Reflections and Suggestions on Strengthening Research, Publicity, and Education Regarding Atheism
Reflections and Suggestions on Strengthening Research, Publicity, and Education Regarding Atheism
I have long researched the Marxist view of religion and have found that Marxist political parties hold two fundamental points regarding the religious question: first, the state must implement a policy of freedom of religious belief; second, the Party must persist in conducting publicity and education on atheism. These two fundamental points complement each other; both are essential and neither can be dispensed with. This has been the stated position from Marx, Engels, and Lenin to Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin. Comrade Hu Jintao spoke in this manner as well, but his speeches on the religious question have not been published openly, and news reports on them basically omitted the latter point. He issued written instructions regarding the research, publicity, and education of atheism, but these were also not made public. This creates the impression that we only speak of freedom of religious belief and not of atheistic publicity and education. Considering the comprehensiveness of our propaganda and reporting, it seems a balance should be struck. However, much material from before the 16th National Congress has been made public. For example, in the early period of reform and opening up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping said: "We have always implemented freedom of religious belief; of course, we also conduct atheistic publicity." In the early 1990s, Comrade Jiang Zemin said: "We must use the Marxist view of religion as a guide to prevent 'two types of one-sidedness' in religious work." These "two types of one-sidedness" refer to overemphasizing one aspect while neglecting the other; he consistently maintained this position. However, looking at the actual situation over the past 30 years, I feel there is still some one-sidedness. Central Document No. 19 of 1982 stated that guaranteeing the freedom of belief not only does not hinder but should strengthen the popularization of science and atheistic publicity. Yet over these 30 years, while the guarantee of freedom of religious belief has improved and the number of believers and proselytizers has increased, atheistic publicity and education have not been strengthened much, and those engaged in atheistic research, publicity, and education have become fewer and fewer. Currently, there are a great many institutions and personnel researching or even promoting religious theism, yet there is not a single institution for the research of atheism; journals promoting atheism are also pitifully few—only Science and Atheism, which is run by part-time staff, some of whom are retired elderly people. This state of affairs truly must be changed.
A while ago, I encountered a leader who previously oversaw theoretical work in the propaganda department. I asked him for advice: "The Religious Affairs Bureau manages religious affairs and does not promote atheism, but the Central Propaganda Department [1] should promote it. Our Atheism Society is about to hold an annual meeting to discuss the issue of atheism's 'discursive power' [2]; what are your thoughts?" He said that in the early years after Liberation, religious work was under the Culture and Education Commission, which could carry out atheistic publicity and education; later, a specialized Religious Affairs Bureau was established, making it more difficult for that bureau to carry out such education. He mentioned that the Central Propaganda Department attaches great importance to carrying forward the scientific spirit and had recently researched the matter. As he left, he said he would report the issues I raised to higher authorities.
The 1982 Central Document No. 19, which concerned "setting things right" [3] in religious work, emphasized: using Marxist philosophy to criticize idealism (including theism); conducting education on the scientific worldview of dialectical materialism and historical materialism (including atheism) among the masses, especially the youth; and strengthening the publicity of scientific and cultural knowledge regarding natural phenomena, social evolution, and human life, death, illness, old age, fortune, and misfortune—these are among the important tasks of the Party on the propaganda front. Building research institutions and relevant majors in universities that use Marxism to study the religious question is an indispensable and important aspect of building the Party's theoretical contingent. What does this mean? As I understand it, the implementation of the Party's two fundamental points on the religious question has been divided among different departments. Implementing the policy of freedom of religious belief is mainly the business of the Religious Affairs Bureau; promoting atheism is mainly the business of the Central Propaganda Department; and building a professional contingent for the study of Marxist materialism and atheism is mainly the business of the Ministry of Education. Today, the division of labor is even finer. Documents on religious work all speak of implementing policy, management according to law, independent self-management [4], and active guidance, while generally no longer mentioning atheism. As for the Religious Affairs Bureau, it is neither a propaganda department nor an educational department, but a management department. Its main job is to implement policy and manage according to law, and it does not involve the promotion of atheism. Because religious work must face personages from religious circles and the masses of believers, it emphasizes mutual respect in matters of ideology and belief; one cannot direct atheistic publicity toward them. In the early days after Liberation, religious work was within the Culture and Education Commission, so it could handle both aspects; but now they are separated, and the Religious Affairs Bureau only handles one side. Over the past 30 years, religious policy has been implemented better and better; there are now many believers, and the influence of theism is growing. But who is to conduct atheistic publicity and education? Who is to build the contingent for the discipline of atheism? Naturally, the Central Propaganda Department and the Ministry of Education must take charge. However, the tasks of the Central Propaganda Department are too heavy: it must promote the "main theme" [5], publicize Central policies and theories, and guide major intellectual trends and public opinion. The Ministry of Education must cultivate talent for the country and has a vast array of matters to attend to. Thus, the research and publicity of atheism often fail to reach their proper position, and this work has gradually fallen through the cracks.
How should we carry out research, publicity, and education on atheism? I believe that atheistic publicity must be grasped from the foundation, which requires education—specifically, philosophy education in middle schools and universities. Currently, there are philosophy knowledge courses in high schools and public philosophy courses in universities. I believe that those engaged in philosophy education, especially Marxist philosophy, should properly study religious theology, particularly the different manifestations of various forms of theism in the contemporary era. To help students establish a scientific worldview, one must "destroy and establish" [6]. What is to be established? Materialism, dialectics, and atheism. What is to be destroyed? Idealism, metaphysics, and theism. Without destroying the old, the new cannot be established. In teaching philosophy, one must not only explain materialism, dialectics, and atheism thoroughly, but also explain idealism, metaphysics, and theism thoroughly. Idealism, metaphysics, and theism have many forms of expression; especially now, these things are common among various erroneous intellectual trends, and sometimes they can truly be described as a "disastrous flood." Yet many of our people turn a blind eye, fail to recognize them when seen, or fail to debunk them when recognized. Ultimately, it is because our philosophy textbooks have not explained them thoroughly. If idealism, metaphysics, and theism cannot be destroyed, then materialism, dialectics, and atheism cannot be established. Some people have studied Marxist philosophy for many years yet find themselves dizzy and disoriented by some very crude forms of idealism, metaphysics, and theism; this indicates a problem with our philosophy education. I believe it is not enough for philosophy textbooks to only cover materialism, dialectics, epistemology, the view of nature, and the view of history; they should also cover atheism. Many people in philosophy look down on atheism, which is a grave mistake. In today's world, the majority of people still believe in theism, and theism is rampant everywhere, which shows it is by no means simple. If theism is not simple, then the atheism that refutes it is even less so. Some people think they understand philosophy well yet believe in theism; this shows they are ignorant of atheism and that our philosophy education is flawed—or at least incomplete.
In teaching philosophy, one must establish a thesis. To establish materialism, one must destroy idealism and clearly explain where various forms of idealism, both historical and contemporary, have gone wrong. To establish dialectics, one must destroy metaphysics and clearly explain where various forms of metaphysics, both historical and contemporary, have gone wrong. In teaching philosophy, one must teach atheism. Without teaching atheism, the myriad forms of theism in history and reality cannot be destroyed, and a scientific worldview cannot be established—this has been proven by many facts. It must be recognized that the forms of theism are numerous, yet many people in philosophy seem entirely unaware of this. I have communicated with some people who say that due to the setup of specialties and the division of disciplines, those currently engaged in Marxist philosophy simply lack knowledge regarding religious theism. Philosophers do not understand theism, do not research it, and do not critique it. Theism falls under the study of religion, but many who study religion not only fail to critique theism but instead praise and promote it—some even oppose others critiquing theism or promoting atheism. How can this be allowed? Therefore, when conducting philosophy education and compiling philosophy textbooks for middle schools and universities, content on establishing atheism and destroying theism must be included. But without knowledge in this area, how can it be added? Thus, research is necessary. In the long run, those engaged in Marxist philosophy must research religious theism and clarify the different types of religious theism so they can be debunked one by one in textbooks in a targeted manner. Only then can we help students establish a scientific worldview of Marxist materialism and atheism and improve their ability to discern and resist theism.
Under current circumstances, when compiling textbooks, could those in Marxist philosophy collaborate with those in atheism? Perhaps even collaborate with those who study religious theology? We should sort through various contemporary international and domestic forms of theism—especially those in Christianity and Buddhism, which have the greatest influence—and conduct necessary scientific analysis in philosophy textbooks. This will help students "establish while destroying, and destroy while establishing," thereby forming a firm Marxist materialist and atheistical worldview.
The most fundamental part of teaching atheism is teaching the Marxist view of religion. The Marxist view of religion provides a thorough analysis of the essence, roots, forms, and evolution of theism and is an important component of Marxist philosophy. First, the essence of theism—that is, the essence of supernatural concepts—must be explained thoroughly. Next, one must teach the various roots of supernatural concepts and their beliefs and worship, including natural roots, social roots, and cognitive roots. Currently, the natural roots leading to religious reflection have weakened considerably compared to ancient times, but they still exist in large quantities. Social roots have changed somewhat but have not been significantly weakened. In the past, we pursued "large in size and high in degree of public ownership" [7], abolished private ownership, and made the mistake of "leapfrogging" [8] stages of social development; however, public ownership indeed can greatly eliminate the social roots of religion. Now, developing an economy with multiple forms of ownership while maintaining the dominance of public ownership fits the reality of the primary stage of socialism, but the private components of the economy have reinforced the social roots of religion. As for foreign countries, they are almost entirely dominated by private ownership; according to the views of Marx, Engels, and Lenin, this is highly suitable for the survival and development of religious theism. Some people see that Western countries have advanced science and technology yet religion remains so fervent, and they find it incomprehensible. They forget that the West implements private ownership! According to the views of Marx, Engels, and Lenin, compared to the elimination of private ownership, the role of developing science and technology in destroying theism is very limited.
Among those who study the sociology of religion in the developed capitalist countries of Europe and America, "secularization theory" was once popular, holding that modernization means secularization, and secularization means the disappearance of religion. A very famous scholar predicted in the 1960s that religion would basically disappear by the beginning of this century. Later, it was discovered that historical development was nothing of the sort, which led to the questioning and denial of secularization theory. Some even believe that all past materialists—including Marxists—were wrong in their understanding of religion. Actually, modernization means an improvement in human ability to understand and transform nature, which certainly impacts supernatural beliefs. However, if private ownership is not abolished and alien social forces are still oppressing the majority of humanity, theism cannot disappear. Bourgeois scholars believe the capitalist system is perfect; since capitalist modernization failed to make religion disappear, they conclude that secularization theory was wrong. From a Marxist perspective, secularization theory naturally contains both truths and fallacies; its greatest fallacy lies in not knowing that capitalist private ownership is the deepest root of modern religion.
The cognitive roots of religious reflection include three aspects: the roots of awareness, epistemological roots, and psychological roots. With the continuous popularization of scientific knowledge, people’s knowledge of nature, society, and psychology has increased, which helps eliminate the roots of awareness in religious reflection. However, only about 2% of our citizens possess basic scientific literacy—the work of popularizing science still has a long way to go! Under these circumstances, we must vigorously strengthen atheistic publicity and education. Speaking of the epistemological roots of theism, philosophy education comes into play. The epistemological roots of religious reflection are idealism and metaphysics, which must be debunked through philosophy education. Textbooks must thoroughly explain the errors of various forms of idealism and metaphysics. This will not only assist in the promotion of atheism but also be highly beneficial in debunking various non-Marxist and anti-Marxist intellectual trends, as all such things are filled with idealistic and metaphysical methods of thinking. Finally, there are the psychological roots, which are also an important subjective root of religious reflection. We should widely popularize psychological knowledge and vigorously carry out psychological counseling and ideological and political work to help people navigate psychological crises and resolve ideological confusion. Many missionaries know to look for people experiencing psychological crises and ideological confusion to proselytize to, and the results are very effective. We should pay full attention to this and explain the principles clearly to students.
To effectively carry out atheism propaganda and education, there must be specialized research institutions. According to Chairman Mao Zedong’s [9] original instructions, the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences should establish an Institute for the Study of Religions. Because religion continues to influence a vast population to this day, we must use Marxism to study it and thoroughly explain the essence of various forms of theism; only then can we properly write the histories of philosophy, literature, and world history. The Central Committee’s Document No. 19 of 1982 [10] stated very clearly that we must use Marxism to study religious theism. However, many people currently researching religion have long since cast Marxism aside, and some have even become "puffer-fish and drummers" [11] for religious theology. What is to be done? I feel there is indeed a need to establish specialized institutions to research Marxist materialism and atheism. Ideally, scientific research institutions should be set up independently, but what if they cannot be? A leading comrade once said that the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) should be built into a "strong fortress of Marxism," and every discipline within it should have a corresponding Marxist research institution. I think this is an excellent conceptualization. Marxism is a comprehensive worldview and methodology; it is "the master key" [12] that governs the whole. Every discipline contains corresponding Marxist content, and every discipline should have a specialized institution to study it. Furthermore, these should be high-level bodies possessing comprehensive coordination functions to assist relevant leadership in carrying out ideological and political work. For example, the Institute of Journalism could establish a Research Office for the Marxist View of Journalism, and the Institute of World Religions could establish a Research Office for the Marxist View of Religion. If this is not feasible, creating a Research Office for Marxist Materialism and Atheism within the Institute of Marxism Studies would also work. Furthermore, this could be done within the discipline of Scientific Socialism, as atheism propaganda and education is a vital component of Scientific Socialism; Scientific Socialism must specifically research why and how a Marxist political party carries out such work. Otherwise, without institutions and specialized personnel to do this work, it will be very difficult to manage.
Some say that atheism propaganda "has no market" [13] and is difficult to carry out. This is because non-believers might say, "I don’t believe in gods anyway, so why should I listen to you talk about atheism?" Meanwhile, believers say, "I am a religious person, and the deities often protect me, so why should I read your books on atheism?" I believe the matter is not so simple. In our country, true atheists who are theoretically thorough, clear-headed, and firm are a minority. I also believe that those who are truly "dead-set" [14] in believing that deities absolutely exist are also a minority. The vast majority of people exist in an intermediate state between belief and non-belief. Many people only "prefer to believe it exists than not" when a crisis occurs; as the saying goes, "one does not burn incense in ordinary times, but embraces the Buddha’s feet in a crisis" [15] or "one never enters the Triple Treasure Hall [16] unless there is business to attend to." Most people fall into this category. They act this way because they lack the necessary knowledge of Marxist materialism and atheism. Many people know nothing about atheism yet assume it is very simple. In reality, religious theism has existed for at least tens of thousands of years, and the majority of the human population still believes in it today; this proves that theism is by no means simple. If theism is not simple, how could atheism possibly be simple? Religious theism is a very deep field of study; you only need to see how many people have been left "with their souls turned upside down" [17] and infatuated by it to understand. Atheism is as deep as theism—perhaps even deeper. Many forms of theism can talk to you until "the sky turns dark and the earth turns dizzy" [18]! Against such powerful theism, atheism must certainly be more powerful still. How can anyone say atheism is simple?
How should we propagate atheism? Engels suggested at the time the mass translation and distribution of 18th-century French Enlightenment works and works of militant atheism; this is very effective. Lenin mentioned many times: Engels suggested this long ago, but we have not done nearly enough. Lenin said that some self-proclaimed Marxists produce material that actually distorts and ruins Marxism, whereas French Enlightenment and atheist works—though not Marxist—surpass some Marxists in propagating atheism because they are so vivid, so pungent, so "single-sword-striking" [19] and fascinating! Therefore, in our current atheism propaganda, I believe the education, propaganda, organization, and publishing departments should organize the large-scale translation and publication of modern scientific atheist and Enlightenment works, but they must be "packaged." For example, the "Western Masterpieces" series published by the Commercial Press might not appeal to ordinary people. Packaging must be flexible, vivid, and lively, possessing modernity and fashionability, and accompanied by explanations so the masses will be willing to read them. Furthermore, since the 19th century, and especially since the 20th century, there have been many Western works researching and propagating atheism; organizing forces to translate and publish these in large quantities is also something the propaganda and education departments should do. We must translate and introduce them systematically and in their entirety. Currently, the translation and introduction of foreign theistic works are becoming more and more systematic, while the translation of atheist works is pathetically scarce. The economic market requires regulation, and the "market of ideas" [20] also requires regulation. To consolidate the dominant position of Marxist materialism and atheism in the market of ideas and beliefs, the Party and government must allocate funds to support this work. Currently, the reason so many books on religious theism are translated and published is largely because foreign foundations and churches provide financial support. Additionally, experts should be organized to research the specific manifestations and dissemination methods of theism in current society to "comb them out" clearly. Only once there is a target can one "release the arrow" [21]! Otherwise, shooting without a target produces no results. I believe this is more practical and effective work that should be grasped and prioritized.
*This article is based on the author's speech at... Author Profile: Jia Runguo, Deputy Director and Researcher at the Religious Research Center of the National Religious Affairs Administration.