Marxism Research Network
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Brief Discussion on Ren Jiyu's Thoughts on Scientific Atheism

Science & Atheism

Mr. Ren Jiyu is the pioneer and founder of Marxist religious studies in China, a visionary academic leader, and an outstanding organizer within the fields of Chinese philosophy and religious studies. He not only consistently upheld a Marxist view of religion grounded in scientific atheism—adhering to Marxist positions, perspectives, and methods in religious research—but also maintained a "close concern for the destiny of the nation and the lives of the broad masses." [1] By integrating the study of religion and atheism with the promotion of the Party and state’s religious policies, he conducted in-depth critiques and exposures of various forms of religious superstition in society, making distinguished contributions to the development of socialist spiritual civilization. Currently, while certain practices of sorcery, superstition, and pseudo-scientific ideas are still running rampant [2], the research and promotion of scientific atheism have become relatively marginalized and obscured. Faced with the situation where "theism has advocates, while atheism has none," revisiting Mr. Ren Jiyu’s thoughts on scientific atheism is undoubtedly of great theoretical and practical significance for constructing harmonious and healthy social customs, as well as for Marxist promotion and education.

I. The Intellectual Connotations of Scientific Atheism

Atheism is a system of thought opposed to theism. In the history of human civilization, atheistic thought has a long and storied past. Primitive religion emerged as early as the Paleolithic Age. Constrained by the level of the productive forces at the time, primitive humans spontaneously viewed and understood various natural phenomena through a framework of animism, giving rise to the earliest conceptions of the soul. Following the entry into civilized society, atheistic thought gradually began to sprout alongside the improvement of the productive forces and the growth of cognitive capacities. In ancient Greece, the natural philosophers of Miletus were no longer satisfied with traditional mythological creation stories; they began to explore the origin of the world through rational thinking, attempting to understand and explain the generation and movement of the world from a material perspective. This was the fountainhead of Western philosophy and materialist thought, marking the moment when the light of atheistic wisdom began to break through the haze of religion. At roughly the same time, in China’s high antiquity, the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" [3] began to waver. Shifting social environments led to a popular trend of "resenting Heaven," and the idea that "the Mandate of Heaven is not constant" [4] gradually became a consensus of the era. Meanwhile, the status and role of "God on High" (shàngdì) [5] were progressively replaced by materialist concepts such as the "Five Elements" (wǔxíng) and "Yin and Yang."

Although atheistic thought formed early in human civilization, ancient atheism was fragmented and simple (pùsù) [6]. It could only expose the flaws and contradictions of the belief in ghosts and gods regarding specific issues; thus, it was generally limited to the level of common sense and could not fundamentally deny the existence of such entities. It was only after the formation of modern natural science that atheism found a truly solid intellectual foundation. The development of science provided atheism with necessary tools, methods, and empirical materials. This wealth of empirical knowledge increasingly dispelled the religious mists that imprisoned human thought, while the scientific spirit and method made it possible to reveal the absurdity of religious superstition and explain its essence. As the Nobel laureate and American physicist Steven Weinberg [7] noted, while the development of science is not sufficient to leave no room for religion, it has made "it possible to be an atheist." Modern atheism has always moved in tandem with movements for the liberation of thought, manifesting in variants such as pantheism, deism, and agnosticism. It was particularly resolute in the "militant atheism" of 18th-century France, which Engels once called "the highest achievement of the French spirit." This form of atheism, built on the foundation of modern natural science, differs from ancient simple atheism; it not only fundamentally denies the concept of ghosts and gods but also provides a correct explanation for the causes of such beliefs. It is therefore called "scientific atheism." It can be said that atheism and science promote each other and complement one another as natural allies.

Mr. Ren Jiyu fully affirmed and emphasized the vital value and significance of scientific atheistic thought. He pointed out that scientific atheism proclaims a very simple and modest, yet very great truth to humanity: there is no such thing as an omniscient and omnipotent Savior. To understand the world to obtain freedom of action, and to escape suffering to strive for one's own happiness, one can only rely on oneself. This shattered the intellectual shackles that humanity had placed upon itself due to ignorance and stupidity, allowing humanity to begin to find itself, hold destiny in its own hands, and thus achieve fundamental liberation. This caused "the wisdom of humanity, suppressed for tens of thousands of years, to gush forth like a volcanic eruption," creating far more achievements of civilization than in the previous several millennia. Scientific atheism tells people that the future and destiny of the nation are by no means determined by gods, but must ultimately be mastered by people; this is an important foundation for the birth of the nation-state in the modern sense. From then on, the head of state no longer required coronation by a god but was to be produced through elections. In this regard, scientific atheism is the intellectual foundation for the founding of modern states, as well as the theoretical basis for the policy of freedom of religious belief, providing the prerequisite conditions for safeguarding human rights and human dignity. In short, "all achievements of modern civilization were obtained on the basis of an atheistic worldview; they are all victories for atheism. Scientific atheistic thought is an important component of advanced culture. Without scientific atheistic thought, there would be no human progress today." Only under the guidance of scientific atheism can people establish a healthy and rational lifestyle and obtain "real-life happiness." Ren Jiyu pointed out that the comfort obtained from religious theism cannot truly relieve pain; entrusting one’s future and destiny to a god is as absurd as entrusting one's property to a non-existent deity. Only through real-world effort can a truly reliable spiritual home be established: "Although this home may not be as wonderful as an illusory one, it is the only place where one can truly entrust one’s emotions and one's life."

Prior to the birth of Marxism, because old materialism was mechanical and metaphysical in its view of nature, it often fell into the quagmire of idealism in its view of history; consequently, its atheism was always incomplete. Marxism inherited the excellent traditions of modern scientific atheism and, armed with the theory of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, developed scientific atheism to an entirely new height. Ren Jiyu emphasized that only Marxism is the "most thorough and scientific atheism." This thoroughness does not lie in the resoluteness with which it advocates for scientific atheism, but in the fact that it scientifically reveals the roots and conditions that give rise to religious theism, and demonstrates the essence of this social phenomenon along with the objective laws governing its emergence and disappearance. Therefore, in carrying out promotion and education in scientific atheism, importance must be attached to the construction of basic Marxist theory and the dissemination of basic Marxist knowledge. On the other hand, atheistic thought emerged before Marxism, and the Marxist worldview was built upon the foundation of atheistic thought; therefore, the promotion and education of Marxism must be integrated with the promotion and education of scientific atheism—one cannot be emphasized to the neglect of the other. Ren Jiyu often used the analogy of "higher mathematics" and "elementary mathematics" to describe the relationship between the Marxist worldview and scientific atheism. He said: "Only with a solid foundation in elementary mathematics can one learn higher mathematics well; only by possessing a firm worldview of scientific atheism can one be a true Marxist." Meanwhile, in light of certain contemporary problems, Ren Jiyu also specifically emphasized that the relationship between Marxism and scientific atheism is not exactly identical to that between higher and elementary mathematics. He pointed out that while one cannot discuss higher mathematics without learning elementary mathematics well, some people who do not possess a worldview of scientific atheism nevertheless consider themselves Marxists: "Under the offensive of theism, they often fail to distinguish right from wrong or good from evil, to the point of supporting, shielding, or even participating in theistic activities. There has been more than one such lesson. If a person believes in the existence of gods and bows down in worship, there is no Marxism to speak of; or rather, his Marxism is false—a pavilion built on ice, snow, and sand."

In recent years, some Party members and officials have, on the one hand, spoken of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and serving the people, while on the other, they burn incense, worship Buddha, and seek divine guidance through divination. Their enthusiasm for religious activities has had a highly deleterious impact on the image of the Party and the government, corrupting healthy and civilized social customs. Correspondingly, some scholars have openly advocated for opening up the issue of the personal faith of Party members. To "establish a new, cooperative relationship between church and state that adapts to social progress," they suggest adopting a "policy of ‘openness and tolerance’ toward the issue of Party members holding religious beliefs." This line of argument even shows a trend toward entering national decision-making circles, which cannot but be a cause for alarm. Ren Jiyu’s words from years ago ring out like a "great bell" [8], and remain thought-provoking to this day.

II. Scientific Atheism and Religious Research

Marxist atheism is closely linked to its view of religion and its socialist practice. As an extremely pervasive socio-historical phenomenon, religion is the typical representative and mature form of theistic thought. Mr. Ren Jiyu was the pioneer of Chinese Marxist religious studies; he always insisted on conducting religious research under the guidance of Marxist theory and scientific atheistic thought, consciously integrating religious research with the implementation and promotion of the Party’s religious principles and policies.

Marxism holds that "religion is the opium of the people." [9] As an inverted worldview, it plays a negative role in human social life. Some in the academic community believe that religion itself is good, or at least neutral, and only has negative effects when utilized by the ruling class. In response to this view, Ren Jiyu pointed out with clear-cut conviction: "to the people, [religion] is ultimately something harmful." He stated that religion guides people to place their hopes for the elimination of suffering and the longing for happiness upon the grace of gods and an illusory heavenly kingdom. This "cannot alleviate people’s real-world pain; rather, it weakens the people’s will to struggle for real-world happiness. What the people receive is merely a false spiritual comfort." Thus, it is in essence a "spiritual narcotic." Precisely because of this, it naturally became a handy intellectual tool for the exploiting classes of various eras to dull the people’s senses and maintain their own rule. Religion is a product of natural oppression and social oppression—an alien force that oppresses the people—and is essentially aligned with the interests of the exploiting class. Although in an exploitative society the broad masses may also express "protest against real-world suffering" through religion, and even organize and conduct uprisings under the banner of religion, historical experience tells us that religion is not a necessary condition for people’s uprisings. Furthermore, not a single peasant movement that utilized religion was successful; instead, they invariably brought new suffering to the peasants. The peasantry cannot use religious doctrine to protect or realize their own political and economic interests, yet the ruling class can use religious doctrine to justify their system of exploitation, thereby effectively consolidating their rule. "Facts prove that no religious worldview can truly reflect the fundamental interests of the working people or guide them to achieve true liberation; it often becomes an important cause for the degeneration of movements and their ultimate failure."

The socialist revolution destroyed the system of exploitation and thoroughly transformed the economic base of society, yet religion, as a formidable force of habit, cannot vanish immediately. Ren Jiyu pointed out that under new social conditions, improving levels of production and living standards still requires a long-term struggle to achieve. Residual customs and ideologies from the old society inevitably remain; meanwhile, domestic class struggle, international religious influence, and the institutions, organizations, and psychology formed by major religions throughout historical development all dictate the long-term nature of religious phenomena's existence in a socialist society. Within the new social system, religion has shaken off the control and utility of reactionary classes at home and abroad, becoming the organizations of patriotic believers themselves. Thus, it has the potential to accept and uphold the socialist road and the Party’s leadership, contributing to socialist modernization. However, the socialist system cannot change the inherent fallaciousness and passivity of religion. It must be recognized that "religious fideism is detrimental to the people’s struggle to transform nature and society; it hinders the development of science and has a negative effect on the healthy growth and acceptance of a materialist worldview among the youth." Addressing the claim that religion helps improve moral character, Ren Jiyu noted that communist morality is the inheritance and development of all the finest ethics in human history and has absolutely no need for religious morality as a supplement. "Communist morality teaches people to consciously struggle for the realization of the communist ideal, devoid of personal calculation and without requiring future rewards to act. Communist morality stems from conscious volition; it is built upon a high degree of consciousness and profound understanding of the responsibility to liberate all of humanity, rather than acting out of fear of punishment. Religion does good because of the supervision of God; it appears active on the surface, but is passive in reality. While the behaviors may seem similar, there is a divergence between the two in terms of spiritual realm—between the lofty and the base, the public-spirited and the private." Although we should actively support and encourage religious organizations and activities to allow their positive patriotic role full play, we must recognize the fundamental anti-scientific and anti-materialist tendency of the religious worldview.

Due to the long-term and complex nature of religion's existence in socialist society, the sole means for Marxism to struggle against religious theology is the conduct of atheist propaganda. The deepest roots of religion lie in alien natural and social forces; only when these alien forces in reality completely disappear and people become the true masters of natural and social forces will religion naturally move toward its demise. Therefore, crude methods of "declaring war on religion" or attempting to forcibly "sweep away" religion are absurd. However, this does not imply that atheist propaganda is ineffective. Ren Jiyu pointed out that those who argue atheist propaganda is useless have forgotten the "dialectical relationship between the particular and the general." He stated: "For human society as a whole, it is an illusion to expect religion to vanish quickly. But for specific individuals, belief can be changed." "Whether ideological work is done makes a great difference. If the work of atheist propaganda and education is done well, the number of people favoring atheism can increase and those believing in gods can decrease." No one is a born atheist; becoming an atheist is the result of acquired education. Only through the propaganda and education of scientific atheism can the masses be helped to gradually establish an active worldview and outlook on life. This is particularly conducive to the healthy physical and mental development of the youth, thereby gradually raising the ideological, moral, scientific, and cultural quality of the entire nation, and promoting the construction of socialist material and spiritual civilization.

China’s Constitution stipulates that freedom of religious belief is a basic right of citizens. The promotion of scientific atheism is primarily directed at the broad masses of non-believers, especially the younger generation, and is by no means intended to force religious believers to abandon their faith. Ren Jiyu emphasized: "On the one hand, we must vigorously promote the worldview of scientific atheism; on the other hand, we must earnestly safeguard the citizens' right to freedom of religious belief in accordance with the law. To neglect either side is an error." To politically protect and respect the civil right of freedom of religious belief while ideologically persisting in and promoting scientific atheism is a unity of opposites, not a metaphysical contradiction. In fact, promoting scientific atheism is consistent with respecting and safeguarding citizens' freedom of religious belief; the two can perfectly well run parallel without conflict. We should promote scientific atheism with perfect assurance, without any doubt or wavering. Furthermore, the policy of freedom of religious belief includes both the freedom to believe in a religion and the freedom not to believe. Therefore, religion must be separated from politics and education; it must never interfere with or influence the normal political and educational systems. As Ren Jiyu said: "If there were only the freedom for religious theism without the freedom to promote scientific atheism, that would be a lack of freedom, and citizens would lose their most important option. Conversely, if one launches political or personal attacks against religious believers in the name of atheism, that constitutes an infringement on the sacred rights of citizens, which will undermine the unity of the people and interfere with the implementation of the Party's General Line [10] and general tasks." He further pointed out that although religious belief is a personal "private matter" and every person has the right to completely free choice, as the Marxist party takes dialectical materialism and historical materialism as its fundamental worldview, it is completely opposed to and irreconcilable with religion in terms of guiding ideology. "The Party must safeguard the citizens' right to freedom of religious belief, and it must maintain its own independence in terms of worldview." On this question of fundamental principle, not the slightest wavering or concession is permitted. Mr. Ren’s discourse provides important reference and inspiration for our correct handling of the so-called "Party members believing in religion" [11] issue today.

III. Critiquing New Theism

Since the beginning of Reform and Opening-up, alongside the growth of China’s economic strength and the rise in scientific and technological levels, various types of feudal superstitions have "resurfaced" [12] under the guise of science and traditional culture. For a time, talk of sorcery, fengshui, and fortune-telling appeared in various disguises, even driving the entire nation into a state of frenzy [13], which was truly regrettable. In response to this situation, Mr. Ren Jiyu particularly emphasized that the "primary task of current scientific atheist propaganda is to eliminate new theism, eliminate the various superstitions that have cropped up over these years, and oppose various illegal and criminal activities carried out under the banner of religion." Through his efforts, the Chinese Atheism Society, which had ceased operations for many years, resumed its work in 1996. Two years later, Science and Atheism, the only periodical in China dedicated to atheist propaganda, was officially founded. During the struggle in which the Party Central Committee led the people of the nation to crush the "Falun Gong" [14] cult organization, the Chinese Atheism Society led by Mr. Ren Jiyu made significant contributions.

At the end of the last century, pseudo-scientific activities—essentially representing a "new theism"—proliferated seriously. They spread from rural and remote areas to large and medium-sized cities, and from the grassroots masses to middle- and high-level intellectuals, even squeezing their way into high-end academic conferences and Party newspapers and journals. They possessed rigorous organization and strong financial power, and established broad international links with the support of certain prominent figures. Facing this grave social situation, Mr. Ren Jiyu took up the heavy responsibility of critiquing and exposing the tricks of new theism and educating the masses with a high sense of responsibility. He summarized the various popular superstitious activities in society into four categories: First, violating scientific common sense and openly propagating theism. This involves using the banner of science to distort scientific achievements, or using scientific means to support their claims, promoting doctrines of reincarnation and summoning spirits, and even proposing so-called "positive and negative universe theories." Under the guise of science, they are in fact openly hostile to the achievements of scientific development since the modern era. Second, promoting supra-material and supernatural "intentionality" (mental) powers. This claim asserts that humans possess powerful abilities to move objects with "intent" and transcend the limitations of time and space; some who claim to possess such powers even call themselves gods. Third, peddling pseudo-science and promoting "real sorcery." This primarily refers to the "miraculous" "external qi effects" claimed by certain so-called "Qigong masters." It is said that by emitting "external qi," one can change the laws of nature, cure intractable diseases, and even summon wind and rain. In fact, "qi" [15] is a concept widely used in ancient Chinese thought with ambiguous meanings; the promotion of "external qi" by these "Qigong masters" precisely proves their ignorance of traditional culture. Ren Jiyu pointed out incisively that the so-called "external qi effect" is essentially no different from ancient "incantation arts" (jìnzhùshù), and is thus merely "pseudo-science" and "real sorcery." Fourth, engaging in feudal superstitious activities under the guise of promoting national culture. In the name of promoting traditional culture, they build temples, read fengshui, summon souls, and beg for rain or medicine, and so forth. Among these, the so-called "Study of I Ching (Book of Changes) Prediction" is the most prominent. Traditional culture contains both essence and dross; we should promote its essence and must not label the dross as essence or superstition as science.

Facing the various manifestations of new theistic superstitious thought, Ren Jiyu conducted an in-depth critique and exposure of their spiritual essence from a philosophical height. He pointed out that the theoretical camouflage of new theism mainly consists of two points: First, distorting the scientific proposition that "practice is the sole criterion for testing truth" [16] to explain so-called objective facts for their own purposes. They distort the Marxist concept of "practice" into "seeing is believing," deliberately creating illusions, hallucinations, or even magic tricks, and branding them as objective facts. Millions of years of practice have proven that human senses are often deceived by false appearances; thus, relying solely on physical senses is far from sufficient for correctly understanding objective things. Pseudo-qigong masters emphasize individual "seeing is believing" with ulterior motives, which is actually a lack of respect for the fruits of human practice over millions of years, opening the door wide for their scams to succeed. In fact, "their so-called facts and practice are worth nothing in the face of serious science." Second, claiming they have discovered facts that contemporary science cannot explain, and that their explanations of these "facts" represent the latest and highest science. In reality, not a single one of the so-called "supernormal abilities" (tèyì gōngnéng) is anything other than a lie or a scam, nor is there any that contemporary science cannot explain. Taking "external qi" as an example, it is not that modern science cannot explain it, but rather that this vague concept does not conform to the norms of modern science; while so-called "ideational fields" or "information fields" are entirely fabricated, anti-scientific concepts. Ren Jiyu pointed out: "The propaganda methods of pseudo-science and new theism are the same as those used by theists in history: providing false evidence to those who do not know the truth." Therefore, "the most effective critique in the struggle against pseudo-science is to expose the falsity of these experiments by repeating the typical experiments of those claiming supernormal abilities, and to use theoretical analysis to prove the non-existence of supernormal abilities, ghosts, and gods."

Under the guise of science and culture, new theism seeks popularity by sensationalism and misleads the public, seriously damaging the work style of "seeking truth from facts" and the serious, earnest scientific spirit. Ren Jiyu cautioned people to maintain sufficient vigilance against various new theistic activities. He noted with deep concern: "Ever since the phenomenon of supernormal abilities failed to be effectively resisted and instead received support, pseudo-scientific phenomena like 'turning water into oil' have proliferated on an unprecedented scale. Under this influence, even some highly talented scientific workers have become impetuous and irritable, not hesitating to resort to fraud. If the serious and earnest scientific spirit is not promoted while the style of fabrication and fraud spreads everywhere, the future and prospects of our nation will truly be a matter of grave concern." The essence of new theism is ignorance (yúmèi); therefore, "while we strive to shake off poverty (tuōpín), we must carry out a long-term and arduous task, which is the effort to 'shake off ignorance' (tuōyú). Only when the entire nation escapes ignorance can it truly escape poverty. One important measure for escaping ignorance is the promotion and education of the scientific atheist worldview." In recent years, although phenomena like supernormal abilities and pseudo-science have receded compared to the end of the last century, they still emerge incessantly. Particularly with the "Traditional Culture Fever" (guóxué rè), dross such as fortune-telling, fengshui, and sorcery has been brought out again by some under the label of "National Learning," becoming popular in business, political, and even academic circles, and tainting the healthy and civilized social atmosphere. These discordant notes in the construction of spiritual civilization deserve our full attention. No matter how superstition changes its face, its essence and root are always ignorance. We must vigorously strengthen the propaganda and education of basic Marxist knowledge and the scientific atheist worldview, continuously improve the ideological, moral, scientific, and cultural quality of the masses, critique and expose the absurdity and deceptiveness of new theistic superstitious trends, and guide the masses to establish a correct attitude toward life, striving for their own happy lives and beautiful future in the practice of transforming nature and society. "Not only must we shake off poverty, but we must also shake off ignorance." The cause of scientific atheism has a long way to go and a heavy burden to bear!

  1. Jonathan Miller: The BBC Interview Series on "Atheism," Part III, translated by Zhang Yinshan, in Science and Atheism (科学与无神论), Issue 3, 2011, p. 57.
  2. Ren Jiyu: "Scientific Atheism Offers Truth and Wisdom," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu (任继愈宗教论集), p. 205.
  3. Ren Jiyu: "Promote the Scientific Spirit and Improve National Quality: Work Report for the National Congress of the Chinese Atheism Society and the 2000 Annual Academic Conference," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 226.
  4. Ren Jiyu: "Scientific Atheism Offers Truth and Wisdom," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 208.
  5. Ren Jiyu: "Strive for the Development of Marxist Religious Studies," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 4.
  6. Ren Jiyu: "Not Only to Escape Poverty, But Also to Escape Ignorance [17]: On the Necessity and Significance of Propagating Scientific Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 187.
  7. Ren Jiyu: "Scientific Atheism Offers Truth and Wisdom," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, pp. 206-207.
  8. Drafted by Qiu Yonghui: "Report on the Re-study of Chinese Christianity Research," in Annual Report on China’s Religions (2009) (中国宗教报告), edited by Jin Ze and Qiu Yonghui, Social Sciences Academic Press (社会科学文献出版社), 2009, pp. 218, 221.
  9. Selected Works of Marx and Engels (马克思恩格斯选集), Vol. 1, People’s Publishing House, 1995, p. 2.
  10. Ren Jiyu: "On the Question of Religion and Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 191.
  11. Ren Jiyu: "On the Question of Religion and Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 193.
  12. Ren Jiyu: "On the Question of Religion and Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 195.
  13. Ren Jiyu: "On the Question of Religion and Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 196.
  14. Ren Jiyu: "On the Question of Religion and Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 199.
  15. Ren Jiyu: "Not Only to Escape Poverty, But Also to Escape Ignorance: On the Necessity and Significance of Propagating Scientific Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 187.
  16. Ren Jiyu: "Propagate Scientific Atheism with Full Confidence [18]," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 233.
  17. Ren Jiyu: "Propagate Scientific Atheism with Full Confidence," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 233.
  18. Ren Jiyu: "Not Only to Escape Poverty, But Also to Escape Ignorance: On the Necessity and Significance of Propagating Scientific Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 187.
  19. Ren Jiyu: "Not Only to Escape Poverty, But Also to Escape Ignorance: On the Necessity and Significance of Propagating Scientific Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, pp. 181-183.
  20. Ren Jiyu: "Propagate Atheism, Carry Forward the Scientific Spirit, and Build a New Socialist Culture," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 214.
  21. Ren Jiyu: "Promote the Scientific Spirit and Improve National Quality: Work Report for the National Congress of the Chinese Atheism Society and the 2000 Annual Academic Conference," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, pp. 221-222.
  22. Ren Jiyu: "Propagate Atheism, Carry Forward the Scientific Spirit, and Build a New Socialist Culture," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 216.
  23. Ren Jiyu: "Not Only to Escape Poverty, But Also to Escape Ignorance: On the Necessity and Significance of Propagating Scientific Atheism," in Collected Essays on Religion by Ren Jiyu, p. 186.

Executive Editor: Wang Jiafei