Xi Wuyi: The Sinicization Process of Marxist Atheism (Part I)
Xi Wuyi: The Course of the Sinicization of Marxist Atheism (Part 1)
Marxist atheism represents an advanced stage in the development of scientific atheism. It inherited the outstanding achievements of humanity—such as 17th and 18th-century British and French materialism and 19th-century German Feuerbachian humanism—and manifested itself through the discovery of the materialist conception of history and the theory of surplus value. Marx and Engels studied the social functions of religion, pointing out that religion is a tool used by the ruling class to anesthetize the working class. As the starting point and cornerstone of the Marxist worldview, scientific atheism moved from the realm of thought and culture into the practice of the scientific socialist movement. Grounded in the reality of Chinese society, Chinese Communists have continuously added new substance to the Sinicization of Marxist atheism in the process of promoting the integration of Marxism with China’s actual conditions.
I. China's National Conditions Determine the Characteristics of its Culture of Belief
The social foundation of China was vastly different from the European society in which Marx and Engels lived. Medieval European society implemented a system of the integration of church and state, where Christianity once held absolute dominance. In the early 19th century, Germany was still under the rule of the Prussian feudal dynasty. Christianity was the ideology of the German feudal lords of that time and a spiritual shackle hindering social development. The theoretical research of the young Marx and Engels began with the use of scientific atheism to critique religion. Their exploration of the essence, origins, and social functions of religion became an important growth point in the formation of historical materialism.
In the long river of history spanning thousands of years, the Chinese nation formed a unique cultural tradition. Regarding China's culture of religious belief, I believe the main characteristics can be summarized by the following three factors.
First, the culture of the Chinese nation has always displayed a style of pluralistic compatibility; that is, rich humanistic concepts and supernatural mysticism coexist with polytheism and atheistic thought. Regarding Confucian culture, which held a dominant position for a long time, I agree with the argument that it possesses a "proactive spirit of worldly practice" and a humanistic orientation of "keeping a distance from gods while remaining close to people." [1] The "laying down of instructions through the Way of the Gods" (shendao shejiao) advocated by Confucianism is a relatively unique religious thought. [2] Confucians believed that the "Way of the Gods" meant taking the "Way of Heaven" as a model to implement social edification. Successive Chinese rulers believed in the "divine right of kings," where this "divinity" was Heaven (Tian); sovereign power was mandated by Heaven, and the ruler occupied the position of the "Son of Heaven." Secular sovereign power was superior to the divine power of religion. Therefore, feudal rulers historically adopted a policy of inclusiveness toward various religions, using them to "edify" society while maintaining a certain distance from them. With Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism as the mainstream of Chinese culture, the three teachings stood firm and complemented one another, peacefully coexisting with various subcultures. Humanism and atheistic thought also had broad room for maneuver. Although there were frictions between Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, they were ultimately able to absorb and integrate with one another, and there never occurred the kind of cruel religious wars seen in medieval Western Europe.
Second, political power has always dominated religious power. From ancient times to the present, the secular power of the central government has always been the only legitimate socio-political power. In the vast Central Plains regions inhabited by the Han people (the situation in ethnic minority areas was more complex; for example, Tibet long implemented a system of the integration of church and state), various religions never formed a social force capable of rivaling secular society. Religion could only submit to the rule of secular political power; it was never permitted for divine power to claim equal status with political power. In the social transitions of Chinese history, religious organizations did not constitute a powerful resistance.
Third, the belief culture of the Chinese nation possesses a strong sense of secularity and utilitarianism. "Venerating Heaven and honoring ancestors" is its core concept; the practice of creating gods and discarding gods occurs in tandem, constituting a characteristic of Chinese religion. The tradition of worshiping celestial deities and ancestors has lasted for thousands of years, becoming a value recognized by the whole of society. People pray for the protection of gods and ancestors, seeking blessings and the expulsion of evil spirits. This intense secularity and utilitarianism, on the one hand, weakens theological faith and avoids religious fanaticism; on the other hand, it gives sorcery culture deep roots, with various complex sorcerous cultural influences persisting to this day. The historical and cultural background of Chinese society is the starting point for the Sinicization of Marxist atheism. Based on this, Sinicized Marxist atheism has formed two basic principles:
First, the principle of the separation of church and state and the freedom of religious belief. On the socio-political and economic levels, religion must adapt to the general interests of the Chinese people and the historical process of social development; it is not permitted to use religion to threaten national security and ethnic unity, nor to use religion to subvert the socialist system. Freedom is fully guaranteed at the level of religious belief, thereby strictly distinguishing issues of belief from political issues.
Second, ideological education must "moisten things silently like the spring breeze," [3] while ideological construction must "meet challenges head-on." The concept of religious theism is erroneous and stands in opposition to science and materialism, but it belongs to the realm of ideological issues and cannot be resolved through administrative means. It can only be addressed through methods of persuasion and education, and primarily through actual social transformations, decided voluntarily by the believers themselves. Cultural theology, acting as a means of proselytization, crosses over the private belief space of the adherents to compete with the mainstream secular society for ideological and cultural territory and for the younger generation. This requires a theoretical critique that distinguishes right from wrong—the so-called "studying religion and critiquing theology." [4]
II. The New Democratic Revolution Period: Initiating the Practice of the Sinicization of Marxist Atheism
The spirit of "Science and Democracy" advocated by the May Fourth Movement included opposing the superstition of ghosts and gods and propagating atheism. The May Fourth spirit, including scientific atheism, became one of the intellectual hallmarks of China entering the modern era. In the academic circles of modern China, the first to use the concept of atheism was the famous scholar Zhang Taiyan, whose spearhead was aimed directly at monotheism, such as Christianity. Against the historical backdrop of modern China’s struggle for national salvation and cultural enlightenment, important thinkers of the May Fourth period, such as Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi, used Western atheistic thought to critique spiritualism and break the ideological shackles of feudal superstition; they critiqued the theism of monotheistic religions like Christianity and launched the "Anti-Christian Movement" to resist imperialist cultural aggression.
The dissemination of scientific atheism in China was an important ideological prerequisite for the birth of the Communist Party of China. Early CPC leaders such as Li Dazhao, while spreading Marxism, also took the dissemination of scientific atheism as their important mission. Li Dazhao pointed out: "Religion cannot seek truth," and "it is a huge obstacle to human progress." [5] Only by critiquing the religious view of ghosts and gods can a scientific Marxist worldview be established.
Among Chinese Communists, the practitioner who initiated the path of the Sinicization of Marxist atheism was Mao Zedong. During the First Revolutionary Civil War, while leading the peasant movement in Hunan, he insisted on using a class analysis perspective to understand and handle religious issues, incorporating the opposition to divine power into the anti-feudal political and economic struggle. Mao Zedong pointed out that divine power, political power, clan power, and masculine power [over women]—these four cords—represented the feudal patriarchal ideology and system of rural China. The main direction of the peasant movement was to overthrow political power and conduct the economic struggle. Practice proved that "once the landlord's political power is overturned, clan power, divine power, and masculine power all begin to totter."
However, one must be extremely cautious when dealing with the religious beliefs of the masses. He said very vividly: "The gods (bùsà) were established by the peasants, and in time the peasants will cast these gods aside with their own hands; there is no need for others to do it for them prematurely. The Communist Party's propaganda policy toward such things should be: 'draw the bow without discharging the arrow, poised for significant action.' [6] The gods should be discarded by the peasants themselves; the shrines for chaste women and the arches for filial piety should be destroyed by the peasants themselves; it is wrong for others to do it on their behalf." [7] During the Second Revolutionary Civil War, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation, while reaffirming respect for the people's freedom of religious belief, Mao Zedong proposed that Communists should establish a political united front with religious circles. In On New Democracy, he pointed out: "Communists may form an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal united front for political action with certain idealists and even with religious people, but we can never approve of their idealism or religious doctrines." [8]
The practical direction of Marxist atheism among Chinese Communists was concretely reflected in the laws and policies of the new regime. The Outline Constitution of the Chinese Soviet Republic, promulgated in November 1931, opened an independent chapter that for the first time established basic principles such as the separation of church and state, freedom of religious belief, and the propagation of atheism. [9]
In the magnificent era of war and revolution, Communists inherited the "Science and Democracy" spirit of the May Fourth Movement, further proposed building a "national, scientific, and mass-based new culture," and continuously advanced the practice of the Sinicization of Marxist atheism.
III. The Early Period of Socialist Construction: Continuing the Practice of the Sinicization of Marxist Atheism
The establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 brought about profound changes in the social structure of old China. For Communists, whose worldview is scientific atheism, formulating religious policies that accorded with China's reality became an important practical task.
Guided by the Marxist materialist conception of history, Chinese Communists analyzed the current state of religion in China and proposed that it possessed five characteristics: being of a mass nature, an ethnic nature, a long-term nature, an international nature, and a complex nature. They formulated a series of policies, launched anti-imperialist patriotic movements, and promoted the democratic reform of the religious system to make it gradually adapt to socialist society.
In the early period of the founding of New China, two situations within religious circles were particularly complex: one involved Christianity and Catholicism, which had backgrounds in the culture of Western powers; the other involved Islam, Tibetan Buddhism, and Theravada Buddhism in ethnic minority areas. In guiding religious circles to carry out reform movements, Communists actively explored the practical path of the Sinicization of Marxist atheism.
Regarding the anti-imperialist patriotic movements carried out by Christianity and Catholicism: In modern China, Christianity and Catholicism were controlled by imperialist powers and spread the gospel "riding on cannonballs," leaving their missionary work under the shadow of being "tools of spiritual aggression by Western powers." The "Directive on the Issues of Catholicism and Christianity" issued by the CPC Central Committee on August 19, 1950, is a representative document. It pointed out: "Marxists are thorough atheists and believe that religion is harmful to the awakening of the people. However, when dealing with the issue of religion among the masses, Marxists have always treated it as a social issue and a mass issue with historical necessity. We have always opposed handling religious issues through simple, impatient methods that rely solely on administrative orders... In order to transform churches that served as tools of imperialist aggression into religious undertakings run by the Chinese people themselves, a series of arduous and complex tasks must be undertaken. Our current task is not to conduct a mass anti-religious movement, but to lead the masses of the people in resolutely implementing the Common Program, carrying out land reform, striving for a fundamental improvement in the financial and economic situation, and extensively disseminating materialism and scientific knowledge to gradually shrink the market for religion. At the same time, within Christianity and Catholicism, we should use various opportunities and work through patriotic believers to carry out patriotic propaganda among the masses of believers, expose the conspiracies of imperialist cultural aggression and espionage, lead and support the patriotic elements among them, unite the majority of devout believers, and oppose the small number of reactionary elements who still collude with imperialism. We should step-by-step enable the churches to rid themselves of imperialist influence and economic ties, transforming them into religious undertakings characterized by self-governance, self-propagation, and self-support." [10]
In order to transform the church from a tool of imperialist aggression into a religious undertaking run by Chinese people themselves, the Central Committee of the Party instructed that our current task was not to conduct an anti-religious movement, but to lead the masses of the people in resolutely implementing the Common Program [11]. By supporting patriots within religious circles and uniting the majority against the tiny minority who colluded with imperialism, the church would be gradually transformed into a religious undertaking characterized by "self-governance, self-propagation, and self-support" [12] by Chinese people. From 1957 to 1958, figures in Chinese Catholic circles successively carried out "self-election and self-consecration of bishops," taking a key step toward an independent, autonomous, and self-run church. Regarding the democratic reform of religion in ethnic minority areas: in May 1958, at the Second Session of the 8th National Congress of the CPC, the Central Committee decided to carry out successive religious reforms in ethnic minority areas. To abolish feudal privileges and the system of feudal exploitation in Islam and Tibetan Buddhism and truly realize freedom of religious belief, Yang Jingren, Deputy Director of the State Nationalities Affairs Commission, delivered a report at the meeting proposing the "Five Separations" principle: "The separation of nationality and religion, gradually changing the situation where the two are indistinguishable; the separation of religious belief and religious systems—religious belief is an ideological issue, while religious systems are for the most part feudal social systems that should and can be gradually changed; the separation of religion and administration, whereby religion must not violate or interfere with the laws and judiciary of the state; the separation of religion and education, whereby religion must not interfere with school education or force children to study scripture; and the separation of those inside and outside the Party, educating Communist Party members to draw a clear line between Marxism and religious belief, and between atheism and theism." (Chi Nai, Religious Work in Contemporary China, Vol. 1, Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House, 1998, p. 106.) In this social transformation, education in scientific atheism was first carried out within the entire membership of the Communist Party to help Party members draw a clear line between Marxism and religious belief, enabling them to become the backbone of the reform cause. Through this democratic reform of religion, the broad masses of religious believers were liberated from the systems of religious feudal privilege and feudal exploitation, greatly promoting the development of the productive forces.
This social reform movement was even more earth-shaking [13] in the Tibet region. On March 10, 1959, with the support of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, reactionary elements in Tibet launched an armed rebellion in Lhasa. In accordance with the Central Committee's policy of "suppressing the rebellion while implementing reforms," the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region implemented social reforms, abolishing the system of the "integration of church and state" [14] under the rule of the Dalai Lama, abolishing the feudal serf system, and implementing the system of regional ethnic autonomy. The exploitative oppression and various feudal privileges of the monasteries were abolished, and a policy of the separation of church and state was implemented. Through this epoch-making social reform movement, a million emancipated serfs became their own masters, obtaining land and livestock, and began to truly enjoy the right to freedom of religious belief. While guiding the democratic reform movement in religious circles, Mao Zedong proposed that the issue of the religious beliefs of the masses should be "resolved through the methods of persuasion and education." In February 1957, he delivered a speech titled "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" at the Supreme State Conference. He pointed out that in the religious field, one must also "correctly handle the two different types of contradictions" [15]. He said: "We cannot abolish religion by administrative decree or force people not to believe in it. We cannot compel people to give up idealism, any more than we can compel them to believe in Marxism. In settling matters of an ideological nature or controversial issues among the people, we can only use democratic methods, methods of discussion, criticism, persuasion and education, and not coercive or high-handed methods." (Manuscripts of Mao Zedong Since the Founding of the People's Republic, Vol. 6, Beijing: Central Party Literature Press, 1992, p. 322.)
In the ideological and cultural sphere, Mao Zedong advocated for the study of religious culture under the guidance of Marxism. On December 30, 1963, he noted in an instruction on a document: "There are very few articles written from the perspective of historical materialism. For example, the few articles on Buddhism published by Ren Jiyu are as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns [16], and I have seen nothing discussing Christianity or Islam. Without criticizing theology, one cannot write a good history of philosophy, nor a good history of literature or world history." (Gong Yuzhi, Pang Xianzhi, and Shi Zhongquan, Mao Zedong’s Reading Life, Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1986, p. 4.)
Based on Mao Zedong's instruction, Ren Jiyu established the Institute of World Religions at the Chinese Academy of Sciences [17], becoming the founder of contemporary Chinese Marxist religious studies. In the cause of socialist construction, Chinese Communists integrated the research, publicity, and education of scientific atheism into the overall strategy of ideological and cultural construction.
IV. Launching Reform and Opening Up: Marxist Atheism and Building a Modernized Socialist Power
At the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping raised the great banner of reform and opening up. In the 1980s, the most resonant slogan of the era was building a modernized socialist power. Reforming certain links in the relations of production and the superstructure that constrained the productive forces, and promoting the accelerated development of socialist productive forces, became the themes of the era. To this end, liberating "man"—the primary factor in the productive forces—became an important task in the early period of reform and opening up. This involved rehabilitating those involved in "unjust, false, and wrongful convictions" [18] and liberating cadres, intellectuals, and other groups essential for building a modernized power, which naturally included figures from religious circles and masses of believers who had been adversely affected. Marxist atheism gained new vitality in the practice of reform and opening up. On March 31, 1982, the CPC Central Committee issued the "Circular on the Basic Viewpoints and Policies Regarding Religious Issues in China's Socialist Period" [Document No. 19], marking the achievement of "setting things right" [19] in the Party's guiding ideology for religious work.
First, freedom of religious belief is the Party's basic policy on religious issues, and its theoretical foundation is the materialist conception of history. Historical materialism holds that religion is a historical phenomenon at a certain stage of human social development. Due to various complex factors in socialist society, religion will exist for a long time and possess a considerable number of religious believers. The document pointed out: "Under socialist conditions, the only correct and fundamental way to solve religious problems is, under the premise of guaranteeing freedom of religious belief, to gradually eliminate the social and cognitive roots through which religion exists by means of the gradual development of socialist economic, cultural, and scientific-technological undertakings, and through the gradual development of socialist material and spiritual civilization." (Chi Nai, Religious Work in Contemporary China, Vol. 2, Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House, 1998, p. 429.) Atheism is linked with communism; in Marx's words: "Communism begins from the outset with atheism; but atheism is at first far from being communism." (Collected Works of Marx and Engels, Vol. 42, Beijing: People's Publishing House, 1979, p. 121.) Such a great cause will span a considerably long historical period. Communists must unite the broad masses of the people, including both non-believers and believers, to concentrate their energy on striving together to build such a beautiful society. This is the fundamental starting point and ultimate goal of our implementation of the policy of freedom of religious belief and our handling of religious issues. The principle of freedom of religious belief was proposed during the modern Enlightenment. It was the struggle of the bourgeoisie against the religious ideological despotism of the Middle Ages. The principle of separation of church and state established by modern states caused religion to withdraw from politics, the judiciary, and education, making belief a private matter for individual citizens. In contemporary society, the principle of freedom of religious belief includes the positive orientation of the freedom not to believe. In terms of worldviews, Marxism is antithetical to any form of theism; however, in terms of political action, Marxists and patriotic religious believers can absolutely form a united front to strive together for socialist modernization. Implementing the Party's policy of freedom of religious belief, and consolidating and expanding the patriotic political alliance of religious circles among all ethnic groups to strive together for the construction of a modernized socialist power, is in accord with the fundamental interests of the masses.
Second, Communists must establish a scientific atheist worldview and are not permitted to believe in religion. The document pointed out: "The Party's policy of freedom of religious belief is directed at the citizens of our country and does not apply to Party members. A Communist Party member is different from a regular citizen; as a member of a Marxist political party, they must beyond doubt be an atheist and must not be a theist. Our Party has made explicit provisions many times: Communist Party members are not permitted to believe in religion or participate in religious activities. For the whole Party, this must still be resolutely implemented in the future." (Chi Nai, Religious Work in Contemporary China, Vol. 2, Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House, 1998, p. 424.) The document simultaneously noted that among ethnic minorities where almost the entire population believes in religion, the implementation of this regulation requires appropriate steps in accordance with actual conditions and should not be handled simplistically.
Third, using Marxist atheism to study religious issues, publicizing materialism and atheism, and disseminating scientific and cultural knowledge constitutes one of the important tasks on the Party's ideological front. The document pointed out: "Conducting scientific research on religious issues using the Marxist standpoint, viewpoint, and method is an important component of the Party's theoretical work. Using Marxist philosophy to criticize idealism (including theism), educating the masses—especially the broad youth—in the scientific worldview of dialectical and historical materialism (including atheism), and strengthening the dissemination of scientific and cultural knowledge concerning natural phenomena, social evolution, and human birth, aging, sickness, death, fortune, and misfortune, is one of the important tasks of the Party on the propaganda front." (Chi Nai, Religious Work in Contemporary China, Vol. 2, Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House, 1998, p. 428.)
Fourth, the work of publicity and education regarding Marxist atheism should be like "gentle breeze and mild rain" [20] and must subserve the overall strategic goals of the Party's cause at the current stage. The document pointed out: "We Communists are atheists and must unremittingly publicize atheism, but we must also understand that in dealing with people's ideological issues and matters of the spiritual world, including issues of religious belief, using simple and coercive methods will not only be ineffective but also very harmful. We must also understand that this difference in ideological belief between believers and non-believers is a relatively secondary difference. If we one-sidedly emphasize this difference or even elevate it to a primary position, discriminating against and attacking believers while ignoring and obliterating the consistency of fundamental political and economic interests between believers and non-believers—forgetting that the Party's basic task is to unite all the people (including the broad masses of believers and non-believers) to strive together for the construction of a modernized socialist power—we will stimulate and exacerbate religious fanaticism and bring serious negative consequences to the socialist cause." (Chi Nai, Religious Work in Contemporary China, Vol. 2, Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House, 1998, pp. 417-418.)
(To be continued)
Online Editor: Jia Fei