Challenges Facing Current Scientific Atheism and Expert Recommendations
I. The Current Dilemma Facing Scientific Atheism in Chinese Society
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, we have adhered to Marxism as our guide and built a socialist state under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. In the historical process of socialist construction, the publicity and education of scientific atheism have always been extremely important components of our ideological and theoretical construction, as well as our spiritual and cultural development; it is an inherent requirement [1] for upholding Marxism. However, since the beginning of Reform and Opening-up, with the rapid development of the economy and society, ideology and culture have shown a trend of diversification. For a period of time, under the joint influence of multiple factors, a significant number of people in society have encountered serious problems regarding their ideals, convictions, and spiritual pursuits. A prominent manifestation of this is a lack of belief in socialism and the Communist Party. Even some Party members remain silent about Marxism and communist ideals and convictions, turning instead to various religions, while religious superstitious activities are clamorous. Faced with this highly abnormal phenomenon, some experts and scholars have expressed great concern.
Experts and scholars point out that a strange phenomenon currently exists in our society: theism is becoming increasingly popular, while atheism is seldom discussed. Feudal superstitions have also surged back into fashion, and "special functions" [2]—which violate scientific common sense—have become "new superstitions" under the banner of "science." For instance, some describe special functions as the "dawn of a scientific breakthrough," call fortune-telling "predictive science," and refer to fengshui [3] as "environmental science," and so on. The consequence of neglecting atheism is a sharp increase in the number of people believing in various religions; for example, the number of Christians has increased more than tenfold over the past twenty years. Corresponding to this social phenomenon, our national education theory and practical activities often overlook the issue of atheism, being lax in education and publicity. Some scholars worry that atheism has fallen from a "prominent study" (xianxue) to a "marginal study" (xianxue), while theism has risen from a "perilous study" (xianxue) to a "prominent study." [4]
The increasing popularity of theism reflects the disorientation of some people’s spiritual pursuits during the process of modernization, as well as a crisis in people’s spiritual lives and ideals. Regarding its social roots, some experts and scholars have cited examples such as local authorities who, motivated by the desire to increase tourism revenue, consciously or unconsciously disregard relevant state laws and regulations. They are keen on competing over design scale and investment amounts, using public funds to build "Great Buddhas" and various religious facilities. This has caused ideological confusion among the masses and Party members, as well as chaos within the ideological sphere. Some scholars further point out that this phenomenon also reflects changes in China's socio-economic life. On the one hand, it is related to the rapid development of the individual, private, and foreign-funded economies; on the other hand, it is related to a certain one-sidedness in our implementation of the Party's religious policies. Currently, support for religion from some local departments and social forces is greater than the support for atheistic education and publicity. Scholars believe that while emphasizing freedom of religious belief is correct, the publicity of the mainstream ideology and atheism must not be neglected.
Experts and scholars are deeply concerned about the current situation wherein the number of religious believers among Party members, cadres, and young students is continuously increasing. They point out that in modern Chinese society, from the Qing government to the Republican government, religion has never been allowed to enter schools. When the famous educator Cai Yuanpei served as the Minister of Education of the Republic of China, he ordered the prohibition of religion in specialized schools and advocated for replacing religion with aesthetic education. After the founding of New China, we formed a set of effective experiences and methods for grasping atheistic education and education in ideals and convictions. However, in recent years, the erosion of people's minds and social life by religious thought has become increasingly serious. The phenomenon of university students believing in religion has become even more prominent. The reasons are: first, the influence of family and ethnic traditions; second, the individual circumstances of students and the active recruitment by religious organizations; and third, certain structural deficiencies in our national education system. Experts and scholars believe that during the formative period of students’ worldviews and values, our national education has failed to provide the cultivation and influence necessary for a sound personality, healthy thinking, and noble character. When students feel lost and most need guidance, no one—or very few people—can help them establish a correct direction. Without timely and persuasive intervention and guidance of values, students easily develop a "belief vacuum" and a "spiritual desert," thereby providing opportunities for religious superstition and theism to take hold.
Some experts and scholars believe that even more serious problems occur among some leading Party cadres. Currently, the phenomenon of leading Party cadres believing in religion is characterized by "four manys": First, many retired leading Party cadres believe in religion, and some have even become backbones of the church. Second, many leading Party cadres in ethnic minority areas believe in religion. Third, among mid-to-high-level leading Party cadres who are believers, a relatively high number believe in Buddhism. Fourth, among grassroots leading Party cadres who are believers, a relatively high number believe in Christianity.
In response to the increasing number of leading Party cadres believing in religion, particularly Christianity, some experts and scholars analyze that this phenomenon prompts deep reflection on several issues: first, in the era of economic globalization, the influence of Western culture and ideology has penetrated every aspect of our society, including the body of the Party; second, some decadent and backward ideologies are resurging, competing with our mainstream ideology for territory and "market share" [5] in an attempt to occupy the ideological field of Party members and cadres; third, some local Party organizations have neglected the education, management, and ideological-political work of Party members. Under the impact of value pluralism, some leading Party cadres have lost their way, resulting in a crisis of faith and values.
Some experts and scholars point out that it is both surprising and worrying that some people are not only indifferent to leading Party cadres believing in religion but even defend it, saying things like "personal political belief and religious belief are not in conflict; one cannot reliogionize political belief, nor politicize religious belief." Some instructors at Party Schools openly advocate that Communist Party members can hold religious beliefs during their lectures. Some Party members and cadres, including some leading cadres, pay lip service to "scientific development" [6], yet in matters of faith, they forget the scientific worldview and outlook on life, disregarding genuine science. They speak of being "people-centered," but in their inner thoughts and actions, they practice being "god-centered," believing in religious superstition rather than the great power of the masses revealed in vivid social practice; they would rather let deities dominate their destiny. These actions run counter to our guiding ideology, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and the strategic thinking of being "people-centered" proposed by the Party Central Committee.
The education and publicity of scientific atheism undoubtedly face numerous dilemmas. Some people, in the name of freedom of religious belief and building a harmonious society, oppose conducting atheistic education and publicity. Others believe that religious belief is an entirely personal matter that is beyond reproach. Still others even believe that Marxism is not contradictory to religion, and that religion can satisfy certain spiritual needs of people and is indispensable for social development. Experts and scholars point out that these understandings and views are quite popular in current society and have a market among leading Party cadres. However, they are not only one-sided and erroneous but also extremely harmful.
Experts and scholars generally believe that although only a small minority of leading Party cadres currently believe in religion, if this is allowed to develop, it will inevitably pose a great threat to our Party's ideological foundation, ideals and convictions, organizational principles, and governing status, with extremely serious consequences. Whether Party members and cadres dabble in religions from abroad or indigenous ones, they are incompatible with our socialist ideology. These situations, especially those involving the infiltration of foreign forces, should arouse our high level of vigilance.
II. Several Issues to be Clarified and Resolved in Strengthening the Education and Publicity of Scientific Atheism
Precisely because the publicity and education of scientific atheism face many dilemmas and difficulties, changing this situation requires arduous and meticulous work.
Some experts and scholars believe that on the basis of clarifying the relationship between scientific atheism and socialism with Chinese characteristics, the relationship between publicizing scientific atheism and freedom of religious belief, and the relationship between scientific atheism and ultimate concern for humanity, the publicity of scientific atheism needs to clarify and resolve at least the following issues:
1. Atheism is the ideological foundation of the Marxist worldview; publicizing atheism does not contradict the implementation of the Party's policy on freedom of religious belief.
Atheism is the ideological foundation of the Marxist worldview, and Marxism is fundamentally incompatible with theism; therefore, adhering to atheism is an inherent requirement for upholding Marxism. Regarding the argument that Marxism and religion are compatible and that personal political beliefs can be separated from religious beliefs, experts and scholars point out that this is a distortion of Marxism. Marx's thought and research journey began with the critique of religion, moved to the critique of philosophy, and finally deepened into the critique of political economy. From the perspective of historical materialism, Marx historically and partially affirmed certain positive roles of religion, but he did not affirm religion from the perspective of value orientation. Marxism is fundamentally incompatible with various religious superstitions and theism. We cannot use Marx's certain affirmations of religion in specific contexts to deny this incompatibility.
Other scholars point out that publicizing atheism not only does not contradict the implementation of the Party's policy on freedom of religious belief but is also an inherent requirement of that policy. Talking about freedom of belief cannot mean only talking about the freedom to believe in religion; one must also talk about the freedom not to believe in religion. Religion cannot be viewed as superior to all, more beautiful than all, or kinder than all. At the same time, individual belief cannot be made absolute or extreme; individual belief must also accept social constraints, undergo continuous reflection and revision, and be coordinated with social belief (the common ideal of society).
2. Advocating atheism is an important foundation for social harmony; publicizing atheism will not damage social harmony but will instead correctly guide and properly handle social contradictions.
Experts and scholars believe that guiding religion to adapt to socialist society is an important task in building a socialist harmonious society. Atheism is an important part of the socialist core value system and socialist ideology. Publicizing atheism will not damage social harmony; on the contrary, it is an important foundation for social harmony. A harmonious society must never be viewed as one without contradictions, conflicts, or struggles; true harmony only exists on the basis of adhering to truth and resolving contradictions.
Speaking of the foundation for achieving harmonious coexistence between religion and society, between different religions, between religious and non-religious masses, and between masses of different religious beliefs, experts and scholars point out that the foundation for social harmony cannot be viewed as a certain shared religious belief or non-belief, because a shared religious belief is fundamentally impossible in reality. The reason harmony exists in a society with Chinese-path socialism—its foundation and essence—is determined by the socialist economic and political systems, as well as the fundamentally consistent common interests of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups built upon the socialist system. The reason harmony can be achieved between religious and non-religious masses is that although they differ in religious belief, their fundamental interests are consistent. They all support the socialist system, the leadership of the CPC, and the guiding position of Marxism; they pursue the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics and take Chinese national culture as their shared spiritual home. Compared to the differences in religious belief, this is the "great commonality within diversity." Experts and scholars emphasize that publicizing scientific atheism will not damage social harmony; on the contrary, it is the prerequisite for correctly guiding and properly handling social contradictions.
3. The substitutive satisfaction provided by religion cannot solve the problems of moral cultivation and spiritual comfort in real life; only communist morality and traditional Chinese virtues can truly satisfy people's infinite spiritual needs and spiritual transcendence.
Some in society believe that religion can provide "ultimate concern" for believers and that religious individuals generally possess higher moral standards. Through detailed data analysis and based on their research results, experts and scholars argue that this view is groundless. On the issue of "ultimate concern" [7], religious superstition and theism do not constitute a noble spiritual pursuit; they fall short of ultimate concern in the true sense of human spiritual needs. Only a worldview based on scientific atheism, materialism, and communism can thoroughly resolve the issue of people’s spiritual needs and provide them with infinite spiritual fulfillment and spiritual transcendence. Many scholars believe we must enrich and develop our spiritual resources by drawing from the spiritual ethos of "serving the people heart and soul" advocated by the Communist Party of China and from the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation. Only morality established on the foundation of atheism constitutes the most noble and selfless moral realm. Some scholars also stated that the imbalance in moral standards and the spiritual world appearing in society serves as a reminder that we must accelerate our research and resolution of the changes in people's spiritual lives and the diversification of spiritual demands during the process of modernization.
Many experts and scholars emphasized that after clarifying and resolving these issues, Communist Party members must also soberly recognize that communists are true atheists and are incompatible with various religions in terms of faith; for a Communist Party member to believe in religion means a loss of their advanced nature [8]. If our Party members, especially leading cadres, all run off to believe in religion and degenerate into theists, the foundation of our Party’s political faith will be shaken, and our Party will face the danger of losing its leadership qualification due to the loss of its advanced nature.
III. Recommendations Proposed by Experts and Scholars for Strengthening Education and Publicity of Scientific Atheism
Regarding how to change the current status of ideals and convictions and how to strengthen the publicity and education of scientific atheism, several experts and scholars have put forward some excellent suggestions.
1. To consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in our country's ideology, the education and publicity of atheism must be strengthened.
Experts and scholars believe that the current prevalence of various religious superstitions in our society is related to our failure to fully exert the guiding role of Marxism in ideology. We must vigorously carry out education in patriotism, collectivism, and socialism throughout society—including among both religious and non-religious masses—using the common ideal of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics to mobilize strength, using the Socialist Concept of Honor and Disgrace [9] to lead social trends, constructing the Socialist Core Value System, and consolidating the common ideological foundation for the united struggle of people of all ethnic groups.
Some experts and scholars pointed out that atheism is an important component of socialist ideology. To combine individual ideals with the common ideals of society and to vigorously fortify the powerful foundation of these common ideals, there is an urgent need to strengthen the research, education, and publicity of atheism. Other scholars proposed that education on the reality of communist ideals must be strengthened. Although communism is our long-term goal of struggle, it is not indefinitely remote. It is not merely a moral system but a social ideal that can be turned into reality through struggle; socialism is the primary stage of communism, and the theory of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics belongs to the ideological system of communism—this point should be made very clear.
2. The Marxist view of religion must be firmly established and correctly implemented.
Regarding the question of how communists should correctly handle the relationship between atheism and theism, as well as religious belief, the three generations of the Party's central collective leadership—with Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin as the cores—and the Party Central Committee with Hu Jintao as General Secretary have all provided clear expositions. For example, Mao Zedong explicitly pointed out that we "must replace idealism with materialism and replace theism with atheism." Deng Xiaoping emphasized: "Since the founding of our People's Republic, we have always implemented freedom of religious belief. Of course, we also carry out the publicity of atheism." Entering the new historical period, leading comrades such as Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao have also pointed out many times: "Communists are atheists; they must adhere to atheism and publicize atheism at all times." "Communist Party members not only cannot believe in religion but should also actively publicize atheism, publicize a scientific worldview, and publicize correct viewpoints opposing feudal superstition." These thoughts are the guiding principles for our correct understanding and handling of religious issues.
Experts and scholars believe that the essence of the Marxist view of religion is scientific atheism. This view of religion is rooted in historical materialism and scientific socialism, and it was developed through the struggle against various forms of religious theology centered on supernatural forces. Therefore, the publicity of atheism inevitably involves the critique of various forms of theism. In practical work, we must comprehensively implement the Party’s religious policy and seriously study and correctly understand the Marxist view of religion. We must deeply recognize the natural, social, and cognitive roots of religion, fully acknowledge the complexity and long-term nature of religious issues, and fully recognize the dual nature of religion's social role. In practical work, we must prevent "two types of one-sidedness": on the one hand, we cannot fail to or abandon the publicity of atheism because we are implementing the policy of freedom of religious belief; on the other hand, we cannot deny freedom of religious belief because we are publicizing atheism.
Some experts and scholars pointed out that criticizing theism is not the same as opposing the religious masses; rather, it targets the social roots of religious belief and opposes backwardness and ignorance. Only in this way can we maximize the unity of the religious masses rather than excluding them, and only then can we inspire and educate the broad masses to struggle together against the social roots that produce theism—namely, the old exploitative system and the phenomena of social poverty, ignorance, and backwardness. Scholars emphasized that the critique and struggle of atheism against theism, including religious theology, is not blind. The Marxist atheist critique of theism follows two paths: first, it moves beyond the critique of religion itself to focus on criticizing and exposing the roots of religion, especially its social roots; second, it moves beyond direct critiques of religious dogma and doctrine in a general sense to focus on drawing a fundamental line between the atheist worldview and the theist worldview.
3. Strengthening the education and publicity of atheism must be based on reality and oriented toward the masses.
Some experts and scholars pointed out that today, as social organizational forms have undergone enormous changes and people's interests have diversified—while the independence, selectivity, variability, and diversity of ideological activities have steadily increased—our efforts to carry out education and publicity on atheism must be based on reality and oriented toward the masses. The discussion and publicity of atheist issues are intended to help the broad masses establish scientific ways of thinking, believing, and living. We should absorb the excellent achievements of human civilization, integrate them with the new problems arising in contemporary Chinese society, and create new lines of thought and forms of activity on the basis of combining theory with practice. We should boldly use the guidance of the masses toward "seeking truth," "seeking goodness," and "seeking beauty" as three levels of entry points.
On how to resolve the issue of some Party members and cadres believing in religion, experts and scholars suggest: we must pay attention to the spiritual lives of Party members and cadres, strengthen and improve ideological and political work, enhance education in Marxist theory, and improve their ideological quality. Simultaneously, Party discipline must be strictly enforced, and the Party's principled requirements regarding the beliefs of its members must be clarified. Party committees at all levels and relevant departments should keep abreast of the ideological trends of Party members and cadres and strengthen research and guidance regarding the diversification and personalization of their spiritual needs.
On how to resolve the issue of some young students believing in religion, experts and scholars suggest: we must comprehensively implement the Party’s educational policy and mobilize all sectors of society to create a favorable social environment for the healthy growth of young students. School education should focus on nurturing students' "humanistic quality" [10], emphasizing humanistic care and psychological counseling, and guiding young students to handle interpersonal relationships in a correct way and face life's setbacks with a correct attitude. Particular attention should be paid to competing with religious forces for the hearts of young students through meticulous work.
4. Strengthening the education and publicity of atheism requires both a "militant" character and a "scientific" character.
Some scholars believe that strengthening the education and publicity of atheism is an important part of ideological work. In the realm of ideology, if correct things do not occupy the ground, various erroneous things will seize the opening. We must have a clear understanding of and take effective measures against the current prevalence of superstitious activities and their social harms. Some scholars pointed out that researching and publicizing atheism requires both the character of a warrior and the character of a scholar. The "character of a warrior" means staying clear-headed and firm in one's stance when facing major issues of right and wrong, and publicizing atheism with a clear banner and self-assurance. The "character of a scholar" means strengthening research when publicizing atheism, seriously studying the Marxist view of religion, and earnestly researching and innovating the methods and means of publicizing atheism to enhance its persuasiveness, relevance, and effectiveness. In short, we must enhance our sense of responsibility and mission in publicizing atheism and increase our awareness of the urgency and importance of doing this work well.
About the Authors: Yang Mingwei and Qi Yiming are officials at the Literature Research Office of the CPC Central Committee.