Jia Runguo: Using Scientific Thought to Eliminate Superstition in Ghosts and Gods
Cult members and violent terrorists commit frantic killings, driven by an ideological foundation of anti-scientific superstition in ghosts and gods. To combat cults and terrorism, protect the lives and property of the people, and maintain the long-term peace and stability of the nation, we must—in addition to improving anti-cult and anti-terrorist systems and strengthening law-based crackdowns and governance—persistently popularize scientific and cultural knowledge to eliminate the ideological influence of superstition in ghosts and gods. In circumstances where the social soil that produces such superstitions is difficult to completely eradicate in the short term, we must vigorously popularize scientific knowledge and continuously arm people’s minds with scientific thought. Only by gradually expanding the territory of the scientific worldview, outlook on life, and values can we disperse the ideological mists of various anti-scientific fallacies. This ensures that people are not deluded by the crooked heresies and fallacies spread by cult organizations and religious extremist forces, but instead consciously practice the Socialist Core Values, actively devote themselves to the construction of Chinese-path modernization, and pool their formidable strength to realize the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
I. Exposing the Anti-Scientific Essence of Superstition in Ghosts and Gods
To eliminate superstition in ghosts and gods, we must use scientific thought to expose the essence of supernatural concepts. Superstition in ghosts and gods—the belief that supernatural forces govern individuals, society, and the world—is an ancient and ubiquitous concept. The so-called supernatural force is a mysterious power beyond natural forces; that is, a spiritual force detached from matter. Motion is the fundamental attribute of matter, and the force generated by the motion of matter is natural force. The world is composed of matter in motion; a force detached from the motion of matter does not exist. Believing in the force of matter in motion is science; believing in a force detached from matter in motion is superstition. Ancients believed in supernatural forces detached from material motion because they lacked scientific knowledge regarding the motion of matter.
Homo sapiens of the middle and late Paleolithic period, owing to a lack of scientific knowledge about the external nature surrounding them and their own internal nature, did not understand the essence of life and biological evolution. They did not understand that human sensation, cognition, and thinking are functions of the brain reflecting the motion of matter. Instead, they mistakenly believed in an independent entity residing within the body that could detach from it, thus giving rise to the concept of the soul. If one believes the soul can continue to exist after a person falls asleep, enters a coma, or dies, there is no reason to believe that the soul itself will die; thus, the concept of the immortality of the soul was formed. Extending this concept to the natural world, concluding that all things have souls, gave rise to animism, pan-psychism, or pantheism.
The concept of the soul is itself a product of thought, an alienation or objectification of human thinking capacity; therefore, in scientific language, it has gradually become a synonym for spirit, thought, and so on. However, in theological language, the soul is still understood as an entity possessing supernatural power—the soul of the living is called a "spirit" (hun), the soul of the dead is called a "ghost" (gui), a soul detached from an object is called a "withe" (ling), and a withe of immense power is called a "god" (shen). Based on their relationship to human interests, these spirits are further categorized into benevolent gods, malevolent gods, orthodox gods, evil gods, true gods, false gods, angels, devils, evil spirits, demons, and so forth, becoming figurative expressions and illusory reflections of the alien forces that dominate people's daily lives.
Since the concept of spirits is, after all, an illusory reflection by an ignorant brain of the alien natural or social forces that dominate daily life, primitive people also hallucinated that they could control them through the power of thought. They created various forms of sorcery to dominate nature by mobilizing supernatural forces (commanding gods and enslaving ghosts) through intentions, incantations, and rituals. However, attempting to change the motion of matter solely through brain activity without a realistic material apparatus can only be a naive fantasy or wishful thinking. Following the lessons of repeated failures, primitive sorcery was gradually replaced by realistic efforts and piously offered prayers. Nevertheless, some sorcerers remained unwilling to abandon supernatural fantasies. They stubbornly believed that supernatural forces must exist, and thus created various methods to regulate their own bodies and thinking to obtain supernatural powers or mystical states; this is what is called "human body cultivation" or religious practice. Yet, beyond strange hallucinations and delusions—extending even to mental derangement or "becoming possessed by devils" [1]—nothing is gained. But as long as the superstition of obtaining supernatural powers through the study of mystical knowledge and peculiar cultivation is not broken, so-called "masters" [2] will continue to appear.
Although superstitions in ghosts and gods go by many names, their anti-scientific essence is nothing more than this. As long as we persistently propagate and popularize the above scientific principles to the people, the territory of superstition will gradually shrink. Once people break their superstition in ghosts and gods, no one will believe the crooked heresies and extremist ideologies fabricated by cult organizations and terrorist groups.
II. Critiquing Idealism and Metaphysics
If the superstition in ghosts and gods among common people who have not received sufficient education is due to a lack of natural science knowledge, then how do we explain such superstition among intellectuals or even science and technology workers who have received considerable education? First, receiving a certain level of education does not guarantee sufficient scientific knowledge to break superstitions. Second, even with more scientific knowledge, if one lacks the correct method of thinking, one can still fall into the quagmire of superstition. The direct cause of supernatural concepts is a lack of necessary natural science knowledge; the indirect cause is a lack of correct theoretical thinking methods. Specifically, the erroneous ideological methods of idealism and metaphysics lead human cognition astray. These methods originate from primitive, ignorant superstitions and, in turn, reinforce and consolidate them, serving as the philosophical-epistemological root of supernatural concepts. Therefore, to eliminate people's superstitious thoughts, we must—in addition to strengthening education and popularization of natural and social sciences (especially religious studies)—strengthen education in dialectical materialism and historical materialism to thoroughly break the ideological methods of idealism and metaphysics.
How do life phenomena arise? What are the essence and laws of life's motion? Why does a material, fleshy body think in such an ethereal way? Why does a sleeping brain dream? Why does an injured or diseased body produce hallucinations? Answering these questions correctly requires not only natural science—particularly life sciences and biological evolution—but also correct theoretical thinking methods. Because primitive people lacked the natural science knowledge to explain life phenomena, they could not understand the motion of life as a function or mode of existence of a specific kind of matter. Instead, they mistakenly understood it as a "life force" existing independently of specific matter, believing that the motion of life and thinking activities were the result of a miraculous "life force" governing matter. This gave rise to the idealist method of using concepts to explain matter. Similarly, because primitive people lacked knowledge of the universal connection, eternal motion, and developmental changes of the material world, they could not understand nature and human society as the result of the long-term motion and development of the material world. Instead, just as they understood stone tools to be made by people striking and grinding stones, they mistakenly understood the world to be suddenly created by some special power. This gave rise to the metaphysical method of using isolated, static, and one-sided viewpoints to explain the motion of matter.
Due to the long-term influence of concepts of ghosts and gods, theistic thought, idealism, and metaphysics—and because modern science began with the isolated study of different aspects of the world—the ideological methods of idealism and metaphysics, particularly narrow empirical observation, have long dominated the minds of science and technology workers. This has made it impossible for some intellectuals and even great scientists to escape superstitious thoughts. In Natural Science in the Spirit World, when analyzing "what is the surest path from natural science to mysticism," Engels pointed out: "It is not the overgrowth of natural-philosophical theories, but the shallowest empiricism that spurns all theory and distrusts all thought. It is not an a priori necessity that proves the existence of spirits, but the empirical observations of such as Mr. Wallace, Mr. Crookes and others." (Collected Works of Marx and Engels, Vol. 9, People's Publishing House, 2009 edition, p. 451). "In fact, contempt for dialectics cannot be practiced with impunity. A great deal of contempt may be shown for all theoretical thought, but without theoretical thought one cannot connect two facts of nature or understand any existing connection between them. The only question here is whether one's thinking is correct or not, and contempt for theory is clearly the surest path to thinking naturalistically, and therefore incorrectly. But according to a dialectical law long known to mankind, incorrect thinking, if pursued to its conclusion, inevitably leads to the opposite of its starting point. Thus, the empiricists’ contempt for dialectics is punished by the fact that even some of the most sober empiricists fall into the most barren of all superstitions, into modern spiritualism." (Collected Works of Marx and Engels, Vol. 9, People's Publishing House, 2009 edition, p. 452).
While there are many types of erroneous ideological methods, they can all be reduced to idealism and metaphysics. Only by deeply critiquing idealism and metaphysics can we eliminate the ideological roots of superstition in ghosts and gods, thereby thoroughly cutting off its retreat and leaving it nowhere to hide under the radiance of scientific truth.
III. Improving Marxist Philosophical Education
To break the ideological methods of idealism and metaphysics and eliminate the epistemological roots of ignorant superstition, we must improve Marxist philosophical education in schools of all levels. Regarding the ideological methods of idealism and metaphysics and their errors, Engels discussed them extensively in works such as Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, Anti-Dühring, Dialectics of Nature, and Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy. Lenin also provided many incisive discussions in Materialism and Empirio-criticism and Philosophical Notebooks. Unfortunately, our philosophy textbooks have long only touched upon these ideas without giving them sufficient emphasis. If we could deeply excavate, refine, and summarize these thoughts, and combine this with a thorough analysis of various popular superstitions and theistic thoughts to reveal—in simple terms—their logical errors and their essence of violating materialist dialectics, it would greatly help students firmly establish a scientific worldview of dialectical materialism and historical materialism.
Philosophy is a systematized and theorized worldview. The core of philosophical education should be to help students establish a scientific worldview, rather than merely instilling a vast amount of so-called "philosophical knowledge." If our philosophical education truly and thoroughly critiques the three great enemies of the scientific worldview—idealism, metaphysics, and theism—students will naturally and wholeheartedly accept materialism, dialectics, and atheism, thereby firmly establishing the scientific worldview of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. When there are no longer any rivals, acceptance becomes inevitable. In this way, the basic goal of our philosophical education can be achieved. Otherwise, even though students receive long-term Marxist philosophical education, they will be unable to effectively resist the erosion of various anti-Marxist trends of thought, and some may even easily fall captive to superstition and bourgeois idealist thought. This would only prove the failure of our philosophical education.
Furthermore, our philosophical education should greatly increase the weight given to the critique of erroneous thoughts. Philosophy textbooks could devote only two-thirds or even one-third of their space to the positive exposition of the basic principles of Marxist philosophy, while using the other third or even two-thirds to critique related erroneous thoughts. As the saying goes: "without destroying the old, the new cannot be established." In a world of complex phenomena where various thoughts compete, it is impossible to expect students to smoothly accept the Marxist faith and persist in it long-term unless we truly and thoroughly critique related—or at least representative—erroneous thoughts in a context of diverse interests and diverse ideas. Even religionists know to consolidate the faith of their followers by starting with a critique of opposing views. Marx said that materialist dialectics is, "in its essence, critical and revolutionary." Marxist philosophy was originally established on the basis of critiquing old philosophies and grew stronger in the process of constant struggle against emerging erroneous thoughts. It is our sharp weapon for critiquing erroneous trends of thought and forging a path forward. Faced with a confusing array of diverse thoughts and cultures, if we do not use this weapon for revolutionary critique—that is, scientific analysis—to effectively help students see through the anti-scientific essence of various erroneous thoughts, our Marxist philosophical education will have failed in its responsibility.
IV. Strengthening the Popularization of Knowledge of Scientific Atheism
In On the Significance of Militant Materialism, Lenin emphasized that general Marxist philosophical education must never replace specialized atheist education: "It would be the biggest and worst mistake a Marxist could make to think that the millions of the people (especially the peasants and artisans) who have been condemned by all modern society to darkness, ignorance and superstition can extricate themselves from this darkness only along the straight line of a purely Marxist education. These masses should be supplied with the most varied atheist propaganda material, they should be made familiar with facts from the most diverse spheres of life, they should be approached in every possible way, so as to interest them, rouse them from their religious slumber, shake them up in all sorts of ways and from all angles, and so on." (Selected Works of Lenin, Vol. 4...
Vol. 2, People's Publishing House, 2012 edition, pp. 648–649. This work is considered Lenin's "philosophical testament" from his later years regarding the strengthening of the Party's ideological work and should command our utmost attention.
The view that atheist thought is simple or shallow is erroneous. Superstitions regarding ghosts and spirits and theistic ideas have a history spanning thousands or even tens of thousands of years. They have accumulated a vast ocean of classics and manufactured countless theories that violate materialism and dialectics, continuing to influence the majority of humanity today. According to relevant international statistics, more than 80% of the world's population still believes in ghosts and spirits. In our country, the population that follows the five major religions [3] is counted in the hundreds of millions, and those who believe in ghosts, spirits, and fate are even more numerous. Theism, believed by so many people, can by no means be something simple or shallow; consequently, the atheism that researches, analyzes, and refutes theism is even less simple. Only scholars, thinkers, and theorists who have both a proficient mastery of dialectical materialism and historical materialism—along with diverse modern scientific knowledge—and a comprehensive, penetrating understanding of various religious and theological theories throughout history and across the globe can provide a reasoned and evidence-based scientific analysis of the socio-historical roots and ideological-logical errors of ghost and spirit superstitions. Only such individuals can become conscious atheists and true experts in atheism.
The view that strengthening publicity and education [4] in scientific atheism contradicts the implementation of the Party's policy of freedom of religious belief and the unity of religious figures and believing masses is also erroneous. Our Party implements a comprehensive policy of freedom of religious belief: there is both the freedom to believe in religion and propagate theism, and the freedom to not believe in religion and propagate atheism. However, religious believers cannot propagate theism in non-religious venues, and atheists cannot propagate atheism in religious venues. This is a "tacit understanding" reached between our Party and the religious community, which was long ago written into the Party's documents on religious work. Atheism is the ideological foundation and essential content of the scientific worldview and is an inherent part of the Party's ideological and theoretical publicity. As long as we pay attention to methods and modalities and avoid hurting religious feelings, publicity and education in atheism are entirely legitimate and absolutely necessary.
In our Party's documents regarding religious work, there are many discussions on strengthening publicity and education in scientific atheism, and the relevant work deployments and requirements are clear. However, implementation in actual work has consistently been poor. At least two reasons account for this situation: first, a lack of clear understanding and insufficient emphasis ideologically; second, a lack of necessary working institutions and personnel. Our Party's policies and work requirements for atheist publicity and education are generally written into religious work documents rather than publicity work or education work documents. Since they are religious work documents, the primary departments for implementation are naturally the United Front Work Department [5] and the Religious Affairs Bureau, rather than the Propaganda Department [6] or the Education Bureau. The basic responsibility of the United Front Work Department and the Religious Affairs Bureau is naturally to unite religious figures and serve the believing masses, not to propagate atheism. Conversely, the Propaganda Department and the Education Bureau, which handle publicity and education work, naturally do not emphasize religious work documents as much as they do publicity and education work documents. Furthermore, because the Propaganda Department and the Education Bureau lack specialized institutions and personnel to study and respond to religious issues, this work naturally tends to fall through the cracks. To change this situation, first, we must pay attention to "transplanting" relevant discussions from religious work documents into publicity and education work documents to attract sufficient attention; second, corresponding institutions and personnel should be added to the Propaganda Department and the Education Bureau to specifically conduct investigations and research on how religious theology and ghost and spirit superstitions influence cadres and the masses, and to implement relevant policies.
V. Strengthening the Party’s Leadership over the Study of Religious Sciences
This year marks the 52nd anniversary of the founding of our country’s first Marxist research institution for religious studies—the Institute of World Religions. On January 23, 1961, during a conversation with the Panchen Erdeni [7], Mao Zedong said: "There are so many people in the world who believe in religion, yet we do not understand religion. I am in favor of some communists studying the classics of various religions, such as Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and so on. Because this is a question of the masses—with so many of the masses believing in religion, we must do 'mass work' [8], yet we do not understand religion. Being 'only red but not expert' [9] will not do." (Chronological Biography of Mao Zedong, 1949–1976, Vol. 4, People’s Publishing House, 1st edition, December 2013, p. 528). This was the first time the importance of our country’s communists researching and understanding religion was emphasized.
On December 30, 1963, while reviewing a report from the Foreign Affairs Group of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Propaganda Department regarding the strengthening of research on foreign affairs, Mao Zedong wrote the following instruction: "This document is very good. But it makes no mention of religious research. Regarding the world’s three major religions (Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism), which still influence vast populations today, we have no knowledge. Domestically, there is no research institution led by Marxists and no readable periodical in this field. Modern Buddhist Studies is not led by Marxists, and the level of its articles is very low. In other periodicals, articles written from the perspective of historical materialism are also very few. For example, the few articles on Buddhist studies published by Ren Jiyu [10] are already as rare as 'phoenix feathers and unicorn horns' [11]; I have seen nothing regarding Christianity or Islam. Without criticizing theology, one cannot write a good history of philosophy, nor a good history of literature or world history. I ask the comrades of the Propaganda Department to consider this." (Chronological Biography of Mao Zedong, 1949–1976, Vol. 5, People’s Publishing House, 1st edition, December 2013, pp. 298–299). This further put forward the tasks of researching religion and criticizing theology. Based on this instruction and under the personal leadership of Premier Zhou Enlai, Ren Jiyu and several comrades from Peking University and the State Bureau of Religious Affairs prepared and founded our country’s first religious research institution in 1964—the Institute of World Religions, led by Marxists and dedicated to studying religion and criticizing theology from the perspective of historical materialism. This opened a "New Era" for religious research.
Over the past 50 years, especially since the Reform and Opening-up, our country’s religious research has achieved great successes, initially ending the situation where our Party had no knowledge of the religions influencing the world’s vast populations. However, under the new historical conditions, a worrisome situation has also emerged in our country's religious research. A prominent problem is that the guiding position of Marxism has gradually weakened, while the ideological methods of idealism, metaphysics, and even theism are gaining significant ground. Any keen observer can see this situation just by glancing at the religious books section of a major bookstore. In recent years, a large number of religious research institutions have been established in succession, and the number of personnel engaged in religious research has gradually increased. However, scholars who unequivocally uphold Marxist guidance—and particularly those who can persist in the "criticism of theology" while "researching religion"—are becoming fewer and fewer. This departs from the original purpose for which our Party established religious research institutions.
Under the new situation, we must strengthen the Party’s leadership over the study of religious sciences. The efforts and appeals of Mr. Ren Jiyu before his death regarding the strengthening of scientific atheist publicity and education; the criticism of unhealthy tendencies in our country's religious studies found in Research on Marxist Religious Theory published by Mr. Lyu Daji before his passing; and particularly the opinions published by Mr. Du Jiwen, former director of the Institute of World Religions at CASS, in the journal Marxism Studies in 2013 and 2014, as well as the article on improving religious research published by Mr. Tian Xinming, former director of the Social Sciences Center of the Ministry of Education, in the same journal in 2014, should all receive attention from relevant quarters. The leadership of Chinese religious research should be held firmly in the hands of staunch Marxists. Under the new situation, we should strive to uphold the guiding position of Marxism in religious research, ensure the correct direction of our country’s religious studies, and leverage the special role of Marxist religious research in criticizing theology, breaking down superstitions, and spreading the truth.
(Author: Researcher and Deputy Director of the Research Center of the State Administration for Religious Affairs) Web Editor: Caihong Source: Science and Atheism, Issue 1, 2016.