Zhu Xiaoming: Strengthening Targeted Publicity of Marxist Atheism
...major theoretical achievements: Mao Zedong's thoughts on religious work and the strengthening of research on religious issues, the theory of religion with Chinese characteristics, and the Party's theory on religious work in the New Era.
Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has proposed a series of new concepts and measures regarding religious work. These have addressed major theoretical and practical questions, such as how to understand religion, how to handle religious issues, and how to successfully conduct the Party's religious work in the New Era. This culminated in the "Party's theory on religious work in the New Era," the core content of which consists of the "Nine Musts." [1]
The Party's theory on religious work in the New Era is a theoretical summation and exposition of the Party's practice and guiding principles concerning religion. It represents the latest achievement in combining the Marxist view of religion with the specific realities of religious work in contemporary China and with fine traditional Chinese culture; it is the most recent development of the theory of religion with Chinese characteristics and serves as the general blueprint for conducting religious work in the New Era. This theory demonstrates the political will to effectively strengthen the Party's leadership over religious work. It shows that the historical shifts since the 18th Party Congress have endowed religious work in the New Era with profound theoretical substance and a clear orientation for action. Compared to previous theoretical summaries, the exposition of the Party's theory on religious work in the New Era is clearer, more precise, and more hit-the-mark. It embodies the spirit of the times, a proactive stance, a practical nature, and guiding authority, reflecting the characteristics, connotations, and driving forces of the New Era.
In 2022, the Chinese Atheism Society (中国无神论学会) achieved two new breakthroughs in implementing the spirit of the National Conference on Religious Work and carrying out publicity and education on Marxist atheism:
First, a "Marxist Atheism" teaching module was added to training courses for religious affairs cadres organized by relevant departments. With the support of these departments, three lectures were delivered: Lecture One, "Marxist Atheism and Freedom of Religious Belief," covered perspectives and policies; Lecture Two, "Principles of Scientific Atheism and a Brief History of Chinese Atheism," covered principles and history; Lecture Three, "The History of Western Atheism," covered global conditions and trends. Professor Li Shen was deeply moved while lecturing, even choking up at one point. During the post-lecture interaction with the trainees, the students smiled, while Professor Li wept. He was overwhelmed with emotion because this was a recommendation first proposed in a 2003 report to the Central Committee led by Mr. Ren Jiyu [2] on behalf of the Chinese Atheism Society—a goal that has finally been realized after all these years.
Second, experts and scholars from the Atheism Society supported and assisted a university in Northwest China in launching a "Marxist Atheism" course for undergraduate and graduate students. To implement the spirit of the National Conference on Religious Work, this university integrated local realities and proposed offering Marxist atheism courses to its students. Through the coordination of relevant departments of the Ministry of Education, they connected with the Chinese Atheism Society for assistance. The Society attached great importance to this, organizing experts to hold two video seminars and one video exchange session with the university’s atheism teaching team.
Furthermore, since 2002, experts from the Chinese Atheism Society have undertaken research projects on atheism publicity and education commissioned by relevant units.
To strengthen Marxist atheism publicity in a targeted manner, we must first study and grasp the spirit of the National Conference on Religious Work in a complete, accurate, and comprehensive way.
I. Becoming Adept at Observing and Analyzing Religious Issues from a Political Perspective
The National Conference on Religious Work proposed that we must strengthen our theoretical armaments, deeply study and comprehend General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on religious work, raise our political standing, and become adept at observing and analyzing religious issues from a political perspective, as well as thinking about and advancing religious work from a political height.
1. Grasping the "Three Hows" and the Responses to Them from a Political Level
At the 2016 National Conference on Religious Work, the "Three Hows" [3] questions were posed to the whole Party; the 2021 National Conference on Religious Work provided the response. The "Three Hows" possess an internal connection and logic. The first "How" is a clear, positive political requirement: in the ideological sphere, we must "always ensure that Marxist atheism, as the mainstream ideology, maintains its dominant position in the minds of the masses." This is the fundamental strategy for solving the second and third "Hows."
The responses to the "Three Hows" are rich in content. One crucial viewpoint is grasping the relationship between freedom of religious belief and the ideological struggle. In 2022, the Party Central Committee and the State Council issued "Opinions on Adhering to the Direction of the Sinicization of Religion in Our Country and Doing a Good Job in the Party’s Religious Work in the New Era." In this document, the content regarding atheism publicity has been expanded from a few sentences in the past into a full paragraph titled "Strengthening Marxist Atheism Publicity in a Targeted Manner." It proposes firmly upholding the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological sphere, carrying out Marxist atheism publicity and education, and systematically promoting Marxist dialectical materialism and historical materialism so that atheism takes deep root in people's hearts. We must improve the targeted nature of atheism education and promote its inclusion in textbooks and classrooms with confidence and conviction (理直气壮) [4], helping young people firmly establish a scientific worldview, outlook on life, and values. The conference also pointed out that we must not relax Marxist atheism publicity and education among the masses, so as to prevent the unhealthy development of religion and the spread of theism from eroding socialist ideology. This clarifies the guiding principles, key content, and practical requirements for the research, publicity, and education of Marxist atheism in the New Era.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on adhering to and publicizing Marxist atheism both inherit the Party’s fine traditions and possess strong practical relevance, holding long-term significance for governance. There are two key points. First, it is profoundly pointed out that there is a contest in the ideological sphere between atheism and theism. This is a call for political awareness, political security, and political responsibility issued from the height of maintaining ideological security. Second, it clearly requires Party members to be firm Marxist atheists; they must not only adhere to Marxist atheism but also actively publicize it. This emphasizes the Party's political discipline, responsibility, and principles from the height of Party building. These two key points can be summarized in two phrases: Maintain ideological security, and shoulder the responsibility of a Communist Party member. The former is about political awareness and political standing; the latter is about political responsibility and practical requirements.
Religious work is a task characterized by high political and policy sensitivity. We must be "adept at observing and analyzing religious issues from a political perspective, and thinking about and advancing religious work from a political height," rather than treating religious work merely as administrative or routine business. Religious work, religious studies, and atheism research must raise and unify their conceptual understanding with General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on religious work and the spirit of the two National Conferences on Religious Work. This is the theoretical guidance and fundamental mission for successfully conducting religious work, religious studies, and atheism research in the New Era.
2. Correctly Understanding the Two "Essences" Involved in Religion
Regarding religious issues, there are two summaries concerning "essence": first, the essence of religion is illusoriness; second, religious work is essentially work concerning the masses. Engels profoundly pointed out in Anti-Dühring that "all religion, however, is nothing but the fantastic reflection in men’s minds of those external forces which control their daily life." Mao Zedong once said: "The essence of religion is the worship of supernatural forces, believing that supernatural forces control individuals, society, and the world. This arises entirely from the fact of not understanding natural and social forces." The famous Chinese philosopher and scholar of religion, Mr. Ren Jiyu, pointed out: "As an ideology, religion also possesses illusoriness, intuitiveness, exclusiveness, and pervasiveness. These four characteristics have their own laws of intellectual movement... with illusoriness at the core; only with illusoriness can it be religion." What is the relationship between the "Four Characteristics" mentioned by Mr. Ren Jiyu and the "Five Characteristics" [5] we frequently cite—namely, long-term nature, mass nature, ethnic nature, international nature, and complexity? I believe both are summaries of the features and traits of religion from different angles. The "Four Characteristics" summarize the ideological attributes of religion, with illusoriness at the core; the "Five Characteristics" summarize the social attributes of religion, with the mass nature at the core.
These "Two Summaries" of the essence of religion and the essence of religious work cannot replace or negate each other. We cannot deny that the essence of religion is illusoriness just because religious work is essentially work concerning the masses. Conversely, we cannot deny that religious work is essentially work concerning the masses just because the essence of religion is illusoriness.
Precisely because the essence of religion is the fantastic and illusory worship of supernatural forces, we must strengthen atheism publicity and education, and uphold and publicize Marxist atheism, which seeks the intellectual and spiritual liberation of humanity. Precisely because the essence of religious work is its mass nature, we must consolidate and develop the patriotic united front between the Party and the religious circles, taking the ability to unite the broad masses of religious believers around the Party and the government as the fundamental criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of religious work.
These two summaries of "essence" provide the basis for maintaining ideological security and for carrying out united front work in the religious sphere; they must be fully grasped and implemented.
3. Deeply Recognizing the Essential Difference Between Bourgeois and Proletarian "Freedom of Religious Belief"
Freedom of religious belief is a basic policy of the Party, but there is an important issue that needs further clarification. This is the need to deeply recognize the essential difference between the freedom of religious belief as practiced by the bourgeoisie and that of our Party. On the surface, both the bourgeoisie and the proletariat speak of "freedom of religious belief"—the same six characters, not one different—but in reality, there is an essential difference between the two.
Regardless of the European bourgeoisie's attitude toward religion at the beginning of their revolutions—for example, in Germany, Luther's Reformation and the two uprisings against the Roman Church failed. "Religion could serve as a cloak for the uprising, but it could not determine its success or failure. Because the factors determining success or failure were real ones: political, economic, and military." In Britain, the results of the bourgeois revolution led to a constitutional monarchy politically and broadened the path for capitalist development economically. Regarding religion, Protestantism gradually achieved equal status with the State Church, and freedom of religious belief was declared. In France, the bourgeois revolution completely discarded the banner of religion. The revolution was fought entirely under political and economic slogans, thoroughly abolishing the exalted status of religion in state politics. However, after the success of the bourgeois revolutions, Europe saw a resurgence of religious forces, and the bourgeois classes in various countries eventually became devout religious believers again. The reason was their fear of the influence of materialism and socialism on the workers. Religion was not only the "general theory" of the old system but also became a spiritual tool for the bourgeoisie to prevent proletarian revolution. Christianity also became a spiritual tool for promoting colonialism. In capitalist society, "religion reflects the factual basis of activity"—meaning the roots of religion continue to exist—and "religion reflects itself"—namely, religious activity itself—continues to exist along with this basis; thus, a policy of freedom of belief must be implemented. Proletarian parties inherited this significant achievement of human progress and included freedom of belief as a necessary part of their political programs. However, the freedom of belief advocated by the proletarian party is essentially different from bourgeois freedom of belief: "Bourgeois 'freedom of belief' is nothing more than the toleration of all possible kinds of freedom of religious belief, while the workers' party strives to liberate belief from the sorcery of religion." In contemporary China, this can be phrased as "liberate from the shackles of religion." Although this is a long-term process, we must not forget our goal or lose our sense of direction. Religious work cadres and religious studies researchers should all clearly recognize this essential difference and firmly grasp the correct direction of religious work.
II. Clarifying Intellectual Obstacles Facing Atheism Publicity and Education
Reviewing research and investigations from recent years, there are three main obstacles in the ideological and theoretical spheres to strengthening atheism publicity and education:
First is the lack of importance attached to atheism publicity and education. Some comrades engaged in ideological and political education and theoretical publicity often believe that because we carry out Marxist publicity and education every day, promoting materialism is equivalent to promoting atheism, and there is no need to emphasize atheism separately. Theoretically speaking, dialectical materialism and historical materialism do indeed inherently contain the premises and conclusions of atheism. However, this does not mean that everyone who generally accepts and believes in Marxism recognizes the rich atheistic content it contains. Atheism still needs to be demonstrated explicitly, which requires publicity and education. Therefore, we must promote both dialectical and historical materialism, and Marxist atheism.
Lenin pointed out in his article On the Significance of Militant Materialism: "It would be the biggest and worst mistake for a Marxist to believe that... they can emerge from [ignorance] only by the direct route of purely Marxist education. They should be supplied with various atheist propaganda materials and told facts from all aspects of actual life... to awaken them from their religious daydreams and invigorate them from all sides by various methods." In contemporary China, general theoretical propaganda and education cannot substitute for Marxist atheist propaganda and education. We should also provide the masses with various atheist propaganda materials and be particularly adept at utilizing examples occurring around them—such as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the realization of comprehensive poverty alleviation, and the development of the economy, technology, and culture to meet the increasing material and cultural needs of the masses. We must tell the masses facts and truths from all aspects of actual life, using facts and contrasts to conduct vivid and effective propaganda and education, rather than allowing atheist education to remain merely at the level of theory, principles, and concepts.
Secondary is the belief that propagating atheism is useless. Some comrades say: "For those who believe in atheism, you do not need to propagate it; they are already atheists. For those who believe in theism, it is useless to propagate it to them." The conclusion is that there is no need to propagate atheism. This view actually restricts the targets of atheist propaganda and education and narrows the scope of atheism’s influence.
Atheist propaganda and education indeed should not take the religious community or religious believers as its target. Party policy stipulates that "one should not conduct atheist propaganda in religious venues, nor initiate debates on theism versus atheism among religious believers." However, these policies and requirements must not be misinterpreted or misread as policies and requirements for the whole of society. We cannot abandon the development of rational, advantageous, and effective atheist propaganda and education in mass media and school education facing society just because we do not target the religious community and believers.
Atheist propaganda and education must not only be carried out but must also be persisted in across generations. This is because newly born generations of young people have not experienced the previous developmental processes of social consciousness. "If they are not given 'foundational' education, they will become ignorant and benighted regarding 'foundational' issues." In the New Era, we must righteously and persistently carry out atheist propaganda and education, ensuring that it enters textbooks, enters classrooms, and enters the minds of the vast youth population, allowing atheism to become deeply rooted in the people's hearts.
In a sense, we can view atheist education as a "vaccine" in the ideological sphere. Carrying out this education among young students helps people understand reason, follow the correct path, and resist or oppose the erosion and harm of religious extremism.
The third obstacle is a sense of trepidation. Propagating atheism requires studying religion and critiquing theology; it requires studying the various manifestations of idealism and critiquing theism and feudal superstition. One difficulty therein is the critique of theology. If it does not touch upon specific theological viewpoints, the critique easily becomes vacuous; if it does touch upon specific theological viewpoints, it easily triggers resistance from, or exploitation by, certain individuals within specific religions. Consequently, in ideological education and social propaganda, there is often a sense of trepidation regarding atheist propaganda; it is believed that atheism is difficult to discuss, and poor delivery could easily trigger incidents that affect social stability.
Recently, a noteworthy event occurred globally. In a television debate in late May, Nupur Sharma, then spokesperson for India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), uttered remarks while discussing conflicts between Hinduism and Islam that were regarded as blasphemy against the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. This triggered dissatisfaction among India's domestic Muslim population and subsequently sparked anger across Islamic nations. This former spokesperson of the BJP is not a materialist, but a Hindu nationalist. However, this event and the reaction it triggered deserve our attention and vigilance.
In his book Foundations of Marxist Religious Studies, Professor Li Shen interprets Marx's views on the critique of religious theology from two aspects. First, the purpose of critiquing theology is to ensure people no longer harbor illusions, so they can think and act as a person who has discarded illusions. Second, the function of critiquing theology is the beginning of the critique of the "vale of tears" [6]. By plucking away the sacred, illusory flowers of religion, the true image of real suffering is exposed, and people will strive to change that suffering reality, rising up to pluck the real, true flowers themselves. The path to plucking the true flowers is difficult and one might be pricked by thorns, but it is the only means to obtain happiness.
These three ideological obstacles—lack of emphasis, the "uselessness" argument, and the fear of difficulty—must be addressed, clarified, and broken down. The contest between penetration and anti-penetration, and between unregulated expansion [7] and anti-unregulated expansion in the field of religious work, plays a vital role in national security, social stability, and economic development. Strengthening atheist propaganda and education among the masses is a vital foundational task for preventing and defusing major risks in the religious sphere. Doing this work well requires both profound theoretical and academic accumulation as well as great political wisdom. This will become an arduous but meaningful task in carrying out atheist education and constructing an academic system for atheism.
III. Approaches to Targeted Strengthening of Marxist Atheist Propaganda
1. Enhance the targeted nature of propaganda content
The difficulty in atheist research and propaganda is the "critique of theology." How can this problem be solved? The work approach must be clear: (1) The critique of theology must be strictly confined to the ideological sphere. Religion is both a social entity and an ideology. Politically, we must unite religious believers; ideologically, we must critique theology. These are two aspects that cannot be neglected. (2) The critique of theology is a critique of the core concepts of religion; it is not directed at religious groups or religious individuals. Distinctions are also made within religious ideology. For example, religion and other forms of consciousness like art are mutually pervasive; there is both critique and inheritance. (3) The means of critique is propaganda and education, not simple administrative measures, so as not to give others a pretext [8]. (4) Occasions and targets must be distinguished; atheist propaganda is not to be conducted in religious venues. In terms of critiquing theology, there have been successful experiences in the past. For example, the Marxist Atheism Reader for Cadres compiled by the Chinese Atheism Society summarized the core ideas of traditional theism into four questions for analysis and critique: regarding "immortality of the soul," the "existence of gods or spirits," "heavenly mandate" [9], and "divine miracles." It explains that there are no gods in the world, the world was not created by God, and the fate of the nation, society, and individuals is not dominated by God. This experience is worth drawing upon.
Opposing "the integration of religion and ethnicity" (教族一体) and the "binding of religion and ethnicity" (教族捆绑) is a critical issue for forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation and opposing religious extremism. In practice, we must continuously deepen research, absorb new experiences and results, and timely transform them into new content and highlights for atheist education.
We must go deep into reality to discover and summarize the problems, methods, and effects of "targeted strengthening of Marxist atheist propaganda" in the New Era. For example, the development of high technologies like artificial intelligence and life sciences has sparked interest in the "two darks, one black, and three origins" (referring to dark matter, dark energy, black holes, the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and the origin of consciousness). In fields that science cannot yet answer, religious consciousness and influence often arise. In fact, the end or boundary of science is the unknown world, not theology. Science must continuously pursue and explore this unknown world; once science perceives and solves a problem, it expels various forms of theism from that field. As Engels pointed out: "The history of science is the history of the gradual clearing away of this ignorance." We must inherit and strengthen the "Two-Science Alliance" [10] of social scientists and natural scientists to resolve doubts and clarify confusion in a targeted and well-founded manner.
In the historical process of religious evolution, there is first the separation of church and state, where religion loses control over political power; second is the separation of education and religion, where religion loses control over social life. However, the influence of religion on believers remains non-negligible. A focus of preventing and defusing major risks in the religious sphere is preventing the harm and influence of religious extremism. Atheist propaganda and education must persist alongside economic development, social progress, scientific advancement, and the infiltration of civilization—advancing with the times and persisting over the long term.
2. Enhance the targeted nature of propaganda targets
The targets and fields of atheist propaganda and education generally comprise four aspects: cadre education, school education, social propaganda, and academic research. Different focuses and requirements for atheist education must be determined for different targets.
We must implement the requirements put forward by the National Conference on Religious Work regarding "targeted strengthening of Marxist atheist propaganda," especially the task of "improving the targeted nature of atheist education, promoting atheist education to enter textbooks and classrooms righteously, and helping teenagers firmly establish a scientific worldview, outlook on life, and values." We must seize the key points and achieve breakthroughs. Currently, two key focuses must be grasped:
First, atheist education entering Party schools. We should summarize and promote the experience of relevant departments and provinces in offering Marxist atheism courses in the training of United Front and religious work cadres. Courses and content on Marxist atheism should be added to the training of cadres in Party schools, academies of governance, and socialist academies in areas with heavy tasks in religious work.
Second, atheist education entering primary and secondary schools and universities. In universities in provinces with heavy tasks in religious work, it is suggested that Marxist atheism courses be added. Given the long-term nature of religious work, religious research, and atheist education, we must combine teaching practice, textbook compilation, and teacher training. We should focus on cultivating a specialized and capable backbone team of Marxist atheism teaching and research staff. In the process of strengthening the discipline of Marxist Religious Studies, we must construct a disciplinary, academic, and discourse system for the Sinicization of Marxist atheism. Primary and secondary education should also appropriately increase atheist content, telling stories subtly and teaching principles through systematic guidance [11].
Network Editor: Tongxin Source: Science and Atheism, Issue 4, 2022