On Atheist Education in Ideological and Political Work

Ideological and political work is a fine tradition, a distinctive feature, and a prominent political advantage of the Party. In September 2025, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Ideological and Political Work." On the basis of summarizing the historical experience of the Party in leading ideological and political work, especially the theoretical and practical experience of the New Era, the Regulations further clarify the institutional mechanisms, work responsibilities, content and methods, and objectives and tasks of ideological and political work. Regarding the main content of ideological and political work, the Regulations emphasize nine aspects, one of which is "strengthening education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism, and strengthening atheist education." This is the first time "atheist education" has entered intra-Party regulations. It not only embodies the principled requirements for enhancing the scientific, institutionalized, and standardized level of ideological and political work, but also establishes institutional guarantees for promoting the normalization and long-term effectiveness of atheist education. This has important theoretical significance and practical value for comprehensively and accurately grasping the great principle of Marxist atheism and ensuring that it, as the mainstream ideology, always occupies a dominant position in the thinking of the people.

思想政治工作是党的优良传统、鲜明特色和突出政治优势。2025年9月，中共中央印发《中国共产党思想政治工作条例》,在总结党领导思想政治工作历史经验特别是新时代思想政治工作理论和实践经验的基础上，进一步明确规定了思想政治工作的体制机制、工作职责、内容方式、目标任务。关于思想政治工作的主要内容，《条例》强调了九个方面，其中之一就是“加强辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义教育，加强无神论教育”。这是“无神论教育”第一次进入党内法规，既体现了提高思想政治工作科学化制度化规范化水平的原则要求，也确立了推动无神论教育常态化长效化的制度保障，对于全面准确把握马克思主义无神论的大原则、确保其作为主流意识形态始终在人民群众思想中占据主导地位，具有重要的理论意义和实践价值。

I. The Status and Role of Atheist Education in Ideological and Political Work

一、思想政治工作中无神论教育的地位和作用

Ideological and political work is a practical activity encompassing ideological education, political guidance, moral cultivation, spiritual motivation, cultural nurturing, psychological counseling, and caring services, carried out to mobilize and organize Party members, cadres, and the masses to accomplish the Party's central tasks and historical mission. It is an important means of adhering to and implementing the Party's political line, ideological line, organizational line, and mass line, and an important guarantee for upholding the Party's leadership, realizing the Party's propositions, and consolidating the Party's ruling foundation and mass base. "Atheism" is the premise of all Marxist theory and an important component of the dialectical materialist and historical materialist world outlook of Communists. It was under the condition that "the criticism of religion is essentially completed" that Marx began to establish his new world outlook; "Communism begins straight away with atheism." [1]1 Falun Gong: A spiritual practice organization founded in 1992, officially designated by the Chinese government as an illegal cult in 1999 for alleged social disruption and anti-government activities. If atheism is not upheld, and the "intervention" of gods, creators, and all supernatural and mysterious forces is not excluded, it is impossible to understand and transform the world according to its true nature, and impossible to accomplish the Party's central tasks and historical mission. Therefore, within the entire content system of ideological and political work, atheist education occupies a starting position and plays an indispensable foundational role.

思想政治工作是为完成党的中心任务和历史使命动员组织党员、干部、群众所进行的思想教育、政治引领、道德培养、精神激励、文化涵育、心理疏导、关怀服务等实践活动，是坚持和贯彻党的政治路线、思想路线、组织路线、群众路线的重要方式，是坚持党的领导、实现党的主张、巩固党的执政基础和群众基础的重要保证。“无神”是马克思主义一切理论的前提,是共产党人辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义世界观的重要组成部分。马克思就是在“对宗教的批判基本上已经结束”的条件下开始创立自己的新世界观的，“共产主义是径直从无神论开始的”。如果不坚持无神论，不排除神、造物主和一切超自然神秘力量的“干预”,就不可能按照世界的本来面目认识世界、改造世界，不可能完成党的中心任务、历史使命。所以，在整个思想政治工作内容体系中，无神论教育处于起点位置，发挥着不可或缺的基石作用。

First, strengthening atheist education is a foundational project for ideological and political work to consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological domain. Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology for building the Party and the country, and for rejuvenating the Party and the country. Over the past century and more, the key reason the Party has been able to accomplish the arduous tasks that no other political force in modern times could complete, and to lead revolution, construction, and reform to one victory after another, lies in the scientific guidance of Marxism. The Regulations emphasize that ideological and political work takes as its fundamental task the consolidation of Marxism's guiding position in the ideological domain and the consolidation of the common ideological foundation for the united struggle of the entire Party and people of all ethnic groups in the country. To achieve the "Two Consolidations," [2]2 This sentence is a paraphrase of a well-known statement by Xi Jinping on the role of institutions in national governance. it is necessary to strengthen atheist education. This is because atheism is a component and manifestation of materialism; the entire edifice of Marxist theory is built upon the world outlook of atheism and materialism. Marxist atheism is not only an important component of Marxist theory but also an important cornerstone of Marxist theory. If ideological and political work does not value, dare to, or is not adept at grasping atheist education, remaining in a state of inaction, passive coping, or ineffective operation for a long time, it will inevitably cause the ongoing contest between atheism and theism in the ideological domain to shift in favor of theism. This will lead to the spread of various forms of theism in society, with more and more people believing in religion. This not only deviates from the profound humanistic spirit inherent in China's excellent traditional culture, but will also cause the people's positions of faith to be occupied piece by piece by theism, and the cornerstone of the edifice of Marxist theory to be hollowed out step by step by non-Marxist and anti-Marxist forces, ultimately and inevitably weakening the Party's ruling foundation and shaking its guiding ideology. General Secretary Xi Jinping once warned: "Now, the number of religious activity sites and religious believers is growing rapidly. We must treat this issue with caution." [3]3 The “Regulations” refers to the “Regulations on the Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China,” issued by the Party Central Committee in 2021. How to treat it with caution? The foundational project is to strengthen atheist education and prevent the spread of theism and the unhealthy development of religion. Just as Lenin demanded: "Our Party is an alliance of class-conscious, advanced fighters for the emancipation of the working class. Such an alliance cannot and must not be indifferent to the lack of consciousness, ignorance, and obscurantism represented by religious belief. We... fight the religious fog with purely ideological weapons, and only ideological weapons, with our press and our words." [4]4 Constitution of the People's Republic of China (1982, as amended), Article 24.

第一，加强无神论教育是思想政治工作巩固马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的基础工程。马克思主义是我们立党立国、兴党兴国的根本指导思想。百余年来，党之所以能够完成近代以来各种政治力量无法完成的艰巨任务，领导革命、建设和改革取得一个又一个胜利，关键在于有马克思主义的科学指导。《条例》强调，思想政治工作把巩固马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位、巩固全党全国人民团结奋斗的共同思想基础作为根本任务。要实现“两个巩固”,必须加强无神论教育。这是因为，无神论是唯物论的组成部分和表现形式，整个马克思主义理论大厦就是建立在无神论、唯物论的世界观基础之上的。马克思主义无神论既是马克思主义理论的重要组成部分，也是马克思主义理论的重要基石。思想政治工作如果不重视、不敢于、不善于抓无神论教育，长期处于无所作为的状态、消极应付的状态、无效运转的状态，必然会使意识形态领域一直存在的无神论和有神论之间的较量发生有利于有神论的转变，进而导致形形色色的有神论在社会上蔓延开来，信仰宗教的人越来越多，这不仅和中华优秀传统文化蕴含的深厚人文精神相背离，而且会使人民群众的信仰阵地一块一块地被有神论占领，马克思主义理论大厦的基石一步一步地被非马克思主义、反马克思主义掏空，最终不可避免地削弱党的执政基础、动摇党的指导思想。习近平总书记曾警示：“现在，宗教活动场所和信教群众数量增长很快。我们对这个问题要慎重对待。”怎样慎重对待?基础工程就是加强无神论教育，防止有神论蔓延和宗教不健康发展。就像列宁要求的那样：“我们的党是争取工人阶级解放的觉悟的先进战士的联盟。这样的联盟不能够也不应当对宗教信仰这种不觉悟、无知和蒙昧的表现置之不理。我们……用纯粹的思想武器，而且仅仅是思想武器，用我们的书刊、我们的言论来跟宗教迷雾进行斗争。”

Second, strengthening atheist education is a key line of defense for ideological and political work against the spiritual temptation and ideological penetration of religion among the masses. Freedom of religious belief is a long-term basic policy of the Party and a fundamental right granted to citizens by the Constitution. We respect the freedom of belief of religious believers and guide them to unite around the Party and government and to be good citizens who love the country and abide by the law. However, at the same time, a basic fact cannot be ignored: on the one hand, in a socialist country led by the Communist Party, Marxist atheism must, as the mainstream ideology, always occupy a dominant position in the thinking of the people; on the other hand, religion, as an objective existence in human society, will not only persist for a long time in the past but will also persist for a long time in the future. In reality, various religions are striving to develop themselves and expand their social influence. In particular, hostile forces abroad have always used religion as an important tool for ideological and cultural infiltration into our country, attempting to fundamentally disintegrate the mass base of the Party's governance and undermine our country's sovereignty, security, and development interests. If these internal and external factors are allowed to act together, the number of religious believers will increase, and correspondingly, the influence of atheism in society will diminish. This will inevitably affect the Party's political leadership and ideological guidance in uniting and leading the people in striving for a better life. To prevent and defuse this major risk, in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations, and with ideal and belief education as the core to do a good job of ideological and political work in the New Era, it is necessary to build a solid key line of defense of atheist education. Only in this way can we, in the battle for people's hearts between atheism and theism, educate and guide the masses to more firmly believe that "there is no actual existence of gods, ghosts, heaven, hell, or any other supernatural forces; the destiny of man is in man's own hands." [5]5 The *Regulations* refers to the "Regulations on Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China" (中国共产党思想政治工作条例), issued by the Central Committee of the CPC in 2023. Thereby, we can more effectively resist the spiritual temptation and ideological penetration of religion, more firmly establish a dialectical materialist and historical materialist world outlook, and more consciously strengthen faith in Marxism, belief in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and confidence in realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Also, as Lenin demanded: "A Marxist who thinks that... only through the straight road of purely Marxist education can one get rid of ignorance is making the biggest and worst mistake. They should be provided with various kinds of atheist propaganda materials, told facts from all aspects of real life, approached by various methods to arouse their interest, awaken them from their religious slumber, and shake them up by various means from all sides." [6]6 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 1, Section 4, "The Fetishism of Commodities and the Secret Thereof."

第二，加强无神论教育是思想政治工作抵御宗教对群众精神诱惑和思想渗透的关键防线。宗教信仰自由是党的一项长期的基本政策，是宪法赋予公民的基本权利。我们尊重信教群众的信仰自由，引导他们团结在党和政府周围，做爱国守法的好公民。但同时不能忽略一个基本事实：一方面，在共产党领导的社会主义国家，马克思主义无神论必须作为主流意识形态始终在人民群众思想中占据主导地位；另一方面，宗教作为人类社会的客观存在，不仅过去长期存在，将来还会长期存在。现实中，各宗教都在努力发展自己，扩大自己的社会影响，特别是境外敌对势力一直把宗教作为对我国进行思想文化渗透的重要工具，企图从根本上瓦解党执政的群众基础，破坏我国的主权、安全和发展利益。如果任由这些内外因素共同作用，宗教信众就会越来越多，相应地无神论在社会上的影响就会越来越小，进而必然会影响到共产党团结带领人民为美好生活而奋斗的政治领导力、思想引领力。为防范化解这一重大风险，按照《条例》要求，以理想信念教育为核心做好新时代思想政治工作，必须筑牢无神论教育这一关键防线。唯有如此，才能在无神论和有神论这场人心争夺战中，教育引导群众更加坚信“世界上没有神、鬼和天堂、地狱以及其他任何超自然的力量实际存在；人的命运掌握在人自身的手里”,由此更加有效地抵御宗教的精神诱惑和思想渗透，更加牢固地树立辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义世界观，更加自觉地坚定对马克思主义的信仰、对中国特色社会主义的信念、对实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的信心。也像列宁要求的那样：“一个马克思主义者如果以为……只有通过纯粹马克思主义的教育这条直路，才能摆脱愚昧状态，那就是最大的而且是最坏的错误。应该向他们提供各种无神论的宣传材料，告诉他们实际生活各个方面的事实，用各种办法接近他们，以引起他们的兴趣，唤醒他们的宗教迷梦，用种种方法从各方面使他们振作起来。”

Third, strengthening atheist education is an important cornerstone for ideological and political work to boost the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. The national governance system is the institutional system for managing the country under the leadership of the Party, encompassing the institutional mechanisms, laws, and regulatory arrangements in various fields including the economy, politics, culture, society, ecological civilization, and Party building. National governance capacity is the ability to use the national system to manage all aspects of social affairs. The modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity is a major strategic goal of comprehensively deepening reform and comprehensively building a modern socialist country. Achieving this goal requires not only innovation in governance concepts and optimization of governance methods, but also the institutional guarantee of the Party's leadership and confidence in the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. To accomplish these, we should, in accordance with the requirements of the "Regulations,"[1]1 Falun Gong: A spiritual practice organization founded in 1992, officially designated by the Chinese government as an illegal cult in 1999 for alleged social disruption and anti-government activities. treat ideological and political work as the lifeline running through it and give play to the guiding role of ideological and political work. There is a basic prerequisite for realizing this guidance: adhering to the guidance of Marxism, adhering to the principle of separation of politics and religion, and ensuring that religion does not interfere with the implementation of state functions such as administration, judiciary, and education. That is, "adhering to Marxist atheism is a major principle," ensuring that "all aspects of our country's work, including legislation, administration, judiciary, and the economy, politics, society, culture, ecology, etc., do not... intentionally or unintentionally violate this major principle."[2]2 This sentence is a paraphrase of a well-known statement by Xi Jinping on the role of institutions in national governance. This raises the requirement for strengthening atheist education. For Party members and cadres, only through atheist education can they tighten the master switch of their worldview, outlook on life, and values,[3]3 The “Regulations” refers to the “Regulations on the Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China,” issued by the Party Central Committee in 2021. firmly hold the political bottom line that Party members are not allowed to believe in religion, always maintain their advanced nature and purity, and forcefully build an ideological dam against corruption and degeneration. Only then can they fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the Party's policy of freedom of religious belief, respect citizens' right to independently choose to believe or not believe in religion, treat different religions equally, and put a stop to and oppose any activities that use religion to disrupt social order, harm citizens' physical health, or obstruct the national education system. For the masses, only through atheist education can they inherit and carry forward the humanistic spirit of fine traditional Chinese culture, overcome the negative influence of fideism and obscurantism, and participate in national governance and lead social life with a scientific and rational attitude. Even for religious figures and believers, if they can understand some basic principles from atheist education oriented towards society, it will also help them correctly position the relationship between belief and non-belief, between believing in different religions, and between religious belief and national law, government management, national education, and common social interests, and become good citizens who love the country and abide by the law.

第三，加强无神论教育是思想政治工作助推国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的重要基石。国家治理体系是党领导下管理国家的制度体系，涵盖经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明和党的建设等各领域的体制机制、法律法规安排，国家治理能力是运用国家制度管理社会各方面事务的能力，国家治理体系和治理能力现代化是全面深化改革、全面建设社会主义现代化国家的重大战略目标。实现这一目标，既需要治理理念的创新、治理方式的优化，更需要党的领导的制度保障、中国特色社会主义的制度自信。做到这些，就应该按照《条例》要求，将思想政治工作作为生命线贯穿其中，发挥思想政治工作的引领作用。实现这种引领有一个基本前提，那就是坚持马克思主义指导，坚持政教分离原则，确保宗教不得干预行政、司法、教育等国家职能的实施，亦即“坚持马克思主义无神论是大原则”,确保“我国立法、行政、司法，以及经济、政治、社会、文化、生态等方方面面工作都……不要有意无意地违背这个大原则”。这就提出了加强无神论教育的要求。对于党员干部来说，只有在无神论教育中才能拧紧世界观、人生观、价值观这个总开关，牢牢守住党员不准信仰宗教的政治底线，始终保持自己的先进性和纯洁性，强力构建拒腐防变的思想堤坝，才能完整准确全面贯彻党的宗教信仰自由政策，尊重公民自主选择信仰宗教或不信仰宗教的权利，平等对待不同宗教，杜绝和反对任何利用宗教进行破坏社会秩序、损害公民身体健康、妨碍国家教育制度的活动。对于人民群众来说，只有在无神论教育中才能传承和弘扬中华优秀传统文化的人文精神，克服信仰主义、蒙昧主义的消极影响，以科学理性的态度参与国家治理、过好社会生活。即便对于宗教界人士和信教群众，如果能从面向社会的无神论教育中了解一些基本道理，也有助于其摆正信教与不信教，信仰不同宗教，信教与国家法律、政府管理、国民教育、社会共同利益的关系，做一个爱国守法的好公民。

Fourth, strengthening atheist education is a strong guarantee for ideological and political work to mobilize the whole society's initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity in devoting themselves to Chinese-path modernization. Advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization is the central task of the Party in the New Era and new journey. And "Chinese-path modernization is the cause of hundreds of millions of people. The people are the main body of Chinese-path modernization. We must firmly rely on the people, respect the people's pioneering spirit, and pool the wisdom and strength of all the people to continuously advance Chinese-path modernization."[4]4 Constitution of the People's Republic of China (1982, as amended), Article 24. This requires, in accordance with the requirements of the "Regulations," taking mobilizing all positive factors as the focal point, doing a good job in ideological and political work, and mobilizing the initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity of the whole society. To this end, we must uphold a basic creed: "No saviors from on high deliver, no trust have we in prince or peer; our own right hand the chains must shiver, chains of hatred, greed, and fear."[5]5 The *Regulations* refers to the "Regulations on Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China" (中国共产党思想政治工作条例), issued by the Central Committee of the CPC in 2023. This requires strengthening atheist education, because "atheism is the negation of God, and precisely through this negation it posits the existence of man,"[6]6 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 1, Section 4, "The Fetishism of Commodities and the Secret Thereof." and "the criticism of religion disillusions man, so that he will think, act, and fashion his reality as a man who has lost his illusions and regained his reason."[7]7 Mao Zedong, "The Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan" (March 1927). Atheism is not passive; it requires people not to pursue illusory heavens and the afterlife, not to rely on the revelations and protection of deities, but to rely on their own strength to strive for personal freedom and happiness and to promote social development and progress. Historically, it was precisely by excluding the interference of religion and various forms of theism, telling the people their own interests, and uniting and leading the people to fight for their own interests that the Communist Party of China achieved great successes in revolution, construction, and reform. Entering the New Era, running ideological and political work through all aspects and the entire process of Chinese-path modernization still cannot do without the strong guarantee of atheist education. Only by strengthening atheist education can we further consolidate the worldview foundation of Communist Party members, ensuring that they do not seek their own values and beliefs in religion, but instead, with lofty ideal pursuits and a firm people-centered stance, better play the roles of political guidance, backbone support, and vanguard exemplification in advancing Chinese-path modernization; only then can we continuously consolidate the mainstream and dominant position of Marxist atheism in the ideological sphere, enabling the masses to more consciously resist the spiritual temptation and ideological infiltration of religion, more firmly establish a dialectical materialist and historical materialist worldview, more closely unite and gather around the Party, forge ahead with determination and work hard, and, on the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, create new historical achievements with new great struggles.

第四，加强无神论教育是思想政治工作调动全社会投身中国式现代化积极性主动性创造性的坚强保障。以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴，是新时代新征程党的中心任务，而“中国式现代化是亿万人民自己的事业，人民是中国式现代化的主体，必须紧紧依靠人民，尊重人民首创精神，汇聚全体人民的智慧和力量，才能推动中国式现代化不断向前发展”。这就得按照《条例》要求，以调动一切积极因素为着力点，做好思想政治工作，调动全社会的积极性主动性创造性。为此，必须秉持一个基本信条：“从来没有什么救世主，也不靠神仙皇帝，要创造人类的幸福，全靠我们自己。”这就得加强无神论教育，因为“无神论是对神的否定，并且正是通过这种否定而设定人的存在”,“对宗教的批判使人不抱幻想，使人能够作为不抱幻想而具有理智的人来思考，来行动，来建立自己的现实”。无神论不是消极的，它要求人们不去追求虚幻的天国和来世，不去依赖神祇的启示和护佑，而是依靠自己的力量来争取个人的自由和幸福、来推动社会的发展和进步。从历史上看，中国共产党正是把宗教和形形色色有神论的干扰排除在外，把人民的利益告诉人民，团结带领人民为着自己的利益而奋斗，才取得革命、建设和改革伟大成就的。进入新时代，将思想政治工作贯穿中国式现代化全过程各方面，还是离不开无神论教育的坚强保障。只有加强了无神论教育，才能进一步夯实共产党员的世界观基础，确保其不在宗教中寻找自己的价值和信念，而是以崇高的理想追求、坚定的人民立场，在推进中国式现代化中更好发挥政治引领、骨干支撑、先锋模范作用；才能不断巩固马克思主义无神论在意识形态领域的主流主导地位，使人民群众更加自觉地抵御宗教的精神诱惑、思想渗透，更加牢固地树立辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义世界观，更加紧密地团结和凝聚在党的周围，锐意进取，埋头苦干，在全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程中，以新的伟大奋斗创造新的历史伟业。

II. Core Content of Atheist Education in Ideological and Political Work

二、思想政治工作中无神论教育的核心内容

The fundamental purpose of atheist education is to make people recognize a simple fact—there is no god in the world. But even with this simple fact, despite the tremendous progress made in science and technology today, more than seventy percent of the world's people have not fully recognized it. This shows that religion and theism are by no means "absurdities cobbled together by swindlers,"[8]8 This is a classic formulation from the Maoist era, often attributed to Mao Zedong, emphasizing the primacy of ideological work. and correspondingly, atheism, which negates religion and theism, cannot be a set of simple preachments. As "an achievement of human civilization and thought,"[9]9 This phrase is a key directive from Xi Jinping, emphasizing the non-negotiable nature of atheism for the Party. atheism has undergone a development and evolution from spontaneous to conscious, from ancient naive atheism to modern scientific atheism and then to Marxist atheism, leaving behind a wealth of intellectual and cultural achievements. To strengthen atheist education in ideological and political work, we should make full use of these achievements. On the basis of profoundly grasping its reasoning, principles, and philosophy, and using language that is easy to understand, we should help people clarify the fact that there is no god in the world, unravel the mystery of why some people believe in gods, and resolve the contradiction between the fact that there is no god in the world and the fact that some people believe in gods.

无神论教育的根本目的是让人们认识到一个简单事实——世上无神。但就是这个简单事实，即使在科学技术取得了巨大进步的今天，世界上还是有逾七成的人没有完全认识到。可见，宗教和有神论绝不是“骗子凑集而成的无稽之谈”,相应地否定宗教和有神论的无神论也不可能是一套简单说教。作为“人类文明和思考的成果”,无神论经历了从自发到自觉，从古代朴素无神论到近代科学无神论直至马克思主义无神论的发展演变，留下了丰富的思想文化成果。在思想政治工作中加强无神论教育，应该充分利用这些成果，在深刻把握其道理学理哲理的基础上，用通俗易懂的语言，帮助人们澄清世上无神的事实，破解有人信神的谜团，解决世上无神和有人信神之间的矛盾。

First, the absence of gods in the world is a basic fact of the objective world, and this has already been proven by millions of years of human developmental history. Regarding the question of human origins, the cultures of all the world's ethnic groups contain magical myths and legends. Yet, according to research in archaeology and paleontology, humans evolved from ancient apes and are the result of the continuous development of nature. Early humans did not believe in deities, because their consciousness had not yet developed to that level. Humans, in a state where their minds contained no deities, developed their intelligence through labor and became *Homo sapiens*. In this sense, humans are natural, spontaneous atheists. In the *Homo sapiens* stage, human consciousness underwent new development, but they still could not understand many natural phenomena, such as the movement of celestial bodies, wind and rain, earthquakes and tsunamis, floods and droughts, nor could they grasp their own destiny. Thus, they imagined that some god presided over and controlled all things in the universe, giving rise to various forms and contents of nature worship and totem worship—that is, primitive tribal religions. Upon entering class society, social forces also "dominate man with the same apparent natural necessity" [n1], which caused "the fantastic figures, which at first only reflected the mysterious forces of nature, now to acquire social attributes, becoming representatives of historical forces" [n2]. On the one hand, this provided a spiritual sustenance for the laboring masses to escape their miserable circumstances; on the other hand, it also provided an ideological tool for the ruling class to strengthen class rule. Consequently, tribal religions gradually developed into national religions. The different deities originally worshipped by different tribes gradually coalesced into a single deity worshipped by the same nation. "At a further stage of development, all the natural and social attributes of the many gods are transferred to one almighty god... thus monotheism arose" [n3]. The deity worshipped by monotheism concentrated all the authority of the former gods; it is omniscient and omnipotent, omnipresent, yet invisible and intangible. Because it can "know all the sufferings of the world" and "fulfill all the wishes of the world," it gradually spread across the world amidst the struggles and exchanges between different nations and states, and national religions ultimately developed into world religions. Surveying the three stages of human religious development, whether it is the beast-gods, demon-gods, or human-gods worshipped by tribal religions, or the spirit-gods and super-spirit-gods worshipped by national and world religions, none exist in the objective world. They are "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" [n4]. Thus, Marxist atheism scientifically answers the historical process of how deities were created by humans, worshipped by humans, perfected by humans, and propagated by humans, to the point where today they are still believed in by over seventy percent of the world's people. Moreover, the development of natural science since modern times has expelled deities one by one from various fields of nature; they can only linger on in the unknown realms science has not yet reached and in the spiritual realm of people. Through all this, it is sufficient to draw one conclusion: there are no gods in the world; humans created gods, not gods created humans.

第一，世上无神是客观世界的基本事实，这已经为数百万年来人类发展史所证明。关于人类起源问题，在世界各民族的文化中，都有着充满魔幻色彩的神话传说。但根据考古学和古生物学研究，人类是从古猿进化而来的，是自然界不断发展的结果。早期的人类不会信仰神祇，因为意识还没有发展到这个程度。人类是在头脑中没有神祇的情况下，通过劳动发展了智慧，成为智人。从这个意义上讲，人类是天然的、自发的无神论者。在智人阶段，人类的意识有了新的发展，但还不能理解自然界的很多现象，比如天体运行、刮风下雨、地震海啸、洪水干旱等，也不能把握自己的命运，于是想象有什么神在主宰宇宙万物，这就产生了不同内容和形式的自然崇拜、图腾崇拜，也就是原始的部落宗教。进入阶级社会后，社会力量也“以同样的表面上的自然必然性支配着人”,这就使“最初仅仅反映自然界的神秘力量的幻想的形象，现在又获得了社会的属性，成为历史力量的代表者”,它一方面为劳苦民众摆脱悲惨境遇提供了精神寄托，另一方面也为统治者加强阶级统治提供了思想工具。由此，部落宗教逐渐发展为民族宗教，原先不同部落崇拜的不同神祇逐渐聚合到同一民族崇拜的同一神祇。“在更进一步的发展阶段上，许多神的全部自然属性和社会属性都转移到一个万能的神身上……这样就产生了一神教。”一神教崇拜的神祇集中了旧有神祇的所有权柄，它全知全能、无处不在，但又看不见、摸不着。因为能够“通晓世人一切疾苦”“实现世人一切愿望”,它在不同民族和国家之间的斗争和交流中逐渐走向世界，民族宗教最终发展为世界宗教。纵览人类宗教发展的三个阶段，无论部落宗教崇拜的兽神、魔神、人神，还是民族宗教、世界宗教崇拜的精灵神、超精灵神，在客观世界都是不存在的, “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”。由此，马克思主义无神论科学回答了神祇是如何被人创造、被人崇拜，又如何被人完善、被人推广，以至到今天仍为世界上逾七成的人所信仰的历史过程。不仅如此，近代以来自然科学的发展已经将神祇从自然界的各个领域一个接一个地驱逐出去，它只能在科学尚未达到的未知领域和人们的精神领域延口残喘。透过这些，足以得出一个结论：世上无神，是人创造了神，而不是神创造了人。

Second, that some people believe in gods is also a basic fact of the objective world, but this fact cannot change the fact that there are no gods in the world. There are no gods in the world, yet historically and in reality, a large number of people believe in gods. "Over the long course of history, the world has undergone tremendous changes, science and technology have made great progress, and humanity's understanding of the laws of nature and society has greatly deepened, as has people's understanding of religious phenomena. Yet, on a global scale, religion not only exists but also shows a trend of spreading and developing from time to time. The traditional major religions continue to develop, and within them, numerous sects and denominations have emerged. Various new religious organizations appear endlessly, with some estimates numbering in the thousands. Some extremist forces and cults have also attracted large numbers of followers, creating many shocking incidents. Especially in Western countries, science and technology are undeniably advanced, but the influence of religion is deeply entrenched, and the number of religious believers has not significantly decreased" [n5]. The existence of these circumstances does not indicate that the atheist negation of theism has become untenable, but rather that the degree of development of human society's material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, as well as the level of people's ideological understanding, are still far from reaching the point sufficient to eliminate the roots of theism. The existence of theism still has a considerable social foundation. First, Engels pointed out: "Only a real knowledge of the forces of nature banishes various gods or God from one place after another" [n6]. To this day, humanity's research into nature and itself has reached an unprecedented level, but it has not yet truly understood everything; there are still many phenomena in the universe and life that cannot be scientifically explained. This gives theologians an opportunity to exploit. In order to leave a final habitat for God in nature, they often use their own fallacies and sophistries to constantly renovate the forms of God's existence and expand the space where God resides. Even in those fields where gods have already been expelled and science has truly understood them, the lack of popularization of research results often causes some people to fall into confusion and difficulty. For example, there are still some members of the public who cannot scientifically understand the origins of the universe and life, and cannot correctly deal with birth, aging, illness, death, natural phenomena, and natural disasters. In this way, God may become their ultimate trust and salvation in a rootless and helpless world. Second, Marx pointed out: "Religion itself is without content; its roots are not in heaven but on earth, and with the disappearance of the distorted reality of which religion is the theory, religion will also disappear of itself" [n7]. As long as this reality does not disappear, religion will have the soil to continue existing. As history marches into socialist society, the class roots on which religion relied have largely disappeared, and the economy and society have also developed significantly. However, the problem of their unbalanced and inadequate development remains prominent. People will still encounter various hardships and anxieties in their material and spiritual lives, such as the torment of poverty, disease, and disaster; the inability to realize dreams; the unpredictability of fate; longing for the deceased; and concern for the ultimate. Faced with these alien forces caused by objective facts and beyond individual control, people often feel powerless. At this time, religion—this "illusory sun," "the sigh of the oppressed creature," "the sentiment of a heartless world" [n8]—may become a source of psychological comfort, an object of spiritual sustenance, and one of their diverse belief choices. Finally, Comrade Xi Jinping once pointed out: "Religion is not only a social ideology but also a special cultural phenomenon" [n9]. As a social ideology, religion is both suspended at the apex of the superstructure and long-enduring in the practice of social life. As long as people live in society, they are inevitably influenced by religion and various forms of theism, and may even encounter proselytizing and recruitment. At this time, if they have not mastered systematic atheist knowledge, coupled with a particular state of mind and circumstances, they may accept the concept of ghosts and gods and become religious believers. As a cultural phenomenon, the special nature of religion lies not in its colorful and fascinating appearance, but in the theistic ideas implicit behind the appearance. Accepting religion, and the specific national culture and family culture closely integrated with religion, will all be influenced by theism, and may be attracted or even regulated by it, gradually leading to religious belief. In short, under the combined effect of natural, social, and cognitive factors, believers and theists emerge endlessly in society. But no matter how firmly they believe, they are in fact fantastically reflecting the world on this shore and fabricating a world on the other shore; it is all a trick of the psyche. None of this can change one basic fact—there are no gods in the world.

第二，有人信神也是客观世界的基本事实，但这个事实改变不了世上无神的事实。世上无神，但历史上和现实中都有大量的人信神。“在漫长的历史进程中，世界发生了巨大变化，科学技术取得了巨大进步，人类对自然和社会运动的规律性认识大大提高，人们对宗教现象的认识也大大深化了，但从世界范围看，宗教不仅存在，还时有蔓延发展之势。传统的几大宗教继续发展，而且内部教派林立。各种新兴宗教组织层出不穷，有人估计有数千个之多。一些极端势力以及邪教也吸引了大批信徒，制造了不少骇人听闻的事件。特别在西方国家，科学技术不可谓不发达，但宗教的影响根深蒂固，信仰宗教的人数并没有明显减少。”这些情况的存在，不是表明无神论对有神论的否定站不住了，而是表明人类社会物质文明和精神文明发展的程度，以及人们思想认识的水平，还远未达到足以消除有神论根源的程度，有神论的存在还有相当的社会基础。首先，恩格斯指出：“只有对自然力的真正认识，才把各种神或上帝相继地从各个地方撵走。”时至今日，人类对自然界和自身的研究达到前所未有的程度，但还没有真正认识其全部，宇宙和生命中还存在很多不能科学解释的现象。这就给神学家以可乘之机，他们为了给神在自然界留下最后的栖息之地，常以自己的虚妄和诡辩，不断翻新神的存在形式、拓展神的驻足空间。即使在那些神已经被撵走、科学已经真正认识的领域，也常因认识成果的不普及，致使一些人陷入迷惘和困顿的境地。比如，至今仍有部分群众不能科学认识宇宙和生命的起源，不能正确对待生老病死和自然现象、自然灾害。这样，神就有可能成为他们在无根、无援世界中最后的信赖和救助。其次，马克思指出：“宗教本身是没有内容的，它的根源不是在天上，而是在人间，随着以宗教为理论的被歪曲了的现实的消失，宗教也将自行消亡。”只要这种现实不消失，宗教就有继续存在下去的土壤。当历史行进到社会主义社会，宗教赖以存在的阶级根源已经基本消失，经济社会也有了很大发展，但其不平衡不充分问题依然突出，人们在物质生活和精神生活中还会遇到各种苦难和不安，比如贫困、疾病、灾难的困扰，梦想的无法实现，命运的难以捉摸，对逝者的怀念，对终极的关怀。面对这些客观事实造成、个人无法控制的异己力量，人们常感无能为力。这时，宗教这种“虚幻的太阳”“被压迫生灵的叹息”“无情世界的心境”就有可能成为他们心理抚慰的来源、精神寄托的对象，成为他们多样化的信仰选择之一。最后，习近平同志曾指出：“宗教不仅是一种社会意识形态，还是一种特殊的文化现象。”作为社会意识形态，宗教既高悬于上层建筑顶端，又长存于社会生活实践。人只要还在社会中生活，就不可避免地受到宗教和形形色色的有神论的影响，甚至遭遇传经布道的拉拢，此时如果没有掌握系统的无神论知识，再加上特殊的心境和机遇，就有可能接受鬼神观念，成为宗教信徒。作为文化现象，宗教的特殊不在于其色彩斑斓、引人入胜的表象，而在于表象背后隐含的有神论思想。接受了宗教以及与宗教紧密结合的特定的民族文化、家庭文化，都会受到有神论的影响，都有可能被吸引甚至被规制，并因此而逐渐信仰宗教。总之，在自然、社会和认识等因素共同作用下，社会上信教者、有神论者层出不穷，但不管他们多么信以为真，实际上都是在幻想地反映此岸世界、制造彼岸世界，都是心理在作祟，都改变不了一个基本事实——世上无神。

Third, that there is no god in the world and that some people believe in god are both basic facts of the objective world. Resolving this contradiction between atheism and theism requires guaranteeing freedom of religious belief. There is originally no god in the world, yet some people believe in god. How to treat the god that does not exist and the people who believe in god is a question that atheism must answer. From spontaneous to conscious, the mission that atheism undertakes is to expose and criticize the absurdity of theism, to explain the roots of theism, and to identify the path to overcoming theism. Entering the modern period, atheism made full use of the new achievements of natural science at the time to launch a sharp critique of Christian theology and the feudalism that derived its legitimacy from Christian theology, thereby both promoting the development of science and leading the bourgeois revolution. The atheism of this period is called both scientific atheism and militant atheism. [1]1 Falun Gong: A spiritual practice organization founded in 1992, officially designated by the Chinese government as an illegal cult in 1999 for alleged social disruption and anti-government activities. By the time of Marxist atheism, which is based on dialectical materialism and historical materialism, the development of scientific atheism was pushed to an advanced stage. Theoretically, it transcended the critique of heaven, religion, and theology and entered into the critique of the secular world, law, and politics. In practice, it transcended all critique in the realm of ideas and entered into real social practice, namely, striving for the liberation of the working class and all humanity. This provided scientific guidance for the workers' party to correctly understand and handle religious issues. On the one hand, based on the fact that there is no god in the world, the workers' party inherited the "historical tradition of absolute atheism and resolute opposition to all religions." [2]2 This sentence is a paraphrase of a well-known statement by Xi Jinping on the role of institutions in national governance. While ensuring that citizens enjoy the freedom not to believe in religion, it also upholds and propagates atheism. Freedom of religious belief was originally proposed by the modern rising bourgeoisie to free itself from the shackles of religious theology and to fight for the freedom not to believe in religion. From the outset, it included both the freedom to believe in religion and the freedom not to believe in religion, which were equally important. Later, it was given new meaning by Marx: "The 'freedom of belief' of the bourgeoisie merely tolerates the freedom of various kinds of religious belief, while the workers' party strives to liberate belief from the witchcraft of religion." [3]3 The “Regulations” refers to the “Regulations on the Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China,” issued by the Party Central Committee in 2021. This in fact raises the demand to uphold and propagate atheism. The provision in our country's Constitution that the state "conducts education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism among the people" inherently includes this point. [4]4 Constitution of the People's Republic of China (1982, as amended), Article 24. The emphasis in the *Regulations* on "strengthening education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism, and strengthening atheist education" is an institutionalized requirement of this point. [5]5 The *Regulations* refers to the "Regulations on Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China" (中国共产党思想政治工作条例), issued by the Central Committee of the CPC in 2023. On the other hand, based on the fact that some people believe in god, although the workers' party advocates thoroughgoing atheism, it also recognizes the long-term nature of the existence of religion, emphasizing that "the religious reflection of the real world can disappear only when the relations of practical everyday life present themselves to people in a transparent and rational form between each other and between people and nature... However, this requires a certain material foundation of society or a series of material conditions of existence, which themselves are the natural product of a long and painful process of development." [6]6 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Volume I, Chapter 1, Section 4, "The Fetishism of Commodities and the Secret Thereof." This provides the objective basis for ensuring citizens' freedom to believe in religion. Entering socialist society, although atheism has already occupied a dominant position in the thinking of the masses as the mainstream ideology, religion still exists as a non-mainstream ideology and is believed in by some of the masses. Although its general trend is towards extinction, this is by no means achievable in the short term. Communists respect this fact, affirming that "the Bodhisattva was set up by the peasants, and when the time comes, the peasants will throw away these Bodhisattvas with their own hands; there is no need for others to throw away the Bodhisattva prematurely for them." [7]7 Mao Zedong, "The Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan" (March 1927). Before this time arrives, peasants must be allowed to set up their own "Bodhisattvas" and to choose freely whether to believe in religion or not. Because communists are atheists, they must not attempt to artificially "eliminate religion," as this will inevitably hurt the feelings of religious believers, create antagonism between religious believers and non-believers, and harm the unity of the people and the stability of society. Only by respecting and protecting citizens' freedom to believe in religion can religious believers and non-believers be united to work together for the cause of revolution, construction, and reform, and, amidst sustained economic development and continuous social progress, create the conditions for the eventual natural extinction of religion. Only then will the contradiction between atheism and theism be finally resolved.

第三，世上无神和有人信神都是客观世界的基本事实，解决这一无神和有神的矛盾，需要保障宗教信仰自由。世上本无神，有人却信神，怎么对待本无的神和信神的人，是无神论必须回答的问题。从自发到自觉，无神论担负的使命就是揭露和批判有神论的荒谬，说明有神论的根源和战胜有神论的途径。进入近代以后，无神论充分利用当时自然科学发展的新成果，对基督教神学和由基督教神学提供合法性支撑的封建主义进行了尖锐批判，既推动了科学发展，也引领了资产阶级革命。这一时期的无神论，既被称为科学无神论，也被称为战斗无神论。到建基于辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的马克思主义无神论，将科学无神论的发展推至高级阶段，在理论上超越了对天国、宗教和神学的批判而进入到对尘世、法和政治的批判，在实践中超越了一切思想领域的批判而进入到现实的社会实践，即争取工人阶级和全人类的解放。这就为工人阶级政党正确认识和处理宗教问题提供了科学指导。一方面，基于世上无神的事实，工人阶级政党继承了“绝对无神论的、坚决反对一切宗教的唯物主义的历史传统”,在确保公民享有不信仰宗教的自由的同时，还坚持和宣传无神论。宗教信仰自由原本就是近代新兴资产阶级为了从宗教神学的桎梏中解放出来，争取不信仰宗教的自由而提出来的，一开始就包括信仰宗教和不信仰宗教两个方面但同等重要的自由，后来又被马克思赋予新的含义：“资产阶级的‘信仰自由’不过是容忍各种各样的宗教信仰自由而已，工人党则力求把信仰从宗教的妖术中解放出来。”这事实上提出了坚持和宣传无神论的要求。我国宪法规定的国家“在人民中进行辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的教育”就内在地包含了这一点，《条例》强调的“加强辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义教育，加强无神论教育”更是对这一点的制度化要求。另一方面，基于有人信神的事实，工人阶级政党虽然主张彻底的无神论，但也认为宗教的存在具有长期性，强调“只有当实际日常生活的关系，在人们面前表现为人与人之间和人与自然之间极明白而合理的关系的时候，现实世界的宗教反映才会消失……但是，这需要有一定的社会物质基础或一系列物质生存条件，而这些条件本身又是长期的、痛苦的发展史的自然产物”,这就为确保公民信仰宗教的自由提供了客观依据。进入社会主义社会，虽然无神论已经作为主流意识形态在人民群众思想中占据了主导地位，但宗教作为非主流意识形态依然存在并为部分群众信仰。尽管其总的趋势是走向消亡，但这绝不是短期内可以达成的。共产党人尊重这个事实，认定“菩萨是农民立起来的，到了一定时期农民会用他们自己的双手丢开这些菩萨，无须旁人过早地代疱丢菩萨”。还没到这个时期，就要允许农民立自己的“菩萨”,自主选择信仰宗教或不信仰宗教。不能因为共产党人是无神论者，就企图人为地“消灭宗教”,因为这必将伤害信教群众的感情，造成信教群众与不信教群众的对立，危害人民的团结和社会的稳定。只有尊重和保护公民信仰宗教的自由，才能团结信教群众与不信教群众共同致力于革命、建设和改革事业，在经济持续发展、社会不断进步中，为将来宗教的自然消亡创造条件。只有到那时，无神和有神的矛盾才会最终解决。

III. Key Areas for Atheist Education in Ideological and Political Work

三、思想政治工作中无神论教育的重点领域

Strengthening atheist education is one of the main contents of ideological and political work, and "ideological and political work is the lifeline of economic work and all other work." [8]8 This is a classic formulation from the Maoist era, often attributed to Mao Zedong, emphasizing the primacy of ideological work. This requires integrating atheist education into all work of the Party and the state, truly achieving the principle that "adhering to Marxist atheism is a major principle." [9]9 This phrase is a key directive from Xi Jinping, emphasizing the non-negotiable nature of atheism for the Party. The *Regulations* adapt to the development and changes of social groups in the New Era, stipulating the task requirements and specific measures for ideological and political work to be carried out by Party organizations at all levels in seven areas: enterprises, rural areas, organs and public institutions, schools, communities, emerging fields, and the internet. [10]10 The *Regulations* (see note 5) outlines ideological and political work across these seven specific societal domains. This indicates that atheist education should be strengthened in all these seven areas. However, because different areas occupy different positions in the overall cause of the Party and the state, have different specific goals and key tasks for the ideological and political work to be carried out, and are influenced by religion and theism to different degrees, the intensity and direction of strengthening atheist education in these areas also differ. Based on these circumstances, the current focus should be on particularly strengthening atheist education in the ideological and political work of four areas: organs and public institutions, schools, rural areas, and the internet.

加强无神论教育是思想政治工作的主要内容之一，而“思想政治工作是经济工作和其他一切工作的生命线”。这就要求把无神论教育贯穿到党和国家一切工作中，真正做到“坚持马克思主义无神论是大原则”。《条例》适应新时代社会群体的发展变化，从企业、农村、机关和事业单位、学校、社区、新兴领域、网络七个领域分别规定了各级党组织开展思想政治工作的任务要求和具体举措。这表明，无神论教育在这七个领域都应得到加强，但由于不同领域在党和国家事业全局中所处的位置不同，所要开展的思想政治工作的具体目标和重点任务不同，所受到的宗教和有神论的影响不同，这就决定了其加强无神论教育的力度和方向也有所不同。基于这些情况，当前应重点在机关和事业单位、学校、农村、网络四个领域的思想政治工作中特别加强无神论教育。

First, strengthen atheist education in organs and public institutions.

第一，加强机关和事业单位无神论教育。

As the core components of the national governance system, organs and public institutions bear the responsibilities of implementing the Party's overall leadership, managing state affairs, providing public services, and promoting social development. The ideological and political work of organs and public institutions is mainly aimed at their staff, i.e., Party members and cadres. Its purpose is to educate and guide them to temper their political character of loyalty, integrity, and responsibility, and to achieve firm ideals and convictions, service to the people, diligence and pragmatism, courage to take responsibility, and clean governance. Among these, firming up ideals and convictions is the primary criterion for a good cadre. "Only by... forging an 'indestructible body' with firm ideals and convictions can cadres take a clear stand on major issues of principle, be fearless in the face of trials and tribulations, stand firm in the face of various temptations, and be reliable, trustworthy, and reassuring at critical moments." [11]11 Xi Jinping, speech at the National Conference on Organizational Work (2013). However, in reality, within our cadre ranks, "some harbor doubts about communism, considering it an illusory and unattainable fantasy; some do not believe in Marxism-Leninism but believe in ghosts and gods, seeking spiritual sustenance from feudal superstition, being keen on fortune-telling, physiognomy, burning incense and worshipping Buddha, and 'consulting the gods' when encountering problems..." [12]12 Xi Jinping, speech at the National Conference on Propaganda and Ideological Work (2013). In response to this, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly stated: "Communist Party members must be firm Marxist atheists, strictly abide by the Party Constitution, firm up their ideals and convictions, keep in mind the Party's founding mission, and must never seek their own values and beliefs in religion." [13]13 Xi Jinping, speech at the Central Conference on Work Concerning Ethnic Affairs and the Central Conference on Work Concerning Religious Affairs (2014 or 2015, exact date varies). This requires that the ideological and political work of organs and public institutions pay special attention to strengthening atheist education. In addition to regularly integrating the content of materialism and atheist education into Party building at the grassroots level, in the education and training of Party schools at all levels, Marxist atheism should be included as an important part of the Party's theoretical education and Party spirit education in the teaching plan and enter the main training classes, laying a solid worldview foundation for Party members and cadres to comprehensively improve their theoretical literacy, Party spirit cultivation, and ability to perform their duties. As for Party schools in the western and border areas, they should closely combine the reality of multiple ethnic groups and multiple religions, appropriately increase the proportion of Marxist atheist education for Party members and cadres in their own regions, and enhance their quality and ability to do ethnic work and religious work well. [14]14 "Western and border areas" (西部和边疆地区) refers to regions in China with significant ethnic minority populations, where religious influence is often more pronounced.

作为国家治理体系的核心组成部分，机关和事业单位承担着落实党的全面领导、管理国家事务、提供公共服务、推动社会发展等多方面的职责。机关和事业单位的思想政治工作，主要是对其工作人员即党员干部的思想政治工作，就是要教育引导他们锤炼忠诚干净担当的政治品格，做到信念坚定、为民服务、勤政务实、敢于担当、清正廉洁。其中，坚定理想信念是好干部第一位的标准。“只有……用坚定理想信念炼就了‘金刚不坏之身’,干部才能在大是大非面前旗帜鲜明，在风浪考验面前无所畏惧，在各种诱惑面前立场坚定，在关键时刻靠得住、信得过、能放心。”但在现实中，在我们的干部队伍中，“有的对共产主义心存怀疑，认为那是虚无缥缈、难以企及的幻想；有的不信马列信鬼神，从封建迷信中寻找精神寄托，热衷于算命看相、烧香拜佛，遇事‘问计于神’……”对于此，习近平总书记明确提出：“共产党员要做坚定的马克思主义无神论者，严守党章规定，坚定理想信念，牢记党的宗旨，绝不能在宗教中寻找自己的价值和信念。”这就要求机关和事业单位的思想政治工作特别要注重加强无神论教育，除了在基层党的建设中经常融入唯物论、无神论教育的内容，在各级党校的教育培训中，更应把马克思主义无神论作为党的理论教育和党性教育的重要内容列入教学计划、进入主体班次，为党员干部全面提升理论素养、党性修养和履职本领打牢世界观基础。至于西部和边疆地区的党校,更应紧密结合多民族多宗教的实际，适当加大对本地区党员干部马克思主义无神论教育的比重，增强其做好民族工作、宗教工作的素质和能力。

Second, strengthen atheist education in schools.

第二，加强学校无神论教育。

Young people are the future vital force for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the building of a modern socialist country. Schools are the main front for educating and cultivating young people, and school ideological and political work is a systematic task closely linked to the fundamental mission of fostering virtue and nurturing people. It encompasses ideological education, political guidance, moral cultivation, spiritual encouragement, cultural enrichment, psychological counseling, and care services for young people. Its core objective is to resolve the question of "what to believe, whom to follow, and for what to strive." General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "What kind of people to cultivate is the primary issue in education... Ours is a socialist country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, which determines that our education must take cultivating builders and successors of socialism as its fundamental task." Moreover, "the attributive for builders and successors of socialism is 'socialist'; this is our essential stipulation on what kind of people to cultivate. The people we cultivate must establish the lofty ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics." In reality, young people have always been the key targets that various hostile forces strive to win over in their strategy of Westernizing and dividing China, and religion is a tool they heavily utilize for infiltration. Often under the guise of academic exchanges, mutual learning among civilizations, charitable assistance for students, socializing and making friends, and extracurricular activities, they spread religious culture to young people, develop religious adherents, and peddle their political and value concepts. As a result, campus proselytizing occurs from time to time, some students have vague understandings of religion, and individual students believe in religion or even participate in extremist activities. For this reason, school ideological and political work must take Marxist atheist education as a foundational task for resisting infiltration and preventing campus proselytizing. First, fully leverage the leading role of classroom teaching. In ideological and political theory courses and relevant specialized courses at all levels of schools, from primary to tertiary, progressively and spirally strengthen education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism, clearly explaining the origins of religion and the laws of its development and change, the Party's religious work policies, and relevant national laws and regulations. Second, actively expand the channels and avenues for cultivating people through culture. In healthy, uplifting, and diverse campus cultural activities, continuously expand the front for excellent culture and scientific spirit; in mental health education and psychological counseling, effectively enhance students' ability to withstand setbacks and overcome adversity; in campus safety education, effectively increase students' awareness and sensitivity in resisting infiltration and preventing campus proselytizing. Third, strive to do a good job in daily ideological education, management, and service work. Promptly understand students' ideological conditions, dispel doubts, soothe emotions, and properly resolve students' practical issues concerning academics, employment, financial aid, etc. Move people with facts and touch people with emotion, and in grasping details and implementing thoroughly, dissolve the temptation and infiltration of religion among students.

青少年是强国建设、民族复兴伟业的未来生力军，学校是教育和培养青少年的主阵地，而学校思想政治工作是紧扣立德树人根本任务，对青少年开展思想教育、政治引领、道德培养、精神激励、文化涵育、心理疏导、关怀服务的系统性工作，其核心目标是解决青少年“信什么、跟谁走、为什么而奋斗”的问题。习近平总书记指出：“培养什么人，是教育的首要问题 ……我们是中国共产党领导的社会主义国家，这就决定了我们的教育必须把培养社会主义建设者和接班人作为根本任务”,而“社会主义建设者和接班人，定语就是‘社会主义’,这是我们对培养什么人的本质规定。我们培养的人，必须树立共产主义远大理想和中国特色社会主义共同理想”。现实中，青少年一直是各种敌对势力对我国实施西化分化战略竭力争夺的重点对象，宗教是被他们重点利用的渗透工具。他们常常打着学术交流、文明互鉴、善信助学、联谊交友、课外活动等幌子，面向青少年传播宗教文化、发展宗教信徒、推销他们的政治和价值观念，以致校园传教活动时有发生，一些学生对宗教存在模糊认识，个别学生信仰宗教甚至参与极端主义活动。为此，学校思想政治工作必须把马克思主义无神论教育作为抵御渗透和防范校园传教的基础性工作。一是充分发挥课堂教学的主导作用，在大中小学思想政治理论课和有关专业课程中，循序渐进、螺旋上升地强化辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义教育，讲清楚宗教产生的根源及发展变化规律、党的宗教工作方针政策和国家相关法律法规。二是积极拓展以文化人的途径和渠道，在健康向上、丰富多彩的校园文化活动中，不断扩大优秀文化和科学精神的阵地；在心理健康教育和心理咨询中，切实提高学生承受挫折和战胜逆境的能力；在校园安全教育中，有效增强学生抵御渗透、防范校园传教的自觉性、敏感性。三是努力做好日常的思想教育和管理服务工作，及时了解学生的思想状况，释疑解惑、疏导情绪，妥善解决学生的学业、就业、资助等现实问题，以事感人、以情动人，在抓细抓实中消解宗教对学生的诱惑和渗透。

Third, strengthen atheist education in rural areas.

第三，加强农村无神论教育。

China is a large agricultural country. The faith choices of the peasant masses are related to the Party's ideological foundation for governance, and rural ideological and political work is the Party's ideological lifeline in the countryside. It is an important lever for serving rural revitalization and promoting rural civility. Its core objective is to guide the peasant masses to steadfastly listen to the Party and follow the Party. Since the founding of New China, and especially since reform and opening up, the construction of a new socialist countryside has been continuously advanced, and the material life and spiritual outlook of the peasant masses have undergone earth-shaking changes. However, compared to cities, rural economic and social development is relatively backward, and the scientific and cultural quality of peasants is relatively low. Because "the deepest roots of religious prejudice are poverty and ignorance,"[15]15 Vladimir Lenin, "The Working Class and the New Malthusian Doctrine," *Lenin Collected Works*, Volume 19. phenomena such as fortune-telling, geomancy (feng shui), and exorcism for curing illnesses—superstitions and pseudoscience—still prevail in some rural areas to this day. The vast majority of religious believers are in rural areas, and some illegal religious organizations are persistently developing religious adherents in the countryside, inciting religious fanaticism, and attempting to influence or even control rural social governance. The existence of these facts imposes on rural ideological and political work the requirement to "strengthen atheist propaganda and education, enrich the spiritual and cultural life of the peasant masses, and resist feudal superstitious activities." For non-believing masses, the focus should be on popularizing the basic viewpoints of materialism and the basic common sense of natural science, using methods they find appealing to vigorously disseminate scientific and cultural knowledge about natural phenomena, social evolution, and human birth, aging, illness, death, good fortune, and misfortune. Help them master scientific methods, establish a scientific worldview, and draw clear boundaries between materialism and idealism, atheism and theism, science and superstition, and civilization and ignorance. For religious believers, they cannot be asked to renounce their faith, but they should be required to love the motherland, support the socialist system, uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China, abide by national laws, regulations, and policies, and ensure that their religious activities are subordinate to and serve the supreme interests of the state and the overall interests of the nation. Furthermore, based on the actual conditions of peasants' production and life, in mass activities for cultural-ethical progress, atheist education should be integrated with transforming outdated customs and cultivating rural civility, and combined with carrying out cultural and sports activities to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the masses. This enables them, through broad participation, to break down outdated customs and habits, oppose feudal superstition, and resist the erosion of decadent and backward culture.

我国是一个农业大国，农民群众的信仰选择关系到党执政的思想基础，而农村思想政治工作是党在农村的思想生命线，是服务乡村振兴、推进乡风文明的重要抓手，其核心目标是引导农民群众坚定不移听党话、跟党走。新中国成立以来特别是改革开放以来，社会主义新农村建设不断推进，农民群众的物质生活和精神面貌都发生了翻天覆地的变化，但相对于城市，农村的经济社会发展相对落后，农民的科学文化素质相对偏低。由于“宗教偏见的最深刻的根源是贫困和愚昧”,一直到今天，占卜算命、风水堪舆、驱邪治病等迷信和伪科学现象仍在一些农村地区流行，信教群众中的绝大部分都在农村，更有一些非法宗教组织执着于在农村发展宗教信徒、煽动宗教狂热，妄图影响甚至把持农村社会治理。这些事实的存在，对农村思想政治工作提出了“加强无神论宣传教育，丰富农民群众精神文化生活，抵制封建迷信活动”的要求。针对不信教群众，应以普及唯物论的基本观点和自然科学的基本常识为重点，用他们喜闻乐见的方式，大力宣传有关自然现象、社会进化和人的生老病死、吉凶祸福的科学文化知识，帮助他们掌握科学方法，树立科学世界观，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；针对信教群众，不能要求他们放弃自己的信仰，但应要求他们热爱祖国，拥护社会主义制度，拥护中国共产党领导，遵守国家法律法规和方针政策，从事的宗教活动服从和服务于国家最高利益和民族整体利益。此外，还应根据农民生产生活的实际，在群众性精神文明创建活动中，把无神论教育同移风易俗、培育文明乡风结合起来，同开展文化体育活动、满足群众精神文化需求结合起来，使他们在广泛参与中破除陈规陋习，反对封建迷信，抵制腐朽落后文化的侵蚀。

Fourth, strengthen atheist education online.

第四，加强网络无神论教育。

Since the 1990s, the new technological revolution represented by internet technology has propelled human society into the information age. Various political forces are competing to seize the internet, which has become the main battlefield of public opinion struggle. In this context, "Western anti-China forces have always attempted to use the internet to 'overthrow China.' Years ago, some Western politicians claimed that 'with the internet, there is a way to deal with China' and 'socialist countries will embrace the West, starting from the internet.'"[16]16 Source not provided in the original text; likely a paraphrase of statements by Western political figures. Consequently, they encourage and support some religious organizations, especially Christian organizations, to use all available internet platforms—such as portals, community forums, blogs, and social networks—to spread religious doctrines and ideas, publish news and information from within and outside the church, and share believers' personal life reflections. They organize online and offline religious activities, and some even hire internet trolls to hype religious topics and use artificial intelligence to push religious information. This has caused the influence of religion to spread virally throughout society. In fact, not long after China connected to the internet, Comrade Jiang Zemin pointed out: "The internet has become a new and important front for ideological and political work."[17]17 Jiang Zemin, "Speech at the National Conference on Ideological and Political Work," June 28, 2000. Entering the New Era, online ideological and political work, as a key domain of ideological and political work, plays an active role in innovating and improving the Party's leadership and governance methods, following the mass line online, and building a concentric circle connecting online and offline. Facing the expanding social influence of religion both online and offline, online ideological and political work must place atheist education in an important position. On the one hand, innovate in carrying out online atheist propaganda. For example, enrich the science and technology pages and ethics pages of key websites with atheist content, and strengthen the management and guidance of online comments and replies; build dedicated atheist websites to collect, organize, and release a vast amount of atheist thought, theory, anecdotes, and interesting stories to the public; develop personal and institutional WeChat public accounts and Weibo accounts for atheism, starting from common phenomena in daily life such as fortune-telling, geomancy, burning incense and worshipping Buddha, and gathering for prayer, using scientific theory, vivid language, and engaging images and short videos to expose their truths and unravel their mysteries. On the other hand, govern online religious ideology according to law. For instance, establish and improve mechanisms for the assessment and guidance of online religious public opinion, promptly identify hot-button and sensitive issues, provide scientific explanations, and respond to public concerns; further improve management measures for online religious information services, limit the subjects providing information, standardize the content of information released, and ensure its legality, compliance, tolerance, and harmony.

20世纪90年代以来，以互联网技术为代表的新技术革命推动人类社会进入信息时代，各种政治力量竞相抢滩互联网，互联网成为舆论斗争的主战场。在此背景下，“西方反华势力一直妄图利用互联网‘扳倒中国’,多年前有西方政要就声称‘有了互联网，对付中国就有了办法’,‘社会主义国家投入西方怀抱，将从互联网开始’”。由此，他们鼓励和支持一些宗教组织特别是基督教组织，利用门户网站、社区论坛、博客空间、社交网络等一切可以利用的互联网平台，传播宗教的教义和思想，发布教会内外的新闻资讯和信徒个人的生活感悟，组织线上线下的宗教活动，有的还雇佣网络水军炒作宗教话题，开启人工智能推送宗教信息，这就造成宗教的影响在社会上病毒式扩散。其实，早在中国接入互联网后不久，江泽民同志就提出：“互联网已经成为思想政治工作一个新的重要阵地。”进入新时代，网络思想政治工作作为思想政治工作的关键领域，更是发挥着创新和改进党的领导方式和执政方式，走好网上群众路线，构建网上网下同心圆的积极作用。面对网上网下宗教社会影响的不断扩大，网络思想政治工作必须把无神论教育置于重要位置。一方面，创新开展网络无神论宣传，比如在重点网站的科技网页、道德网页充实无神论的内容，加强网上跟帖评论及引导；建设专门的无神论网站，收集、整理并面向社会发布海量的关于无神论的思想理论、逸闻趣事；开发个人和机构的无神论微信公众号和微博，从生活中常见的算命、看风水、烧香拜佛、聚会祷告等现象切入，以科学的理论、鲜活的语言、生动的画面和小视频，揭露其真相，破解其谜团；另一方面，依法治理网络宗教意识形态，比如建立健全网上涉宗教舆情研判和引导机制，及时发现热点问题、敏感问题，作出科学解释，回应社会关切；进一步完善网络宗教信息服务管理办法，限定信息提供主体，规范信息发布内容，确保其合法合规、包容和顺。

IV. Basic Guarantees for Atheist Education in Ideological and Political Work

四、思想政治工作中无神论教育的基本保障

Strengthening atheist education is one of the main components of ideological and political work. Over the Party’s more than one hundred years of struggle, atheist education has been actively and steadily advanced, and the guiding position of Marxism has been gradually established and increasingly consolidated. Yet there was also a period when, influenced by internal and external factors, “theism had its advocates, while atheism had none,” leading to the spread of religious theology, the proliferation of feudal superstitions, and the rise of the evil cult “Falun Gong.” [1]1 Falun Gong: A spiritual practice organization founded in 1992, officially designated by the Chinese government as an illegal cult in 1999 for alleged social disruption and anti-government activities. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to and has targeted the strengthening of atheist education, making atheism deeply rooted in the people’s hearts and effectively preventing the spread of theism and the unhealthy development of religion. In view of the twists and turns that have occurred in history and the institutional and mechanistic obstacles that still exist in reality, to sustain the positive momentum of atheist education since the 18th National Congress, it is necessary to have strong leadership guarantees, sound organizational guarantees, reliable rule-of-law guarantees, and powerful intellectual guarantees.

加强无神论教育是思想政治工作的主要内容之一。在党百余年奋斗中，无神论教育积极稳妥推进，马克思主义指导地位逐渐确立并日益巩固，但也有一段时期，受内外因素影响，“有神论有人讲，无神论无人讲”,以致宗教神学蔓延、封建迷信泛滥、邪教“法轮功”成势。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视并有针对性地加强无神论教育，让无神论深入人心，有效防止了有神论蔓延和宗教不健康发展。鉴于历史上曾经发生的曲折、现实中依然存在的体制机制障碍，要把党的十八大以来无神论教育的好势头持续保持下去，还要有坚强的领导保障、健全的组织保障、可靠的法治保障、强大的智力保障。

First, the Party’s sobriety and firmness provide strong leadership guarantees for atheist education. The key to running China’s affairs well lies in the Party. The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest strength of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. Moreover, the Communist Party of China is a Party that takes Marxism as its guide to action and is built upon the worldview of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. Such a worldview has been inseparable from atheism from the very beginning. Remove atheism, and the theoretical edifice of Marxism would collapse; the cause of revolution, construction, and reform under the guidance of this theory would become a soulless body, a tower without a foundation. Regarding this, the Party must maintain a sober and firm understanding under whatever circumstances. Only in this way can it avoid being confused by seemingly profound and abstruse theistic ideological systems, not be troubled by the reality that religion will still exist for a long time and that religious believers can still play a positive role, and, in the contest between atheism and theism in the ideological sphere, and under the situation where foreign forces are intensifying their use of religion to infiltrate our country, stand firm, clarify the direction, and be determined to consolidate Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological sphere through strengthening atheist education in ideological and political work. Then, under the Party’s overall leadership, it can mobilize positive factors from all sectors of society and steadily and surely advance atheist education, strengthening it through improvement and developing it through innovation.

第一，党的清醒和坚定为无神论教育提供坚强的领导保障。办好中国的事情，关键在党。中国共产党领导是中国特色社会主义最本质的特征，是中国特色社会主义制度的最大优势，而中国共产党又是以马克思主义为行动指南的党，是建立在辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义世界观基础之上的党。这样的世界观从一开始就是和无神论不可分离的。抽调无神论，马克思主义理论大厦就会坍塌，在这个理论指导下的革命、建设和改革事业就会成为无魂之躯、无基之塔。对此，无论在什么情况下，党都要有清醒而坚定的认识。只有这样，才能不为貌似高深玄妙的有神论思想体系所迷惑，不为宗教仍将长期存在、信教群众还能发挥积极作用的现实所困扰，在意识形态领域无神论和有神论的较量中，在境外加紧利用宗教对我国进行渗透的情势下，站稳立场、明确方向，矢志以思想政治工作中无神论教育的加强，巩固马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位，进而在党的全面领导下，调动社会各方面的积极因素，行稳致远地推进无神论教育在改进中加强、在创新中发展。

Second, the system for flourishing socialist advanced culture provides sound organizational guarantees for atheist education. “In governing the country, institutions play a fundamental, overarching, and long-term role.” [2]2 This sentence is a paraphrase of a well-known statement by Xi Jinping on the role of institutions in national governance. The “Regulations” [3]3 The “Regulations” refers to the “Regulations on the Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China,” issued by the Party Central Committee in 2021. listing “strengthening atheist education” as one of the main components of ideological and political work is itself an institutionalized stipulation for atheist education. This is not a single institution but a systematic integration of multiple institutions. Its source can only be the multiple sub-systems within the system for flourishing socialist advanced culture in the national governance system, which must include the fundamental institution of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological sphere, the institution for guiding cultural development with core socialist values, the institution for safeguarding the people’s cultural rights and interests, the working mechanism for guiding public opinion with the correct orientation, and so on. Introducing the content of atheism into the operation of these sub-systems and systematically integrating them constitutes the institution of atheist education. In this sense, the institution of atheist education is also a sub-system within the system for flourishing socialist advanced culture. Correspondingly, the responsible entities driving the operation of the parent system—the departments of propaganda, ideology, and culture—also become the responsible entities driving the operation of the sub-system. These include not only the Party’s propaganda departments at all levels, which fulfill the main responsibility, but also other departments that fulfill relevant duties in their respective fields, such as organization departments, united front work departments, cyberspace administration departments, education departments, culture and tourism departments, agriculture and rural affairs departments, as well as mass organizations like trade unions, the Communist Youth League, women’s federations, and science and technology associations. As long as all these departments are designated as the responsible entities for atheist education, with their division of labor clarified and their sense of responsibility strengthened, atheist education will have sound organizational guarantees, and its normalization and long-term implementation will have a foundation.

第二，繁荣发展社会主义先进文化的制度为无神论教育提供健全的组织保障。“治理国家，制度是起根本性、全局性、长远性作用的。”《条例》把“加强无神论教育”列为思想政治工作的主要内容之一，本身就是对无神论教育的制度化规定。这不是一项单一的制度，而是多方面制度的系统化集成，其来源只能是国家治理体系中繁荣发展社会主义先进文化的制度所包含的多项子制度，必须包括马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度、以社会主义核心价值观引领文化建设制度、人民文化权益保障制度、坚持正确导向的舆论引导工作机制，等等。在这些子制度的运行中导入无神论的内容并将其系统化集成起来，就构成了无神论教育制度。从这个意义上讲，无神论教育制度也是繁荣发展社会主义先进文化的制度中的一个子制度。相应地，推动母制度运行的责任主体——宣传思想文化工作部门也就成了推动子制度运行的责任主体。其中，既包括履行主体责任的各级党委宣传部门，也包括在各自领域履行着相关职责的其他部门，比如组织部门、统战部门、网信部门、教育部门、文旅部门、农业农村部门以及工会、共青团、妇联、科协等群团组织。只要把这些部门都作为无神论教育的责任主体确定下来并明确其分工、强化其担当，无神论教育就有了健全的组织保障，常态化长效化开展就有了依托。

Third, the rule-of-law-based governance of religious affairs provides reliable rule-of-law guarantees for atheist education. Religion is both an ideology and a social entity. What is commonly referred to as the governance of religious affairs refers to the governance of religion as a social entity, that is, religious groups, venues for religious activities, etc., that involve national interests and social public interests. This, like national governance in other fields, also requires the rule of law as an important foundation, namely, the rule-of-law-based governance of religious affairs, which means using law to regulate various social relations involving religion, including relations between the Party and government and religion, between society and religion, between different religions within the country, between our country’s religions and foreign religions, and between religious believers and non-believers. The regulation of these relations inevitably involves atheism. For example, in the relationship between the Party and government and religion, only by guaranteeing citizens’ freedom of religious belief through legal means can we similarly guarantee citizens’ freedom not to believe in religion and to propagate atheism through legal means. In the relationship between religious believers and non-believers, it is necessary to stipulate by law that no one may conduct atheist propaganda in religious venues or initiate debates on the existence or non-existence of gods among religious believers, and it is also necessary to stipulate by law that no religious organization or religious believer may preach scriptures or propagate theism outside venues for religious activities. Only by comprehensively advancing the rule-of-law-based governance of religious affairs can we, while respecting and protecting citizens’ freedom of religious belief, effectively curb the expansion of theism and continuously consolidate the position of atheism at the societal level, governing both religion as a social entity and religion as an ideology, both working in the same direction as atheist education and providing guarantees for it.

第三，宗教事务治理的法治化为无神论教育提供可靠的法治保障。宗教既是一种意识形态，又是一种社会实体。通常讲的宗教事务治理是指对作为社会实体的宗教即涉及国家利益和社会公共利益的宗教团体、宗教活动场所等的治理。这同其他领域的国家治理一样，也需要法治作为重要依托，即宗教事务治理法治化，亦即用法律调节涉及宗教的各种社会关系，包括党和政府与宗教、社会与宗教、国内不同宗教、我国宗教与外国宗教、信教群众与不信教群众的关系。这些关系的调节必然涉及无神论。比如，在党和政府与宗教的关系中，只有以法治手段保障了公民信仰宗教的自由，才能同样以法治手段保障公民不信仰宗教、宣传无神论的自由。在信教群众与不信教群众的关系中，既要依法规定任何人不得到宗教场所进行无神论宣传，或者在信教群众中发动有神还是无神的辩论，也要依法规定任何宗教组织和宗教信徒不得在宗教活动场所以外传经布道、宣传有神论。只有全面推进了宗教事务治理法治化，才能在尊重和保护公民信仰宗教的自由的前提下，在社会层面有效遏制有神论的扩张、持续巩固无神论的阵地，既治理作为社会实体的宗教，也治理作为意识形态的宗教，既和无神论教育同向发力，也为无神论教育提供保障。

Fourth, the disciplinary construction and talent cultivation of Marxist atheism provide powerful intellectual guarantees for atheist education. The purpose of atheist education is to make people realize that there are no gods in the world. But this simple fact, after being layered over and heavily packaged by theists for thousands of years, has been transformed into a refined and splendid theological system, deeply influencing believers and seducing ordinary people like a ghostly shadow. For atheist education to make people avoid religious belief and resist religious temptation, it is absolutely not something that can be accomplished by simply saying “there are no gods in the world.” Its educators must possess a broader knowledge base, richer practical experience, and more rigorous argumentation logic than theists. This raises the special requirement of strengthening the disciplinary construction and talent cultivation of atheism. Disciplinary construction must first determine that the discipline to be built is Marxist atheism. Then, scientific research should be carried out and academic achievements produced around the basic contradictions within the discipline—the contradiction between “no gods in the world” and the existence of “gods” in the social and historical field, and the contradiction between believing in gods and not believing in gods—providing a knowledge system and building a resource platform for cultivating professional talents in atheism. This will help boost the construction of a team of researchers in religious studies and a team of cadres for religious work, and will help equip and strengthen the backbone team for atheist education, mainly composed of Party affairs cadres and propaganda cadres in organs and institutions, ideological and political course teachers, counselors, and class advisors in schools, grassroots cadres in rural areas and community workers, online commentators and cyberspace administration cadres, etc., to carry out atheist education on a normalized and long-term basis. This will ensure that Marxist atheism, as the mainstream ideology, always occupies a dominant position in the minds of the people, becoming a fundamental ideological support for the great cause of building a strong country and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

第四，马克思主义无神论学科建设和人才培养为无神论教育提供强大的智力保障。无神论教育的目的是让人们认识到世上无神，但就是这个简单事实，千百年来经过有神论者的层层掩盖、重重包装，已经幻化出精致、绚烂的神学体系，根深蒂固地影响着信仰者，鬼影婆娑地诱惑着普通群众。无神论教育要人们避开宗教信仰、抵御宗教诱惑，绝不是一句“世上无神”就能成事的，其教育者一定要有比有神论者更广博的知识基础、更丰富的实践经验、更缜密的论证逻辑。这就提出了加强无神论学科建设和人才培养的特殊要求。学科建设首先得确定，所要建设的是马克思主义无神论学科，继而围绕学科中的基本矛盾——世上无神和社会历史领域有“神”的矛盾、信神和不信神的矛盾展开科学研究、推出学术成果，为培养无神论专业人才提供知识体系、搭建资源平台。由此，助推宗教学研究队伍建设、宗教工作干部队伍建设，配齐建强以机关和事业单位党务干部、宣传干部，学校思政课教师和辅导员、班主任，农村基层干部和社区工作者、网络评论员和网信工作干部等为主体的无神论教育骨干队伍，常态化长效化地开展无神论教育，使马克思主义无神论作为主流意识形态始终在人民群众思想中占据主导地位，成为强国建设、民族复兴伟业的基础性的思想支撑。