历史》一同以丰富的史论结合事实，使马克思主义宗教理论在宗教发展史的研究上更加系统和全面。

The study of religious history and religious records is the research content of religious studies, and it is only through the study of religious history that one can truly understand the historical laws of religious development, thereby correctly grasping the essence of religion and ensuring the positive functions of religion. Although Engels’s late-life study of Christianity focused on the developmental history of early Christianity, he conducted a concrete investigation of early Christian history from the overall perspective of the history of Christian development, viewing the evolution and development of Christianity from the standpoint of historical materialism. In *On the History of Early Christianity*, Engels, drawing on rich historical materials and Christian texts, examined Bruno Bauer’s research findings on Christianity and combined this with the developmental stages and conditions of Christianity as a world religion. He provided an analysis of the origin, development, and evolution of early Christianity consistent with the principles of historical materialism, broadening the research field of Marxist religious theory through a method combining history and theory, and enhancing the persuasiveness of Marxist critical theory of religion.

宗教史、宗教志的研究是宗教学的研究内容，也只有通过对宗教史的研究才能真正认识宗教发展的历史规律，从而正确把握宗教的本质以及保证宗教正面功能的发挥。恩格斯晚年基督教研究虽然重点论述了早期基督教的发展历史，但其从基督教发展史的整体角度，对早期基督教历史进行具体的研究，从唯物史观的高度看待基督教的演变和发展。《论原始基督教的历史》中恩格斯以丰富的历史资料和基督教文本为依据，通过对布鲁诺·鲍威尔基督教研究成果的考察以及结合基督教作为世界宗教的发展阶段和发展状况，对早期基督教起源、发展、演变做出符合历史唯物主义原理的分析，以史论结合的方法拓宽了马克思主义宗教理论的研究领域，增强了马克思主义宗教批判理论的说服力。

Religious textual materials are the basis for religious research. It was precisely through the study of Christian texts that Engels arrived at the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, clarified the developmental thread of Christianity—that revelation myths preceded religious doctrines—and also demonstrated Christianity’s absorption of contemporary philosophical thought. It can be said that prior to this, most of the religious critiques by Marx and Engels were based on the general concept of religion. Engels’s late-life study of Christianity not only referenced the history of a specific religion but also, through extensive citation of historical materials such as geographical records and ethnic histories, discussed the developmental conditions of early Christianity and the causes and process of Christianity becoming a world religion. By scientifically restoring the historical facts of Christian development, he revealed the true face of religion. The enrichment and development of Marxist religious theory achieved by Engels’s late-life study of Christianity provides theoretical guidance for China’s efforts in the New Era to strengthen the disciplinary construction of Marxist religious studies and to “cultivate a contingent of Party and government cadres who are proficient in the Marxist view on religion, familiar with religious work, and skilled in doing work among religious believers.” [26]26 This quotation is from Xi Jinping’s speech at the National Conference on Religious Work in 2016, emphasizing the need for trained cadres in religious work.

宗教文本资料是宗教研究的依据，恩格斯正是基于对基督教文本的研究，得出基督教与犹太教的关系，理清了基督教先有启示神话，后有宗教教义的发展脉络，也论证了基督教对当时哲学思想的吸收。可以说，在这之前马克思恩格斯所做的宗教批判大多是基于宗教这一一般概念而来的。而恩格斯晚年基督教研究，不仅参考了具体宗教的历史，同时通过广泛的引证地理志、民族史等历史材料来论述早期基督教的发展状况和基督教世界宗教的成因及过程，通过对基督教发展历史事实的科学还原，揭示宗教的本来面目。恩格斯晚年基督教研究对于马克思主义宗教理论所做的丰富和发展，为新时代我国加强马克思主义宗教学学科建设，“培养一支精通马克思主义宗教观、熟悉宗教工作、善于做信教群众工作的党政干部队伍”，提供了学习和工作的理论指导。

(II) Methodologically: Religious Critique by Religion and by Stage

（二）方法上：分宗教、分阶段的宗教批判

Historical materialism is the guiding thread for studying history. Whether studying the history of Christianity or other social histories, one must properly grasp the standpoint and measure of historical materialism. Conducting concrete research and critique of specific religions by stage under the guidance of historical materialism is the innovative method of Engels’s late-life study of Christianity.

唯物史观是研究历史的指导线索，无论是研究基督教的历史还是其他社会历史都必须把握好唯物史观的立场和尺度。在唯物史观指导下对具体宗教分阶段进行具体的研究和批判是恩格斯晚年基督教研究的创新方法。

Engels concretized early Christianity from the general object of religion, conducting specific research and discussion on the religious texts of different Christian sects. Primitive religion and early Christianity, as special stages in religious development, have specific backgrounds for their emergence and development. By conducting a comprehensive and systematic investigation of specific religions at specific stages, one can arrive at conclusions applicable to the general object of religion. This is a methodological embodiment of the dialectical relationship between the universal and the particular. Analyzing and grasping the different characteristics of specific stages from the concrete developmental stages of religion, and further grasping the essence and developmental laws of religion, not only conforms to the Marxist viewpoint but also provides methodological guidance for using Marxist religious theory to study religious issues.

恩格斯将早期基督教从宗教这一概括性对象中具体化出来，针对基督教不同流派的宗教文本进行具体研究和论述。原始宗教和早期基督教作为宗教发展中的特殊阶段，具有其产生发展的特定背景，通过对具体宗教具体阶段的全面系统考察，得出适合宗教一般性对象的结论，是普遍和特殊辩证关系的方法论体现。从具体的宗教发展阶段分析和把握特定阶段所具有的不同特征，进一步把握宗教的本质和发展规律既符合马克思主义的观点，也为运用马克思主义宗教理论研究宗教问题提供了方法指导。

Adhering to the scientific direction of Marxist religious theory is necessary to ensure that research on specific religions does not go astray. Religion, as a cultural and spiritual product, is the conceptual superstructure determined by the economic base under specific historical conditions. Studying religion by stage means acknowledging the dynamic process of the development of productive forces and the progressive trend of human society, embodying profound principles of historical materialism.

坚持马克思主义宗教理论的科学方向，才能保证在具体宗教的研究中不走偏。宗教作为文化和精神产品，是一定历史条件下经济基础决定的观念上层建筑，分阶段的宗教研究就是承认生产力发展的动态过程和人类社会的进步趋势，蕴含着深刻的历史唯物主义原理。

(III) Practically: Enhancing the Ability of Marxist Religious Theory to Solve Practical Problems

（三）实践上：增强马克思主义宗教理论解决现实问题的能力

Although Marx and Engels started from old philosophy, they broke free from the confines of old philosophy through a practical materialist philosophy. On the issue of religion, Marx and Engels did not treat religion solely as a philosophical investigation but analyzed and critiqued it as a concrete, practical social problem. Philosophy, as the “quintessence of the spirit of the times,” should reflect the issues of the times and provide means and methods for resolving them. Therefore, the critique of religion, while possessing the characteristics of critique at the philosophical level, should also become a practical guide for solving real-world religious problems.

马克思恩格斯虽然从旧哲学出发，却以一种实践的唯物主义哲学摆脱了旧哲学的窠臼。在宗教问题上，马克思恩格斯并不是单独将宗教作为哲学考察，而是作为具体的、现实的社会问题进行剖析和批判。作为“时代精神的精华”的哲学，应该是时代问题的反映和为时代问题提供出路的手段和方法。因此，对于宗教的批判，在具备哲学层面批判特点的同时，更应该成为解决现实宗教问题的实践指南。

Engels’s late-life study of Christianity was conducted alongside the process of organizing Marx’s texts and viewpoints. In this process, it not only applied Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods to religious research, supplementing previously unaddressed content of religious critique, but also reinterpreted Marxist religious theory in light of the needs of the specific situation, thereby enhancing the ability of Marxist religious theory to solve practical problems.

恩格斯晚年基督教研究是伴随着对马克思文本和观点的整理过程而进行的。在这一过程中，既是将马克思主义的立场、观点、方法运用到宗教研究，对之前尚未论及的宗教批判内容进行补充，更是结合具体形势的需要对马克思主义宗教理论的再次阐释，增强了马克思主义宗教理论解决现实问题的能力。

After Marx’s death, the task of guiding the workers’ movement fell solely on Engels. This period was an important era when capitalist development entered monopoly capitalism. Opportunism was rampant, and the workers’ movement and the socialist cause encountered various problems. The most harmful was the right-wing opportunism represented by the right-wing leader of the German Social Democratic Party, Georg von Vollmar. [27]27 Georg von Vollmar (1850–1922) was a leading figure in the right wing of the German Social Democratic Party, advocating reformist and revisionist policies. Engels implicitly criticized the views of right-wing opportunism as the pacifist ideology advocated by the Christian Protestant Quakers. [28]28 The Quakers, or the Religious Society of Friends, are a Christian sect historically known for their pacifist beliefs. In *The Civil War in France*, Marx regarded the church, along with the standing army and the police, as “powerful weapons” of the “ready-made state machinery,” in which the “clerical power” existed as a “spiritual force” within the oppressive instruments of the old government. Engels’s late-life study of Christianity profoundly revealed the deceptive nature of religious revelation prophecies represented by Christianity, once again reducing religious relations to economic relations, clarifying the bourgeois character of religion in capitalist society, and reaffirming the practical path of the proletariat—that is, to destroy the church and all “ready-made state machinery,” including the “clerical power,” through revolutionary means. From the perspective of religious critique, it pointed out the path and direction for the proletariat to continue the revolution.

马克思去世后，指导工人运动的任务由恩格斯独自承担。这个时期是资本主义发展进入垄断资本主义的重要时期，机会主义甚嚣尘上，工人运动和社会主义事业遭遇了种种问题，尤其是以德国社会民主党右翼领导人福尔马尔为代表的右倾机会主义危害最大。恩格斯将右倾机会主义的观点暗讽为基督教新教教友会所鼓吹的和平主义的思想。在《法兰西内战》中，马克思将教会与常备军、警察局等看作是“现成的国家机器”的“有力武器”，其中，“僧侣势力”作为旧政府压迫工具中的“精神力量”而存在。恩格斯晚年基督教研究深刻揭示了以基督教为代表的宗教启示预言的欺骗性实质，再一次将宗教关系还原为经济关系，明确了资本主义社会宗教的资产阶级性质，重申无产阶级的实践路径，即通过革命手段摧毁教会和“僧侣势力”在内的一切“现成的国家机器”，从宗教批判的角度为无产阶级继续革命指明了道路和方向。

Engels’s late-life study of Christianity is of great significance for conducting religious studies under the guidance of Marxism today, using Marxist religious theory to solve practical religious problems, adhering to the direction of sinicizing China’s religions, and actively guiding religions to adapt to socialist society. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the National Conference on Religious Work that since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee has put forward a series of new concepts and measures regarding religious work, answering major theoretical and practical questions such as how to understand religion, how to handle religious issues, and how to do the Party’s religious work well in the New Era. [29]29 The National Conference on Religious Work was held in 2016, where Xi Jinping outlined the Party’s approach to religious affairs in the New Era. The current stage of social development in China and the developmental laws of religion itself determine that religion will continue to exist for a long period. Therefore, using Marxist religious theory to solve practical religious problems means achieving religious harmony, social stability, and ethnic unity. Religious issues are never merely simple religious phenomena; they conceal complex social problems. Only through the study of the history and stages of religious development can one accurately analyze the real problems behind religious phenomena, effectively prevent Western countries from using religion to divide China, uphold a holistic approach to national security, adhere to the principle of China’s religions being independently and self-governed, and adhere to the direction of sinicizing China’s religions. Only then can a new situation in religious work be created, better organizing and guiding religious believers to strive together with the broad masses of the people to build a modern socialist country in all respects and realize the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

恩格斯晚年基督教研究，对于今天以马克思主义为指导进行宗教学研究，运用马克思主义宗教理论解决现实宗教问题，坚持我国宗教中国化方向，积极引导宗教与社会主义社会相适应都具有重要意义。习近平总书记在全国宗教工作会议上强调，党的十八大以来，党中央提出一系列关于宗教工作的新理念新举措，回答了新时代怎样认识宗教、怎样处理宗教问题、怎样做好党的宗教工作等重大理论和实践问题。我国当前的社会发展阶段和宗教自身的发展规律决定了宗教在一定时期内仍然会长期存在。因此，运用马克思主义宗教理论解决现实宗教问题，就是实现宗教和顺、社会和谐、民族和睦。宗教问题从不只是简单的宗教现象，其中隐含着复杂的社会问题。只有通过对宗教发展历史和阶段的研究，才能准确分析宗教现象背后的真正问题之所在，也才能有效防范西方国家利用宗教对我国进行的分化行为，坚持总体国家安全观，坚持我国宗教独立自主自办的原则，坚持我国宗教的中国化发展方向。也才能开创宗教工作新局面，更好组织和引导信教群众同广大人民群众一道为全面建成社会主义现代化强国、实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦而团结奋斗。

IV. Conclusion

四、结 语

Examining and interpreting Engels’s late study of Christianity from the three dimensions of cause, achievement, and value can provide a relatively comprehensive explanation of Engels’s atheist stance and the content of his critique of religion. With its rich achievements and profound value, Engels’s late study of Christianity made Marxist theory of religion more complete in both thought and practice. Through an examination of these three dimensions, it is not difficult to discover that the main thread running through them is the actual socialist movement. The trend, direction, and effectiveness of the socialist movement were one of the focal points of Engels’s work in his later years. Therefore, understanding and grasping Engels’s late study of Christianity on the basis of this main thread is all the more practically significant and timely in value. Through a three-dimensional interpretation of Engels’s late study of Christianity and a grasp of the main thread, it is possible to better understand and apply Marxist theory of religion to guide China’s religious work, to adhere to the direction of sinicization of religion in China in the New Era, and to “guide the situation to advantage, steer it away from harm, and guide religion to strive to serve the promotion of economic development, social harmony, cultural prosperity, ethnic unity, and the unification of the motherland.” [30]30 This quotation is from a speech by Xi Jinping on religious work, emphasizing the need to guide religion to adapt to the socialist context.

从起因、成果、价值三个维度对恩格斯晚年基督教研究进行考察和解读，能够比较全面地阐释恩格斯的无神论立场和宗教批判内涵。恩格斯晚年基督教研究以其丰富的成果和深刻价值使马克思主义宗教理论在思想和实践方面更加完备。通过这三个维度的考察，不难发现，其中贯穿的一条主线就是现实的社会主义运动。社会主义运动的趋势、方向和成效，是恩格斯晚年的工作重心之一。因此，基于这条主线来理解和把握恩格斯晚年基督教研究才更加具有现实意义和时代价值。通过对恩格斯晚年基督教研究三个维度的解读和一条主线的把握，能够更好地理解、运用马克思主义宗教理论指导我国的宗教工作，在新时代坚持我国宗教的中国化方向，“因势利导、趋利避害，引导宗教努力为促进经济发展、社会和谐、文化繁荣、民族团结、祖国统一服务。”

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心