Jia Runguo: The Marxist Theory of Religion and Religious Studies in the New Era

2019 marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Research Department of the Marxist View of Religion ^[1] within the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Over the past decade, the Research Department has resolutely forged ahead amidst an atmosphere characterized by serious divergence of understanding and fierce ideological struggle in the field of religious studies. It has organized scholars who uphold the guiding position of Marxism and possess a research interest in the Marxist view of religion to carry out a series of academic activities and launch a range of academic achievements. In a situation where the tendencies toward the "theologization" and Westernization of religious research have been prominent, the Department has increased the opportunities for Marxist religious theory to make its "presence" felt and has voiced the Marxist perspective on the stage of religious theory. Currently, a New Era for upholding and developing religious studies with Chinese characteristics has arrived, and opportunities for upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground in Marxist religious studies are emerging. The Research Department of the Marxist View of Religion and the experts and scholars associated with it should unite more closely, invigorate their spirits, strengthen their convictions, seize opportunities, and temper themselves as they move forward. They must be proactive and innovative, striving to carry out more work and achieve even greater results in the next decade.

I. Remaining True to Our Original Aspiration and Founding Mission, Strengthening Convictions, and Struggling Unceasingly

Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded, and Marxist guidance is the fundamental characteristic and greatest advantage of philosophy and social science in China. The fundamental achievements of religious studies in our country were obtained under the guidance of Marxism, whereas the prominent problems in our religious research were caused by deviating from the basic principles of Marxism. As the manifestation of the basic principles of Marxism regarding religious issues, the Marxist view of religion should serve as the ideological soul and theoretical guide for religious research in China. To persist in, maintain, research, and apply the Marxist view of religion effectively is the fundamental task of religious research in our country. When Chairman Mao instructed the Central Propaganda Department to prepare for the establishment of the Institute of World Religions ^[2], his most fundamental requirement was that it be led by Marxists and that religion be researched and theology be criticized using the perspective of historical materialism. This is the original aspiration and founding mission of religious research in China. The Research Department of the Marxist View of Religion and its associated experts must remain true to this original aspiration and founding mission, strengthen their Marxist faith, improve their Marxist cultivation, and struggle unceasingly to maintain and deepen the guiding position of Marxism in China’s religious research. They must wave the flags and sound the drums to launch more academic achievements that research religion and criticize theology from the perspective of historical materialism!

II. Looking Back at History, Clearing the Source, Establishing Academic Traditions, and Upholding the Fundamentals while Breaking New Ground

Some claim that Marxism possesses only a "view of religion" (zongjiaoguan) but no "religious studies" (zongjiaoxue) ^[3]. I disagree with this view. Both Marx (b. 1818) and Engels (b. 1820) were older than Max Müller (b. 1823), began researching religion earlier than him, and exerted a greater influence on religious research than he did. As early as 1835, in his "Religion Essay for the Secondary School Examination," Marx "turned his gaze toward history, that great teacher of humanity," comparing the so-called superstitions of various ancient peoples who "offered sacrifices to the gods" with the Christian belief that "God created man out of nothing," thereby expressing the view that religion evolves along with historical development. In 1839, Marx began researching ancient Greek philosophy, and in his doctoral dissertation completed in 1841, he expounded firm atheistic views. In 1842, in works such as Comments on the Latest Prussian Censorship Instruction, Debates on the Law on Thefts of Wood (Sixth Rhine Province Assembly), and the Editorial in No. 179 of the Kölnische Zeitung, Marx discussed major theoretical issues including religion and Christianity, religion and the state, religion and reason, religion and science, religion and morality, religion and philosophy, religion and politics, state and church, the secular and the sacred, the "this-worldly" and the "other-worldly," miracles and mystery, fetishism and animal religion, Brahmanism and Buddhism, and the philosophy of religion versus the philosophy of researching religious problems. These works reflect his broad knowledge and unique insights into religious issues. Subsequently, Marx continued to address religious issues in works like the Introduction to a Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, On the Jewish Question, the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, The Holy Family, Theses on Feuerbach, The German Ideology, and even Capital and the Critique of the Gotha Programme, making immense theoretical contributions and exerting a vast socio-historical influence. Notably, the Introduction to a Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, written by Marx in 1843, was included in excerpted form by the bourgeois scholar Hermann Ewerbeck in the 1850 book What is Religion according to the Latest German Philosophy, showing that Marx’s religious thought attracted the attention and esteem of Western academia very early on.

Engels’s research on religion likewise spanned his entire life. Having been indoctrinated with Christian faith since childhood and once being very devout, his process of breaking away from religious theology and establishing an atheistic worldview was filled with hardship and struggle. This prompted him to engage in long-term, in-depth research on religion, resulting in more numerous works on religious studies than those of Marx. Among the more important are The Condition of England: "Past and Present" by Thomas Carlyle, The Peasant War in Germany, Anti-Dühring, Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, the Introduction to the 1892 English Edition of "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific", as well as Natural Science in the Spirit World, Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity, The Book of Revelation, and On the History of Early Christianity. Engels and Marx influenced and complemented each other in religious research, making outstanding contributions to the creation and development of Marxist religious studies.

From the perspective of today’s sub-disciplines of religious studies, the religious thought of Marx and Engels encompasses historical, philosophical, political, sociological, and anthropological research on religion, offering a rich content. After Marx and Engels, their students and successors continued the scientific study of religious issues. This includes Lenin’s philosophical, political, and sociological research on religion in works such as Materialism and Empirio-criticism, Socialism and Religion, The Attitude of the Workers' Party to Religion, and The Significance of Militant Materialism. It also includes the systematic research of religion by other proletarian revolutionaries and theorists, as well as experts and scholars from the later socialist countries in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, forming a Marxist religious studies tradition distinct from Western bourgeois liberal religious studies. Since the founding of the Communist Party of China, equal importance has been attached to the scientific study of religious issues, yielding a series of important results. This includes the religious-critical thought of early Chinese Communists like Li Dazhao and the philosophical, sociological, and political research on religion by proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation such as Mao Zedong. It also includes the philosophical and historical research on religion by elder scholars like Li Da, Ai Siqi, and Ren Jiyu, forming China's own Marxist religious studies tradition.

Since the Reform and Opening-up, religious research in China has experienced a "blowout" in development, with significant improvements in specialization and disciplinarization. However, a misunderstanding has also emerged: the belief that only the religion research conducted by "ivory tower" scholars under the name of religious studies counts as religious studies research. Furthermore, Max Müller, the coiner of the term "Religious Studies," is treated as the discipline's founder, with people bowing down before Western liberal religious theories and methods. This has led to the exclusion of Engels’s highly specialized religious studies works—such as Natural Science in the Spirit World, Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity, and On the History of Early Christianity—from the field of religious studies. Some have even proposed the academic view that Marxism has only a "view of religion" but no "religious studies," demonstrating a lack of theoretical confidence.

In carrying out research on the Marxist view of religion today, we must thoroughly shatter the myth that Marxism has only a "view of religion" and no "religious studies," and that "religious studies" exists only in the West. We must establish an academic standard whereby only religious research conducted using scientific theory and methods belongs to "religious studies." We must exclude so-called religious research conducted under the guidance of theological theory and methods from the discipline. We should treat the religious research pioneered by Marx and Engels—using the scientific worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism—as the "orthodoxy" of religious studies. We must remain true to the original aspiration and take up the mission in accordance with Chairman Mao’s instructions on strengthening research on religious issues. We must clear the source and establish the academic tradition according to the model set by Ren Jiyu’s religious research ^[4]. We must innovate the academic system, disciplinary system, and discourse system of Chinese religious studies in accordance with General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on religious work and philosophy and social science.

III. Researching Foreign Fields and Applying Rational Critique; Discarding the Chaff and Establishing Orthodoxy

To develop Chinese religious studies in the New Era, we must strengthen our research on foreign religious studies, especially Western liberal religious studies. We must use Marxist positions, views, and methods to conduct scientific analysis—taking the essence and discarding the dross—to firmly establish the orthodox status of Marxist religious studies.

As an important tradition of research, Western religious studies has its unique merits; we must strengthen our study of it while critically absorbing it. At present, it appears that the scientific nature of religious anthropology, religious sociology, and religious psychology within Western religious studies is relatively strong and particularly deserves attention. The development of religious anthropology is related to the colonial history of Western capitalism; its strengths lie in fieldwork and phenomenological descriptions of non-Western religious traditions, while its dross lies in the Eurocentrism and cultural relativism that permeate it. Religious sociology developed alongside capitalist industrialization and secularization; its strengths lie in sociological surveys and analyses of religious phenomena, while its dross lies in the bourgeois positions and the idealistic and metaphysical modes of thought that permeate it—for example, Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism was intended to glorify both Christianity and capitalism. The development of religious psychology is related to the advanced psychological traditions of the West; its academic achievements can be utilized for our religious governance and anti-cult work, but its focus on natural science is somewhat incompatible with the social science tradition of religious research in China. A large portion of Western philosophy of religion actually belongs to religious theology and should be criticized, but the atheistic undercurrents within it should be absorbed. As for the history of religion, we must criticize its historical idealist components while absorbing its excellent achievements in historical fact-finding and empirical evidence. In short, there must be scientific analysis of Western religious studies; we cannot blindly believe in or mechanically transplant it.

The "History of Religion" and "Introduction to Religious Studies" in our country are excellent disciplines developed under the guidance of historical materialism and the Marxist view of religion. They possess high scientificity and Chinese characteristics and are advanced disciplines capable of leading the global trend in religious studies. However, they have faced many problems in recent years. Influenced by the tendencies toward the "theologization" and Westernization of religious research, the study of the history of religion in China has shown a tendency to deviate from historical materialism. The "Introduction to Religious Studies" has almost fallen into a state of stagnation; the textbook Religious Studies, part of the heavily funded "Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project," has not been completed after ten years. The fundamental reasons are the gap in talent and the landslide in ideological standards. The Research Department of the Marxist View of Religion and its associated experts should continuously enhance their theoretical confidence and professional level to firmly establish Marxist religious studies.

IV. Focusing on Reality and Researching Problems; Promoting Governance and Serving the People

Marxist religious studies is established to help the Party and the government "understand religion," "do mass work," and improve the efficiency of religious governance; it is not established to allow certain individuals to wander about the country, seek an easy living, or deceive people. Marxist religious research should include both theoretical and practical dimensions.

Theoretical research in Marxist religious studies should focus on the principles of religious studies and the history of religion. The goal is to clearly explain the essence, origins, forms, functions, and history of religion, the laws of its emergence, development, and disappearance, and the attitudes and policies of Marxist political parties toward religion. This provides theoretical support and knowledge reserves for the Party and the state to correctly understand and handle religious issues and to educate and guide people in establishing a scientific worldview, outlook on life, values, cultural views, and view of religion.

Practical research in Marxist religious studies should focus on the current status and situation of religion at home and abroad. The goal is to gain a clear understanding of the practical manifestations of religious belief, its demographic structure, social impact, focal points of conflict, and development trends, and to propose policy suggestions that are feasible, operational, and in accord with the fundamental interests of the Party and the people. To this end, various theories and methods from philosophy, history, politics, law, sociology, psychology, economics, culturology, and ethnology can all be used. However, we must never be led by the nose by Western theories and methods, nor should we deviate from Marxist positions, views, and methods, or from the Marxist academic style of seeking truth from facts and integrating theory with practice. The theoretical methods of Western philosophy and social sciences can be used for reference, but they must be analyzed and identified; they cannot be blindly believed or mechanically transplanted.

In conclusion, the pursuit of Marxist religious studies in the New Era should be "establishing scholarship for the sake of application" and "applying what has been learned." Any theologized or Westernized research that runs counter to or is inconsistent with this—including the so-called "bracketing of faith" ^[5] and the flaunting of "academic neutrality"—is erroneous and must be resolutely discarded.

(Author: Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Religious Research Center of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee)

Network Editor: Cai Hong Source: Science and Atheism (Kexue yu wushenlun)