Zhu Weiqun: Communist Party Members Must Not Have Religious Beliefs
In recent years, as the number of religious believers in society has increased and understandings of religion have become increasingly diverse, a phenomenon worthy of attention has emerged: Communist Party members are increasingly participating in religious activities and establishing close private relationships with personages in religious circles; some members have even effectively become religious believers. Simultaneously, a voice has appeared in society and even within the Party suggesting that the "ban should be lifted" to allow Party members to believe in religion. This view lists various reasons why members should be permitted to believe and the numerous "benefits" thereof, even going so far as to claim that prohibiting members from believing in religion contradicts the spirit of the Constitution’s protection of citizens' freedom of religious belief. In fact, our Party’s principled stance that members cannot believe in religion has been consistent and has never wavered in the slightest. This principle is determined by the Party's Marxist dialectical materialist worldview. Party organizations at all levels and the broad masses of Party members must maintain a clear understanding and must unswervingly uphold this principle under any circumstances.
I. The Prohibition on Party Members Believing in Religion is a Consistent Principle of Our Party
The Marxist worldview is dialectical materialism, whereas religious worldviews, without exception, fall into the category of idealism. Philosophically, the divide between materialism and idealism is fundamental; for both individuals and political parties, they are irreconcilable and incompatible. The founders of Marxism drew a clear line between communism and religion from the very beginning. They pointed out not only the material and real-world social roots from which religion arises but also that the proletariat, in order to seek liberation, must liberate itself from religion. Marx noted that "communism begins from the outset with atheism." Lenin applied the Marxist view of religion to the revolutionary practice of the working-class party, stating: "Our Program is based entirely on a scientific, and moreover the materialist, world-outlook. An explanation of our Program, therefore, necessarily includes an explanation of the true historical and economic roots of the religious fog. Our propaganda necessarily includes the propaganda of atheism..." At the same time, Lenin emphasized the need to handle religious issues with caution and to strive for, unite with, and educate the believing masses within revolutionary practice.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) upholds Marxism as its guide to action. All the Party's theories, ideas, and actions are built upon the foundation of a dialectical materialist worldview. Only on this basis can one speak of mastering the Marxist theoretical system and using Marxism to guide the practice of China's revolution and construction. Consequently, it is a basic ideological and organizational principle of the CPC that members cannot endorse idealism or believe in religion. This principle has been emphasized by our Party across different historical periods and explicitly written into important Party documents.
To list just a few examples from different periods: In 1940, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in On New Democracy that "Communists may form an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal united front for political action with certain idealists and even with religious believers, but they can never approve of their idealism or religious doctrines." In 1982, a CPC Central Committee document formulated under the leadership of Comrade Deng Xiaoping, titled The Basic Viewpoint and Policy on the Religious Question During Our Country's Socialist Period, pointed out: "Our Party’s proclamation and implementation of a policy of freedom of religious belief certainly does not mean that Communist Party members can freely believe in religion. The Party’s policy of freedom of religious belief is directed toward the citizens of our country; it is not applicable to Party members. A Communist Party member is different from an ordinary citizen; they are a member of a Marxist political party and should undoubtedly be an atheist rather than a theist. Our Party has made clear regulations many times: Communist Party members must not believe in religion and must not participate in religious activities. Those who persist in doing so over a long period despite attempts at correction should be persuaded to leave the Party. This regulation is entirely correct and should continue to be resolutely implemented by the whole Party henceforth."
In 1990, Comrade Jiang Zemin noted during a symposium with representatives of the National Religious Work Conference: "The religious worldview and the Marxist worldview are fundamentally opposed. Communists are atheists; the worldview of Communists should be the Marxist worldview. Not only can Communist Party members not believe in religion, they must also propagate atheism and a scientific worldview to the masses." In 2002, the Decision of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Strengthening Religious Work stated: "Communist Party members must not believe in religion. Members and cadres must be educated to strengthen their belief in communism and prevent the erosion of religion. Those who believe devoutly in religion, losing the qualifications for Party membership, or who use their official power to encourage religious fanaticism, must be dealt with seriously." In 2006, Comrade Hu Jintao pointed out in a speech at the National United Front Work Conference: "We Chinese Communists are atheists and do not believe in any religion." During the Fifth Tibet Work Forum in 2010 and the Xinjiang Work Forum in 2010, Comrade Hu Jintao reiterated the need to uphold the principle that Communist Party members cannot believe in religion.
It is precisely under the guidance of the Marxist worldview that our Party has been able to lead the people in relying on their own strength to promote social revolution, progress, and development, rather than pursuing an illusory kingdom of heaven or an afterlife. It has allowed us to continuously deepen our understanding of the objective world through the practice of China's revolution, construction, and reform, using scientific theory to guide the new practices of hundreds of millions of people. It has enabled the entire Party to achieve a high degree of unity in ideology, theory, and organization, maintaining and enhancing the Party’s creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness.
As for the claim that prohibiting members from believing in religion violates freedom of religious belief, it is completely untenable. This argument essentially uses the name of "civil rights" as a pretext to replace the requirement for Party members to maintain ideological advancedness and fulfill their obligations as members. When a citizen volunteers to join the CPC, it means they unconditionally accept the Marxist dialectical materialist worldview, and it means they have voluntarily chosen not to believe in any religion based on their right to freedom of religious belief. According to that same right of freedom, they can certainly choose to believe in religion again, but this signifies that they have suspended or reversed the process of "joining the Party ideologically" [1], leaving only a formal "organizational membership." This no longer holds any practical significance for the individual or the Party organization; on the contrary, it is harmful to the Party’s maintenance of ideological and organizational unity. If a member actively participates in religious communal life and proselytizing, or even uses their status as a member to protect or promote illegal religious activities, the Party organization should take timely measures to have them leave the ranks of the Party. This is neither "discrimination against religion" nor "coerced non-belief"; it is simply a political party performing necessary organizational processing on an individual member who no longer agrees with its guiding ideology. From the perspective of both the Constitution and the Party Constitution, there is nothing to be criticized.
II. The Dialectical Materialist Worldview is the Foundation for the Party’s Formulation and Implementation of the Policy of Freedom of Religious Belief
Our Party has implemented a policy of freedom of religious belief since its founding. The 1931 Outline of the Constitution of the Chinese Soviet Republic stipulated: "The Chinese Soviet power has the objective of guaranteeing the laboring masses of workers and peasants have actual, true freedom of belief." In 1945, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in On Coalition Government: "According to the principle of freedom of religious belief, China's Liberated Areas permit the existence of all religions. Whether it be Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, or other religions, as long as the followers obey the laws of the People's Government, the People's Government will protect them. Both believers and non-believers have their own freedom, and no compulsion or discrimination is permitted." After the founding of New China, freedom of religious belief became a basic right granted to citizens by the Constitution; the Party's policy of freedom of religious belief was elevated to the national will and established within the socialist legal system.
Communists are materialists and do not believe in religion—so why formulate and implement a policy of freedom of religious belief? Theoretically speaking, the Marxist view of religion reveals the objective laws governing the emergence, development, and eventual disappearance of religion. It holds that the emergence and existence of religion have natural, social, and cognitive roots. Only after all the external roots upon which religion relies for its existence have disappeared can religion possibly fade away. Reaching such a state requires a quite long historical process; until then, as Lenin said, attempts to eliminate religion through administrative force will only increase people's interest in it and actually hinder its true disappearance. It could be said that the final disappearance of religion may be even more distant than the disappearance of classes and the state. Based on this scientific understanding, our Party maintains that administrative force should not be used to develop religion, nor should it be used to eliminate religion. Instead, religious issues must be handled appropriately through the policy of freedom of religious belief, based on the fundamental tasks of the Party in each historical period.
Regarding the Party’s tasks and purpose: our Party represents the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people, which naturally includes representing the interests of religious believers. Representing the fundamental interests of religious believers involves not only representing their political and economic interests but also respecting their spiritual right to freedom of religious belief. The history of China's revolution and construction has fully proven that our consistency with the believing masses on fundamental interests is primary, while differences on the issue of religious belief are secondary. Therefore, under the guidance of correct principles and policies, it is entirely possible to achieve "unity and cooperation politically, and mutual respect in belief," working together toward the grand goals of each period of revolution and construction. At the same time, our Party consistently relies on the strength of the broadest masses of the people, which naturally includes the broad masses of believers. Thus, the policy of freedom of religious belief is necessary for us to unite and coalesce the broad masses of believers and to consolidate and develop the patriotic political alliance [2] with religious circles.
Some Westerners say that only when people who believe in religion are in power can there be a true implementation of freedom of religious belief. In fact, history and reality prove that in countries or dynasties where a certain religion holds a dominant position, the right of people to freedom of religious belief is often unachievable or severely compromised. For example, in Medieval Europe where Catholicism was dominant, there was the persecution of "heretics" and the Crusades against Asia and North Africa; the Ottoman Empire used force to compel people in conquered regions to convert to Islam; and during the modern era, as Western countries colonized Africa and Latin America, they held a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other, killing peoples, occupying lands, and plundering wealth—where was there any freedom of religious belief to speak of? Conversely, it is precisely in China, where the majority of the population does not believe in religion, that similar religious persecutions and religious wars have not occurred.
Our Party implements and adheres to the policy of freedom of religious belief because this policy conforms to the laws governing the development of religious phenomena and aligns with the fundamental interests of the people and the state. This does not mean we can approve of idealism, or hold a neutral stance between materialism and idealism, or abandon the education of the people—especially the youth—in materialism and atheism, or abandon our responsibility to manage and guide religious activities. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the state "conducts education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism" among the people. As the governing party, we should resist various absurd theories of inaction and consciously and proactively take up this constitutional responsibility.
To address the current phenomena of "religious fever" and disorderly religious activities in society, the following measures at least can be put into practice immediately: not allowing administrative force to be used to promote or encourage any religion; not allowing religion to interfere in various government functions; implementing effective management over religious affairs and promoting and helping religious groups establish and improve internal management systems; propagating dialectical materialism and historical materialism in the media and in schools at all levels and of all types (excluding religious colleges); and uniting patriotic religious groups to resolutely push back against various forms of infiltration carried out by overseas forces using religion [3]. These measures are not at all contradictory to the policy of freedom of religious belief; rather, they are indispensable guarantees for religion to maintain normal order and follow the path of adapting to a socialist society.
III. Allowing Party Members to Believe in Religion Will Erode and Dissipate the Party’s Body
If our Party were to "lift the ban" on members believing in religion as some hope, the various promised "benefits" would prove illusory, while the negative consequences would be glaringly obvious.
First, if members were allowed to believe in religion, it would mean allowing the coexistence of two worldviews—idealism and materialism—within the Party, and the coexistence of theism and atheism. This would inevitably lead to the wavering and loss of the guiding status of Marxism, causing ideological and theoretical division within the Party.
Second, if Party members were permitted to believe in religion, it would be equivalent to allowing certain members to accept the leadership of Party organizations while simultaneously becoming disciples of various religious personages and accepting the leadership of various religious organizations. The "five major religions" [4] and other faiths would each form their own systems within the Party, which would inevitably cause a split in the Party's organization. Given the current situation where hostile forces at home and abroad are doing their utmost to use religion to engage in separatist activities in certain ethnic regions, allowing Party members to believe in religion would greatly weaken the combat effectiveness of Party organizations in the struggle against separatism. It is no accident that in Tibet and Xinjiang—two places where the struggle against separatism is extremely sharp—the Autonomous Region Party Committees have both clearly maintained that Party members must not believe in religion.
Third, if Party members were to believe in religion, they would inevitably become spokespersons for certain religious forces. In some locales, the phenomenon of religious believers managing the Party's religious work would emerge. This would lead to the use of government resources to fuel "religious fever" and make it impossible to treat every religion equally, fundamentally shaking the Party’s religious work. Currently, Party and government leaders in some areas treat religion as a tool for securing economic gain and increasing local visibility, viewing it as a professional "achievement." They compete to recklessly build large Buddha statues and temples and are keen on large-scale religious activities, artificially fueling religious fever while failing to take the legal management of religious affairs or the education and guidance of religious groups seriously at all, leading to the spread of chaotic phenomena. The emergence of this phenomenon is inextricably linked to the fact that some Party member cadres have abandoned the worldview of dialectical materialism and have even become de facto religious believers.
In short, if Party members were allowed to believe in religion, it would cause our Party to disarm itself ideologically and organizationally, causing it to degenerate from a Marxist party into a non-Marxist party. It would then be fundamentally out of the question to continue leading the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
There have been all kinds of religions in Chinese history, but China is not a religious country. China has a long tradition of atheism. The traditional Chinese philosophy that influences the thoughts and concepts of the Chinese people has a strong humanist orientation, emphasizing human capacity for the cognition and transformation of the objective world; this differs greatly from the "theocentrism" (spirit-centrism) of traditional Western philosophy. The spirit of the Confucian tradition has a great influence; the majority of Chinese commoners do not believe in religion or hold a fixed religious faith. Religion has never been able to become the mainstream of Chinese ideology. At the same time, Chinese religions themselves possess a strong secular character. This national context and background is an important reason why our Party, as a materialist and atheist party, was able to grow so naturally from the people and win the broad recognition and support of the people. If Party members were allowed to believe in religion, it would completely contradict China’s national conditions. Not only would it become a question of whether the Party could obtain the unanimous support of believers of different religions, but whether it could continue to obtain the support of the non-believing masses—who constitute the majority of the population—would become an even greater problem.
IV. Strengthening Education on the Marxist View of Religion and Atheism throughout the Party
In response to the blurred understanding of some comrades within the Party regarding religious issues, it is necessary to take the strengthening of propaganda and education on the Marxist view of religion and atheism as an important task. This will help the broad membership to draw a clear line between materialism and idealism in their thinking, and in practice, draw a clear line between the masses' right to freedom of religious belief and the prohibition against Party members believing in religion. Party schools, relevant universities, and research units should be encouraged and supported to strengthen research on the Marxist view of religion and atheism, and to achieve more high-level academic research results that are easily popularized in society. Relevant learning content should be further reinforced in the education and training of Party schools and academies of governance at all levels, as well as in the theoretical study of Party and Youth League organizations at all levels.
According to the consistent spirit of the Party Central Committee, for Party members who participate in religious activities or have a religious consciousness, we must base our approach on education. We must patiently help them return to a Marxist standpoint and firm up their communist convictions, rather than consistently making concessions. For those who use their official authority to fuel religious fanaticism or support the reckless construction of temples and churches, serious criticism and education must be conducted; those who fail to repent after education should be disciplined in accordance with the Regulations on CPC Disciplinary Action and relevant internal Party documents. Party cadres working in religious affairs, in particular, must not believe in religion; the education and management of this segment of Party cadres must be especially strict.
The rapid development of Party organizations since the Reform and Opening-up has objectively placed higher demands on the Party's ideological building. Currently, young Party members under the age of 35 account for about one-quarter of the total membership. Many young people are still in the formative stage of their worldviews; they should be encouraged to consciously strengthen their study of the Marxist view of religion and atheism. For retired Party members, in addition to caring for their material lives, Party organizations must also care for their spiritual lives to prevent them from gradually sliding toward religion under the influence of the social religious environment due to a reduction in their participation in Party organizational life. Some of our ethnic regions are often also regions where traditional religious influence is relatively large. The broad masses of ethnic minority Party members play an important role in safeguarding ethnic unity and maintaining stability in border areas; they should also be a focus of propaganda and education. Among ethnic minorities where the majority of the population believes in religion, Party members can be allowed to adopt a flexible attitude toward certain ethnic customs and rituals that evolved from religion to avoid becoming detached from the masses, but the ideological requirements must not be lowered.
A Communist Party member cannot conflate themselves with the general masses. In thought, politics, and action, they must consciously hold themselves to the strict standards of the Party Constitution. They must not only refrain from believing in religion but also actively propagate dialectical materialism and historical materialism, fulfilling a Communist Party member’s responsibility to lead the masses to esteem science and civilization and to pursue social progress.
(The author is the Executive Deputy Head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee) Online Editor: Jia Fei