Adhering to the Principle of Separation of Education and Religion, Promoting Educational Development and the Construction of Atheism as a Discipline: A Summary of the 2011 Annual Academic Conference of the Chinese Atheism Society
The 2011 Academic Annual Meeting of the Chinese Atheism Society (CAS), jointly organized by the CAS, the Center for Science and Atheism Research of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and the College of Teacher Education at Zhejiang Normal University, was held from October 29 to 31, 2011, in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. Approximately 50 experts and scholars from across the country, along with faculty and students from the Institute of Psychology at Zhejiang Normal University, attended the conference. The theme of the meeting was "Educational Development and the Disciplinary Construction of Atheism." Participating scholars conducted extensive and in-depth discussions on several topics, including the separation of education and religion, the current state of and countermeasures against religious proselytization on university campuses, the disciplinary construction of scientific atheism, and new trends in foreign religious infiltration.
I
In the face of the new situation where religion is gradually infiltrating the public sphere, participating scholars focused on upholding and implementing the principle of the separation of education and religion.
Xi Wuyi—Director of the Center for Science and Atheism Research at CASS and Vice President and Secretary General of the CAS—pointed out that the CAS attaches great importance to the issue of the "separation of education and religion," having held four symposia on the subject since the end of last year. The principle of the separation of education and religion was gradually formed during the historical process of modern development in Western countries. In modern China, this issue was primarily directed at Christian missionary schools established by Western missionary forces. She reviewed in detail the historical process of this separation in modern China, arguing that the factors promoting the secularization of Christian missionary schools were primarily driven by the impact of social transformations. These movements reached three historical peaks: the establishment of the modern educational system and the May Fourth New Culture Movement [1]; the Non-Christian Movement [2] amidst rising nationalism; and the Movement to Regain Educational Rights [3], which directly targeted Christian missionary schools.
From the outset, missionary schools in China aimed to "conquer China for Christ." During the establishment of the new-style school system in the early 20th century, they expanded their influence by relying on unequal treaties and the advantages of Western educational systems. The modern educational trend represented by Cai Yuanpei’s [4] "replacing religion with aesthetic education" reflected the historical trend of increasing secularization in human society, while the May Fourth New Culture Movement launched a massive wave of religious criticism under the banners of democracy and science. As a powerful response to the missionary schools' stance of "establishing the Kingdom of God," the vigorous Non-Christian Movement turned the principle of the separation of education and religion into a consensus within the educational community. The Movement to Regain Educational Rights broke the control of foreign missionaries over Christian universities, causing theological education to shift from a "central position to a peripheral one" and "from a prince to a pauper."
Following the founding of New China, the government fully nationalized the educational rights of missionary schools and established a new type of modern educational system, resulting in the complete withdrawal of religion from the national education system. However, since the reform and opening up, and particularly after the mid-1990s, with the gradual rise of "religious fever," missionary activities in institutions of higher learning have moved from secret to public. In particular, the "Sino-Christian Theology Movement" [5] has even openly entered university lecture halls and national research institutions. Upholding the "separation of education and religion" is a crucial regulation repeatedly emphasized by the state; using public educational resources to spread religion in university lectures is an illegal act. Resisting the use of religion by foreign forces to infiltrate universities and preventing campus proselytization is an important and urgent strategic task. We must unswervingly adhere to the principle of the separation of education and religion and regard Marxist atheism as the foundational work for resisting infiltration and preventing campus preaching.
He Husheng, a professor at the School of Marxism of Renmin University of China, summarized the discourses on the separation of education and religion in Party and state documents since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. He argued that upholding this separation is one of the CPC’s basic viewpoints and policies on religious issues. It is also an inevitable requirement for fully implementing the Party’s policy on freedom of religious belief, managing religious affairs according to law, adhering to the principle of independence and self-management, and actively guiding religion to adapt to socialist society. At the same time, this policy entails different requirements for Party members and cadres, the educational circles, the religious community, and the academic world. Maintaining the separation in practice requires the joint efforts of cadres and the masses from all sectors.
Professor Li Zhiying of Beijing Normal University gave a special report on the Nanjing National Government's policies to restrict campus proselytization from 1927 to 1937. She pointed out that the National Government guided and supervised Christian missionary work by issuing management measures for foreign missionary groups, integrating them into social and cultural organizations for unified management. Through Three Peoples' Principles [6] education, the "tutorial" system [7], and textbook review systems, the government exercised strict ideological control over schools at all levels, using the Three Peoples' Principles to resist religious influence. They enacted a series of laws and regulations as statutory documents to restrict campus preaching and strictly prohibited religious education and propaganda in schools. Although these restrictions were not entirely thorough, their targeted and rigorous enforcement achieved significant Results, to some extent curbing the momentum of the rapid spread of Christianity since the late Qing dynasty, and providing valuable lessons for our implementation of the separation of education and religion today.
Zhao Zhi, a researcher at the Social Issues Research Center of the China Association for International Friendly Contact, reflected on the separation of education and religion from the perspective of similarities and differences in China-Western state-religion relations. He argued that there are three main models: the theocratic (union of church and state) model; the complete separation model; and the model where separation exists but one dominates the other—either clerical power over secular power or secular power over clerical power. Throughout its long historical development, China formed a "secular-dominant, religious-subordinate" (政主教从) model of separation, which basically continues in the current management of religion. In public education, China, like most countries, has consistently maintained the principle of separation. With the rising "religious fever" and the increasing prominence of religious infiltration in universities, whether existing theories can effectively address current contradictions and how to properly handle the relationship in practice are complex and sensitive new tasks facing the Party and government in the new era.
II
To respond to the new developments and trends in theistic thought, the theoretical construction of the discipline of scientific atheism urgently needs to be strengthened. Participating scholars discussed this issue from multiple perspectives.
Du Jiewen, an Honorary Member of the CASS and Vice President of the CAS, delivered a speech titled "The Disciplinary Construction and Path of Scientific Atheism." He noted that the Party Central Committee has consistently supported the development of scientific atheism, and CASS has increased its support in recent years by establishing professional research offices and centers. While the overall situation is positive, the road ahead is long, and "the resistance and obstacles on the path are extraordinarily numerous and remarkably tough." Although from the Opium War to the first 30 years of New China, "ghost and god theories" [8] never occupied mainstream public opinion, the emergence of "supernormal abilities" (特异功能) [9] led to a clamor of theistic ideas, eventually evolving into the scourge of cults.
Subsequent "religious fever" presented new forms: seeking to use "orthodox" religion to resist cults, or indigenous religion to resist foreign religion. Furthermore, some advocated using ghost and god theories to save the public's morality, stop the decline of ethics, and build a harmonious society—even demanding that the national education system and state research institutions open up to religion. Such an environment has led to a distortion of values and talent development. Although the Party Central Committee has issued a series of documents and policies supporting atheism, they have not been effectively implemented. Funded by foreign forces, some individuals have become blinded by greed, profiting from the divine and striving to open markets for religion. Certain scholars who have adopted foreign theological ideas have occupied state resource platforms and discourse channels, attacking atheism as anti-religion, anti-state policy, and anti-constitutional, claiming it undermines social stability and represents "Ultra-Left" [10] thought. These factors constitute the main obstacles to the development of atheism.
Despite the current weakness in material resources for atheism research, Du argued, "We speak the truth, we do not deceive ourselves or others; we possess the truth and dare to persist in it, and the truth cannot be refuted." Some religious theists try to abstract religion into "culture" to downplay its system of ghosts and gods and its core of faith, forgetting that belief in the supernatural is the essential attribute of religion. Only scientific atheism dares to clearly affirm the factual truth that "ghosts, gods, and their hereafter do not exist," thereby advocating that the hope for a happy life be placed on "invigorating the country through science and education" (科教兴国) and labor. Since the reform and opening up, many major issues remain unresolved. Two trends are particularly noteworthy: first, the "Repentant Revolutionaries," who have abandoned their previous adherence to materialism and atheism to embrace mysticism; second, those who have lost faith in the current governing line and seek salvation through religion as the fundamental cure for social harmony. These proponents of mysticism and religion exaggerate the decline of social morality and attribute severe realistic problems to a lack of religious faith, completely deviating from the fundamental goal of "invigorating the country through science and education" and serving the people.
Therefore, "the disciplinary construction of atheism is a requirement of the situation, a call of the times, and should be a long-term strategic layout. We should increase our efforts, combine this with the construction and defense of the socialist core values, and unite all scholars nationwide who are committed to this cause to produce influential works in a relatively short period." Specifically, current disciplinary construction should include "One Theory" (An Introduction to Scientific Atheism), "Two Histories" (The History of Chinese Atheism and The History of Western Atheism), and a dictionary, while also strengthening research on religious doctrines and current conditions.
Xi Wuyi noted that religious infiltration has become a primary component of foreign cultural infiltration. Cultural, religious, and ideological issues require an intellectual response. We must master the right to speak (话语权) and cultivate our own academic advantages. To provide theoretical weapons against the infiltration of foreign theology from an ideological and cultural level, we must vigorously strengthen the disciplinary construction of scientific atheism.
Tian Xinming, former director of the Social Science Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education, conducted a systematic and in-depth discussion on the unification of atheism research, publicity, and education with the freedom of religious belief. He argued that from the perspective of legal basis, theoretical foundation, objective basis, and fundamental starting point, conducting atheism research/education is consistent with implementing the Party's policy on freedom of religious belief. Understanding this unity requires clarifying the relationships between religion and religious ideology, religious ideology and theism, and atheism and Marxist atheism. Achieving this unity requires conscious effort. Specifically, conducting atheism work must consciously abide by the Party's policy on freedom of religious belief. Persisting in atheism requires overcoming misinterpretations of the policy: one cannot equate the freedom of citizens to have religious beliefs with the freedom of CPC members to believe in religion; one cannot equate respecting and protecting religious freedom with actively developing religion. While understanding the "mass character" (群众性) [11] of religion, one must not forget the responsibility to promote atheism among non-believers; while understanding the "long-term nature" of religion, one must not forget its variability over time.
Zhang Xinying, Director of the Network Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Vice President of the China Association for Atheism, analyzed and criticized the claim that "atheist education makes people lawless and godless" [12]. He pointed out that the claim that religious morality is superior to secular morality, or that the average moral level of believers is higher than that of non-believers, lacks support in both theory and fact. Even if an atheist's conviction has not yet ascended to the heights of the communist ideal, they can still create a meaningful and fulfilling life simply through an optimistic and benevolent attitude toward living. Currently, some Party and government cadres and public institutions, in an attempt to alleviate social contradictions, resort to the anesthetic and analgesic effects of religion on the human soul; however, the CPC cannot, like the rulers of history, utilize the numbing effect of religion on the masses to maintain its own governing status. Using administrative power to develop religion or expand the religious camp and its social influence carries consequences of immense uncertainty, even more so for the governing Communist Party. Compared to the political risks that developing religion may bring, if rational criticism of theism by atheism could become a normal part of society—allowing a long-term and moderate dissenting voice against theism to persist in the public discourse—it would actually be greatly beneficial in guiding religious masses to improve their scientific and cultural literacy and the level of their faith, and in reducing the ideological soil that allows religious belief to heat up into fanaticism. It would also be conducive to lowering the costs of social management.
Addressing the recent practice of distorting the Marxist-Leninist view of religion into the "Opium (Cornerstone) Theory" and the "Struggle (Against Religion) Theory," Jia Runguo, Deputy Director of the Research Center of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, provided a correction and response through a meticulous survey of the documentary materials of Marx, Lenin, and the CPC. He argued that the Marxist view of religion is the concentrated expression of Marxism's stance, viewpoints, and methods regarding religious issues; it is the guiding ideology for Communists to correctly understand and handle religious matters, and it is a scientific system that is both inherited and advances with the times as it is continuously enriched by practice. Proponents of the "Opium-as-Cornerstone" theory extract certain remarks by Marx and Lenin from their complete works, turning them into abstract dogmas detached from their historical background, specific context, and theoretical system. This seriously fragments and distorts the Marxist view of religion and deviates from the Central Committee's correct understanding and application of the Marxist view of religion. Using this as a basis and pretext, they describe the Party's religious work as a total mess and declare that the Marxist view of religion no longer fits the needs of the times, claiming it is necessary to import trendy theories from Western bourgeois religious studies to "advance with the times." Such arguments have caused many people to develop serious misunderstandings and aversions toward the Marxist view of religion, resulting in extremely negative social impacts that must be corrected and clarified.
Li Shen, a professor at Shanghai Normal University and Vice President of the China Association for Atheism, conducted an in-depth analysis of a fundamental issue in atheism and religious studies: the formation process and common characteristics of the concept of God. He argued that modern religious studies, influenced by Christian faith, has always treated God as a purely spiritual existence, which is inaccurate. Primitive gods, including animal gods and human gods, were all material. The concept of the soul has a very short history, and the exploration of the origin of religion should not begin with the concept of the immortality of the soul. Unlike the pure spirit-gods of Christianity, China's spirit-gods could never exist independently of their material carrier, qi [13]; nor did the spirit-gods of Buddhism stand in opposition to matter. As for "supra-spirit gods," one can only say they are "existence itself," and even less can one say whether they are spiritual or material. Overall, the common characteristic of various deities is supernatural power. The "supernormal functions" [14] popular in China over the last 20 years are supernatural powers; thus, "the international popularity of the phenomenon of supernormal functions is a new movement of god-making." Religion played a certain role in history, but since modern times it has ceased to be a progressive culture and will inevitably decline.
Xu Xiaoyue, Director of the Nanjing Library and Professor at Nanjing University, expressed a unique view on the relationship between traditional Chinese culture and the research and promotion of atheism. He argued that the "human-centeredness" and "nature-centeredness" formed by the Confucian and Daoist schools ultimately express the reality of human nature and life, solving the fundamental question of what makes a human being "human." They argue their value orientations from reality, not non-reality; from "this shore" [15], not from "the other shore"; from the humanistic, not from ghosts and gods—in short, from an atheist standpoint. Therefore, it is far from enough to merely point out and acknowledge that Chinese atheist thought is an organic component of traditional Chinese culture or Chinese philosophical thought. Only by confirming and elucidating that Chinese atheist thought is the most quintessential representation of the entirety of traditional Chinese culture and Chinese philosophy can its status be truly established. Because Marxism and traditional Chinese culture share a common "atheist" value orientation, the most effective way to promote Marxism and socialist atheist thought with Chinese characteristics in Chinese society is to link them closely with the essential atheist characteristics of traditional Chinese culture.
Professor Li Shiju of Hebei Normal University argued that the primary duty of atheism is the negation of religious theism. The theoretical basis of atheism is materialism; it is a reliable ally of the natural sciences, and social practice is the profound foundation of atheism. The negation of religious theism by atheism should be a process of "dialectical negation." Historically, how religious theism is negated—whether through metaphysical negation or dialectical negation—reflects a question of class stance, method, and the conditions of the times.
Professor Yu Yuhua of East China Normal University reflected on the misunderstandings in contemporary atheist education. She argued that the main problem lies in the failure to find the laws governing Chinese atheist education, manifested in a lack of targeted education, insufficient research into educational content, and unclear objectives for atheist education.
As the founder of Marxist religious studies and an important leader in the cause of scientific atheism, Mr. Ren Jiyu’s [16] thoughts on scientific atheism are of great significance for the current disciplinary construction of scientific atheism. Yang Junfeng, an assistant researcher at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, summarized these points in his speech. He argued that Ren Jiyu always persisted in using scientific atheism as a guide for conducting religious research, combining the promotion of scientific atheism with upholding the Party's policy of freedom of religious belief. He closely followed social reality and deeply criticized and exposed the absurdity and deceptiveness of "neo-theistic" trends of thought, making outstanding contributions to the construction of a socialist spiritual civilization. The promotion and education of scientific atheism are indispensable prerequisites and foundations for building a socialist harmonious society. "We must not only escape poverty, but also escape ignorance"; no matter how superstition changes its appearance, its essence and root remain ignorance. We must vigorously strengthen the promotion and education of basic Marxist knowledge and the scientific atheist worldview, continuously improve the ideological, moral, scientific, and cultural qualities of the masses, and lead them to establish a correct attitude toward life, striving for their own happy life and a beautiful tomorrow through the practice of transforming nature and society.
III
As the problem of religious penetration on university campuses becomes increasingly severe, the status of religious belief among university students and the strengthening of scientific atheist education in colleges have become one of the focuses of the conference's discussions.
Xu Lin, a researcher at the Hebei Academy of Social Sciences, provided a detailed summary of research results on "university students' religious beliefs" over the past 20 years. He argued that the background of such research is primarily: a portion of university students have transitioned from non-believers or atheists to religious believers during their studies; some teachers responsible for ideological and political work, or college leadership, have previously held—or still hold—the view that this transition is normal or have even intentionally facilitated it; and the Party and state require all institutions to take specific measures as part of their daily work to prevent this transition. Corresponding to this background, related research has basically stayed within three themes: first, "should university students believe in religion and how does a portion of them persist in and practice their religious faith"; second, "how do or how should college educators treat student believers"; and third, "whether the laws and policies related to university students' religious beliefs are clearly directed or open to multiple interpretations." Xu Lin emphasized that on "these three issues of principle, the answers given by the Party and the state are consistent and beyond doubt; however, many local and university Party committees do as they please, turning a deaf ear, such that overseas Protestant forces—against the backdrop of the US plot to 'divide' and 'Westernize' socialist China—have entered university campuses unchecked. This has pushed the Christian 'house churches,' which are already impatient to take big strides toward 'politicization,' to the front lines of the struggle to deny the CPC's governing status, using the subversion of the achievements of the CPC's work on Catholicism and Protestantism over the past 60 years as a breakthrough point. Nowadays, the issue of 'student believers' and the 'legalization of house churches' have become entangled and inseparable." Facing this situation, he called on the attendees to strive to plant the great banner of Marxist atheism on university campuses.
Wang Lifang, an Associate Professor at Anhui Polytechnic University, introduced research findings on the religious cognition and beliefs of students at Anhui Polytechnic University, Anhui Normal University, and Wannan Medical College. The survey shows that contemporary university students have frequent contact with religion, and the channels of contact are diversifying; their understanding of the essence of religion shows characteristics of ambiguity and pluralism, and they do not recognize the conflict between religious theism and Marxist atheism. She pointed out that although as many as 18.55% of respondents explicitly stated they have a religious belief, the majority of students who claim to believe in religion only "feel" they believe or are merely interested in religion. Wang Lifang estimated that only about 4% of the surveyed students truly believe in religion. Addressing the subjective and objective reasons for student belief, she suggested that colleges should emphasize research on religious belief issues among students, persist in the principle of separating education from religion, establish and improve systems for managing religious activities, and strengthen scientific spirit and psychological education for students.
Hu Xuehai, a lecturer at Hohai University, conducted a survey of undergraduates at Hohai University and Southeast University. He argued that the proportion of religious believers among students is only 5.8%, but a considerable number of students are interested in religion. They lack a clear understanding of religion, and some believe religion has a certain social role. Their choices of religious belief are mainly concentrated in Buddhism and Christianity, and their motives for faith are utilitarian and non-idealistic. In response to the subjective and objective reasons leading to student belief, colleges should strengthen scientific atheist education, innovate the concepts and methods of such education, and simultaneously absorb beneficial elements from religious promotion.
Huang Yanhong, an Associate Researcher at the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, summarized recent research on the religious belief status of university students in the Beijing area, identifying five main aspects of study: (1) The proportion of believers is on an upward trend, with differences in family background, gender, grade level, and major; (2) The channels for contacting religion are mainly books, classrooms, and relatives and friends, with most choosing to believe only during their university years for multiple reasons; (3) Most hold a tolerant attitude toward religion, and believers have high levels of understanding of doctrine and enthusiasm for religious activities, showing a preference for "fellowship" activities; (4) Believing in religion significantly changes students' values and behavior patterns, with negative ideological tendencies; (5) Regarding countermeasures, researchers believe a multi-pronged approach should be taken, including offering relevant courses and strengthening the management of illegal missionary activities. Deficiencies in the research mainly manifest in a general lack of a scientific atheist perspective and a lack of objective neutrality or in-depth understanding of the subjects in some studies.
Wang Kang, a professor at Hangzhou Normal University, proposed six countermeasures for the issue of contemporary university students' religious beliefs: (1) Vigorously strengthen Marxist education; (2) Establish specialized agencies for religious education management in colleges to strengthen organizational leadership; (3) Vigorously strengthen religious education [about religion]; (4) Establish and improve systems for managing religious affairs in colleges; (5) Strengthen atheist education to cultivate the scientific spirit of university students; (6) Correctively evaluate university students who are religious believers.
With the widespread application of the internet and other modern media in social life, the modes of religious transmission and organization have undergone corresponding new changes. Professor Zuo Peng of the University of Science and Technology Beijing [17] examined the status of Christian transmission based on the internet. He pointed out that domestic and overseas church organizations, "cyber-missionaries," online Christians, "quack mediums" [18], and "internet water armies" [19] are the main subjects of online Christian transmission. Portal websites, community forums, blogs, and social networks are the primary forms of this transmission. The main content of online Christian transmission consists of doctrine and culture, major news and commentary, reflections and guides on daily life, and information or notices regarding offline activities. Facing this situation, he argued that "on one hand, individuals participating in religious activities or learning about religious culture online should fall within the scope of the citizens' freedom of religious belief and their rights to culture and education, and these rights must not be arbitrarily stripped away simply because the form of their realization has changed"; "on the other hand, the supervision of activities involving various relations arising from online religious transmission that affect national interests and social public interests must not be relaxed for a single moment."
Professor Zhang Cheng’an of Changsha University of Science and Technology analyzed the online religious life of university students from the three perspectives of logic, history, and practice. He argued that online religion is characterized by speed, globality, virtuality, openness, equality, and interactivity, while the online religious life of university students features diverse modes of communication, irregular participation, and broad, convenient, yet easily misled information reception. At the practical level, he suggested exploring response measures in terms of the selection of attitudes and methods for religious belief education among university students, legal and policy foundations, and the construction of personnel mechanisms, so as to guide the adaptation of university students' religious beliefs to a socialist society.
IV
Sun Qian, Associate Senior Editor at the China Association for Science and Technology, reviewed the decade-long journey of efforts by people from all walks of life to defend scientific rationality after the banning of "Falun Gong" [20]. She argued that this period can be divided into three stages: first, from 1999 to 2002, the stage of efforts to restore scientific rationality to its leading position in society; second, from 2002 to 2006, the stage where scientific rationality faced new challenges; and third, from 2006 to 2009, the stage of calling for a "New Enlightenment" movement. This trajectory indicates that the overflow of superstition, pseudoscience, and mysticism is like an "unsinkable rubber duck" that submerge for a time following social criticism only to resurface later, circulating in society in another form. Therefore, to truly create an atmosphere of reposing trust in science, to popularize scientific knowledge, and to improve public scientific literacy and the ability to identify superstitions and cults in Chinese society, atheists still have a long way to go [21]. Facing anti-science and anti-rationalist trends of thought, atheists must still focus their research on real-world problems, treat scientific propaganda and education for the general public as the starting point and focal point, and work hard on clarifying theory and improving public discernment, thereby better grasping the spirit of the times and promoting the implementation of the strategy of "invigorating the country through science and education."
In frontier regions, scientific atheism propaganda and education are often closely related to the struggle against separatism. Research Fellow Zhu Xiaoming, former Party Branch Secretary of the China Tibetology Research Center and the Central Institute of Socialism, gave a keynote speech on the history and current status of research regarding the fact that "Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times." He pointed out that regarding the relationship between the Tibet region and the motherland's interior and central government, the academic community generally employs three expressions: "Tibet is a part of China," "Tibet became a part of China during the Yuan Dynasty," and "Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times." These statements differ in perspective and emphasis, and all contain imprecisions or areas requiring refinement. Mapping the scope of China's territory in history requires attention to three points: (1) dynastic history is not equivalent to Chinese history; (2) the Chinese people include both the Han and frontier ethnic minorities; and (3) all ethnic groups within China's borders before 1840 are Chinese ethnic groups, and their history is Chinese history. Using this as a standard, "Regarding the historical status of Tibet, it can be expressed in two sentences: first, Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times; second, the central government began exercising formal administrative jurisdiction over Tibet starting from the Yuan Dynasty."
In recent years, religious infiltration has become the primary content of foreign cultural infiltration, and religious theism has been used by certain countries and interest groups as a means to seek political power and economic benefits. Associate Professor Huang Chao of Wuhan University centered his talk on the core concept of "new religious extraterritoriality," analyzing the new model of US religious infiltration into China from four aspects: new goals, new strategies, new carriers, and new organizational systems. He revealed the evolution of the ideology of US religious infiltration into China in terms of theocracy, geopolitics, and New Cold War thinking. He argued that since the end of the Cold War, newly rising theocratic ideologies have combined with old geopolitical thoughts to form a "New Cold War ideology" within the United States. Correspondingly, the fundamental demand of the new model of US religious infiltration into China is "new religious extraterritoriality," signified by the International Religious Freedom Act. Goaded by this "New Cold War ideology," the "Christianization of the overseas pro-democracy movement" has become an important step in the "political Christianization of China," while Chinese house churches have also become more actively involved in the struggle of "rights-defense politics." Religious infiltration is, in essence, "political infiltration"; the "restoration" of American theocracy and its diplomatic manifestations are largely an ideological reaction to the decline of its global hegemony. In response to the new situation of overseas religious infiltration, we must eliminate all interference, adhere to and improve the new type of state-religion relations that matches socialism with Chinese characteristics, uphold the principle of independence and self-management of churches, and establish a long-term crisis management mechanism for religious emergencies.
Huang Kui, Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, examined the issue of the "contest between theism and atheism" in contemporary China from the perspectives of ideology, the united front, and the rule of law. He argued that the confusion of discourse in the ideological field, including confused understandings of religious issues, has caused and is currently causing actual consequences and real harms that adversely affect the overall work of the Party and the state, as well as the formation of a scientific worldview among the general public. In any case, the "worldview bottom line" of the Marxist view of religion—the atheist position—must not be abandoned. United front [22] targets should be limited to high-level figures in religious circles; if expanded to general believers, the "united front costs" will become increasingly high and eventually unbearable, potentially even leading to the consequence of the "united fronters being subverted by the united front targets" [23]. On the issue of religious affairs management, the principle of national sovereignty should be unswervingly upheld, while religious belief should simultaneously be treated as a private matter for individual citizens. The compatibility, mutual supplementation, and organic unity of the ideological, united front, and rule-of-law perspectives may assist in the early warning of risks and the optimized resolution of religious issues, better serving the overall work of the Party and the state.
Professor Chen Yongsheng, Deputy Director of the Institute of Psychology at Zhejiang Normal University, spoke on the basic theoretical research for the discipline construction of Marxist religious psychology. He argued that the religious psychology research of the former Soviet Union initially constructed a disciplinary framework for Marxist religious psychology, emphasized the criticism of Western theistic psychological thought, and placed atheism education at the core of Marxist religious psychology, thereby gaining important historical experience. Its primary lessons included: insufficient understanding of the long-term and complex nature of religious issues, a failure to embody the characteristics of the era in Marxist scientific methodology, and an incomplete understanding of the disciplinary system of Marxist religious psychology. Chinese Communists focus on examining atheist psychology and education from the strategic height of Party building, striving to use policy levers to accurately reflect the dual functions of religious psychology, thereby creatively developing the Marxist view of religious psychology. Dialectical materialism and historical materialism are the methodological foundations of Marxist religious psychology. Under the guidance of this fundamental method, specific research in Marxist religious psychology should effectively integrate a "problem-oriented" [24] approach throughout its research, gradually forming the methodological characteristics of Marxist religious psychology through methodological innovation, and fully reflecting the distinct interdisciplinary features of the field of religious psychology.
Participating scholars also discussed various specific topics, such as the atheist psychological thought of the famous Chinese psychologist Pan Shu, the atheist psychological thought of the German scholar Hinsberger, and the latest research progress in foreign religious neuroscience.
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