Peng Ruikang and Chen Jing: An Analysis of the Relationship Between the Anti-Christian Movement and the Founding of the Chinese Socialist Youth League
In January 1922, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) of China announced that the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) would hold its 11th Conference at Tsinghua University on April 4. This provoked public dissatisfaction and concern regarding Christian expansion and imperialist aggression, leading to the outbreak of the Anti-Christian Movement [1]. From the founding of the Anti-Christian Student Federation in Shanghai on March 4, 1922, until June of that year—when social debates on religious issues gradually subsided and local anti-religious organizations suspended their activities—this period constituted the first stage of the movement. During this time, local branches of the Socialist Youth League organized anti-Christian federations and carried out the movement, which in turn catalyzed the development of the Socialist Youth League of China. Subsequently, the outbreak of the Zhili-Fengtian War [2] and the reorganization of the Beijing government caused new social hotspots to overshadow the Anti-Christian Movement. In 1924, the movement broke out again in the form of the Movement to Recover Educational Rights.
Current scholarship has conducted a certain degree of research on the early history of the Youth League. Hu Xianzhong analyzed the historical context of the League’s founding and the gradual establishment of the relationship between the Party and the League. Li Yan studied the shift in the League’s work focus from students to young workers and peasants during its early period. However, few authors have addressed the Anti-Christian Movement—the Youth League’s first large-scale political practice during its founding period—and their perspectives vary. Gu Changsheng proposed that the League initiated and led the Anti-Christian Movement. Xue Xiao-jian argued that participation in the movement was merely the individual behavior of League members rather than an organized activity. Tao Feiya, drawing on letters and reports from Comintern representatives, suggested that the Communist Party of China (CPC) led the Anti-Christian Movement by relying on the Youth League. Zhou Donghua, conversely, argued that Comintern materials contain inaccuracies contrary to historical facts and are unreliable. This article intends to analyze contemporary news reports and the memoirs of participants to trace the background of the Anti-Christian Movement’s outbreak and the participation of local League organizations. It explores the reciprocal relationship between the movement and the founding of the Youth League to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the League’s early history.
I. Background of the Outbreak of the Anti-Christian Movement
During the Anti-Christian Movement, the side criticizing Christianity included liberals, anarchists, and Marxists. Their theories were diverse, encompassing rationalism, pragmatism, and various forms of socialism. Tracing back their origins, almost all these theories can be found in the religious issue discussions initiated by the Young China Association [3] at the end of 1920, or in the First Congress of the Communist and Revolutionary Organizations of the Far East [4] convened by the Comintern in early 1922.
(1) The Young China Association Initiates Discussions on Religious Issues
Discussions on religious issues originated from the "State Religion Movement" in the early years of the Republic. The Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China stipulated freedom of religious belief for the people. However, on June 22, 1913, Yuan Shikai [5] issued the "Order to Venerate Confucius," and on August 15, the Confucian Society petitioned the parliament to "establish Confucianism as the state religion." These actions drew widespread resistance and caused particular concern within religious circles regarding freedom of belief. On December 27, Christians in Beijing joined followers of Catholicism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Islam to form a religious federation, emphasizing freedom of belief and opposing the designation of a state religion. Following struggles between political, academic, and religious circles, as well as local warlords, the State Religion Movement failed, but the debate over religious issues did not cease.
The formal start of the religious debate began with a resolution by the Young China Association that members must not hold religious beliefs. On July 17, 1920, member Zeng Qi wrote to Zuo Shunsheng, Director of the Review Department, requesting that "no person with religious superstitions be introduced into the Association." The Review Department passed the proposal and suggested that "those already in the Association who have religious beliefs should request to leave." Some members strongly opposed this resolution, sparking a general debate on religion. Tian Han argued that "freedom of belief is enshrined in the Constitution" and that religious life harmonizes with material and intellectual life; far from being harmful to "Young China," it was exactly what members lacked. Yun Daiying responded to Tian Han, admitting that the Review Department’s attitude toward believers was too arbitrary and the proposal should be rescinded, but simultaneously pointed out that "religion is, after all, somewhat superstitious" and not worthy of being a spiritual anchor.
At the end of 1920, the Young China Association invited famous scholars to lecture on religious issues, compiling 27 transcripts and articles into three "Religious Issue Special Issues" of the journal The Young China. Among them, Wang Xinggong, Li Shizeng, Li Huang, and Bertrand Russell held critical views, arguing that religion was anti-scientific, anti-human, intellectually confining, and an obstacle to evolution. They believed it was suitable only as an object of academic study and advocated for the replacement of religion with science and aesthetics. Meanwhile, Tian Han, Liang Shuming, and Zhou Zuoren affirmed the value of religion and opposed its abolition, emphasizing its irreplaceable role in emotion, literature, and idealism. Christianity bore the brunt of this discussion. The "crimes" and "evils" of religion listed by the participants were mostly derived from Christian doctrine or the actions of the Church.
On July 4, 1921, based on the principle of "opposing religion but recognizing that barring believers from the Association is unreasonable," the Young China Association voted to cancel the resolution prohibiting believers. Through these discussions, an anti-religious atmosphere formed within the Association; members were unwilling to introduce believers, and believers were unwilling to join. One could say that the religious issue discussions laid the groundwork for the critique of religion and served as a rehearsal for the Anti-Christian Movement.
(2) The Introduction of Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism to China
Since the beginning of the modern era, the Chinese people's understanding of imperialism has deepened. At the end of the 19th century, the concept of "imperialism" was introduced from Japan, and contemporary observers mostly held a "generalized xenophobia." During the First World War, when Japan forced the signing of the "Twenty-One Demands," the Chinese people gained a more direct sense of imperialist aggression. With the successive convening of the Paris Peace Conference and the Washington Conference, China became increasingly active on the international political stage, leading to a more profound and specific understanding of imperialism. In contrast, Soviet Russia’s two declarations to China—which proposed the abolition of all unequal treaties signed during the Tsarist era and the renunciation of various privileges—showed the Chinese the dawn of equality and solidarity for all humanity.
Anti-imperialism was the basic demand of the Anti-Christian Movement, and the anti-imperialist theory of modern China came from Soviet Russia. In June 1920, Lenin proposed the "Preliminary Draft Theses on the National and the Colonial Questions," bringing the national revolutionary forces of Eastern colonial and semi-colonial countries into the anti-imperialist camp. In June of the following year, in his written report to the Third Congress of the Communist International, Zhang Tailei used Lenin's theory of imperialism to analyze the situation of Chinese society. He pointed out that China was suffering "various miseries brought by Japanese imperialism" and that the task of the Communist Party was to develop the national movement against imperialism and "subordinate it to the communist movement of the Chinese proletariat." Around the time of the CPC’s founding, Lenin’s theory of imperialism had spread in small circles in China but had not yet attracted universal attention.
From January 21 to February 2, 1922, the Far East Congress was held in Moscow and Petrograd. There were four items on the agenda. First, Zinoviev delivered a report "On the International Situation and the Results of the Washington Conference," analyzing the international situation of imperialist aggression in Far Eastern countries after WWI and pointing out that the primary task was to carry out national-democratic revolutions against imperialism and feudalism. Second, representatives from Far Eastern countries introduced their domestic situations, with the Chinese representative reporting on British and Japanese imperialist aggression. Third, Safarov delivered a report titled "The Position of Communists on the National and Colonial Question and Their Cooperation with National Revolutionary Parties," systematically expounding Lenin's theory on colonial and national liberation and analyzing the nature, tasks, tactics, and future of national-democratic revolutions in Far Eastern countries. Fourth, the "Manifesto of the First Congress of the Communist and Revolutionary Organizations of the Far East" was passed, calling for "proletarians and oppressed nations of the world to unite" in the struggle for freedom, equality, and independence. During this time, the Young Communist International held the Far East Revolutionary Youth Congress, which pointed out that Christianity focused on preaching the spirit of submission and required the youth of all countries to struggle against the YMCA.
The Far East Congress was crucial in helping the CPC understand China’s national conditions. The "first task" after the CPC's founding was to "study the objective actual conditions of China" to obtain "the most appropriate practical solution to the problem." In March 1922, CPC representatives who attended the Far East Congress returned to China and relayed the revolutionary theory and situational analysis, allowing the CPC to clarify the revolutionary direction of anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism. While the intellectual world was still discussing the future of religion and its relationship with science and philosophy, Chinese communists had already identified Christianity as a tool used by capitalist countries for oppression and plunder and began to criticize it. Thus, the target of the Anti-Christian Movement was extended to the imperialist countries standing behind Christianity.
II. The Socialist Youth League Initiates the Anti-Christian Movement
Starting in August 1920, Youth Leagues were established in Shanghai, Beijing, Changsha, Wuhan, and Guangzhou under the leadership of early Communist organizations. However, these League organizations were merely loose groups "with a socialist tendency." Due to the complex beliefs of members, frequent personnel changes, and difficulties in raising funds, by around May 1921, most Youth Leagues were in a state of suspended work or de facto dissolution. In August, Zhang Tailei set about reorganizing the League according to instructions from the Young Communist International and the Central Bureau of the CPC. By November, local League organizations gradually resumed operations, with the "Shanghai organ acting on behalf of the central authority." The League’s purpose was defined as "the study of Marxism." At this time, the relationship between the Party and the League was close and the boundaries blurred; members overlapped, and work was not strictly differentiated. For the sake of secrecy, "many activities of the Party appeared in the name of the League." In early 1922, the news of the upcoming Christian conference ignited the topic of religion. The Youth League "published many anti-Christian periodicals and pamphlets... and held anti-Christian rallies in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou."
(1) The Shanghai Socialist Youth League Takes the Lead
The Shanghai Socialist Youth League was the first to establish an anti-Christian organization and initiate the movement. Early Communist Party and Youth League members conducted extensive theoretical exploration and propaganda, ensuring that the Anti-Christian Movement received broad support and unfolded nationwide. The Shanghai Socialist Youth League was founded on August 22, 1920, with Shi Cuntong, Shen Xuanlu, Chen Wangdao, Li Hanjun, Jin Jiafeng, Yuan Zhenying, Yu Xiusong, and Ye Tiandi as sponsors; Yu Xiusong served as secretary. The Shanghai League assisted in establishing League organizations elsewhere and functioned as a temporary central organ, being praised by the Young Communist International as "the best of the Chinese Youth Leagues."
In January 1922, the Far East Revolutionary Youth Congress passed the "Outline for the Chinese Youth Movement," requiring the Youth League to "now engage in a universal movement for freedom" and "attack those counter-revolutionary groups." The Shanghai League resolved to engage in practical revolutionary activities and initiated the Anti-Christian Movement. On February 26, 1922, several Shanghai students met and decided to establish the Anti-Christian Student Federation. On March 4, they met again to agree on the Federation’s charter, elect an executive committee, and announce the formal establishment of the Federation, marking the start of the movement.
On March 15 of that year, the League's organ The Pioneer [6] published the "Manifesto," "Circular Telegram," and "Charter" of the Anti-Christian Student Federation for the first time. The "Circular Telegram" called Christianity the "precursor of colonization" and called on students nationwide to boycott the Christian conference "summarily assembled in the capital of our weak nation," with the aim to "forever purify our youth and educational circles." That issue of The Pioneer also published Chen Duxiu’s "Christianity and the Christian Church," Xu Baihao’s "Christianity and World Reconstruction," and Luo Qiyuan’s "Christianity and Communism." These articles pointed out that Christianity and the Church were "demons" helping the bourgeoisie to oppress and plunder the proletariat; that the Christian conference was a "robbery meeting of world capitalism... to insult our youth, deceive our people, and plunder our economy"; and that Christian missionaries were the "vanguard" of imperialist aggression against China, with intellectuals serving the Church as "guides" and "running dogs." They called for the "proletarians of all nations to unite" against the "capitalist plunder" behind Christianity. These discourses possessed distinct Leninist characteristics, and their judgments on Christianity were largely adopted from the Far East Revolutionary Youth Congress, marking the first time early CPC and Youth League members applied Lenin’s theory of imperialism to recognize and analyze China's national conditions.
In March 1922, Dalin [7], a member of the Far Eastern Secretariat of the Communist International (Comintern), arrived in Shanghai to direct the construction of the Youth League. According to his memoirs, the League initiated the Anti-Christian Movement to "expose the pro-imperialist essence of the YMCA... the entirety of March and the first half of April were spent on the national student movement against Christianity," to the extent that it "delayed the preparatory work for convening the National Congress of the Socialist Youth League." [8] Dalin's statement is well-founded, as the League's Provisional Central Committee had originally intended to convene the National Congress on April 1, but later adjusted it to May 5 in accordance with actual conditions.
(2) The Immediate Response of the Beijing Socialist Youth League
The Beijing Socialist Youth League was the first to answer the call of the Shanghai League. Because Beijing was a gathering place for celebrities and a hub of complex ideological trends, the movement there deviated from League leadership and manifested as a non-religious movement guided by Enlightenment thought.
In November 1920, the Beijing League was established, initiated by over 40 people including Deng Zhongxia, Gao Junyu, He Mengxiong, Liu Renjing, Zhang Guotao, Luo Zhanglong, and Jin Jiafeng, with Gao Junyu serving as Secretary. The Beijing League performed significant work in launching labor movements, establishing remedial schools for workers, and assisting in the creation of League organizations in Tianjin and other northern cities. In May 1921, the Beijing League temporarily disbanded, and the organization resumed its work on November 26.
The non-religious movement in Beijing was a continuation of the debates on religion held by the Young China Association [9] in 1920. In December 1920, under the guidance of Li Dazhao, Xiao Zisheng and Luo Zhanglong organized the Non-Religious Alliance (Non-Zhongjiao Tongmeng) based on the Peking University Marxist Theory Research Society. They published a program, contacted faculty and students across schools, and organized public lectures. The Alliance opposed superstition, metaphysics, and feudal ideology, advocating for the liberation of thought and the promotion of people's rights (minquan), becoming the predecessor to the Great Anti-Religious Federation (Fei Zongjiao Da Tongmeng).
On March 11, 1922, at the request of Chen Duxiu, Jin Jiafeng contacted more than 80 people from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to initiate the "Beiping Great Anti-Religious Federation" in the name of the Beijing Socialist Youth League; Jin Jiafeng acted as the moderator and Xiao Zisheng as the executive secretary. Although the Federation was initiated by the Beijing Socialist Youth League, its participants went far beyond that group. At the end of the first "Circular Telegram" [10] issued by the Beijing Federation, Jin Jiafeng was the contact person, and signatories included Communists such as Li Dazhao and Zhang Guotao; Kuomintang members such as Cai Yuanpei and Li Shizeng; members of the Young China Association such as Wang Xinggong and Li Huang; and academic celebrities such as Wu Yu and Gao Yihan. The Young China Association also issued a responsive telegram, expressing "boundless joy" at the Federation's "clarion call to vow the destruction of the poison of superstition."
Compared to the Anti-Christian Movement in Shanghai, the Great Anti-Religious Federation movement in Beijing was more grand in scope, but it utilized Enlightenment thought as its theoretical tool in public propaganda. According to the memoirs of Fan Tiren, an executive of the Federation, the "Prospectus" was published at the first congress of the Federation on April 9, declaring: "In order to respect science, break superstition, enhance self-confidence, maintain national character, oppose imperialist aggression, and strive for self-strengthening and autonomy, we have decided to launch a non-religious movement," and "enumerated the various crimes committed by imperialism utilizing religion to invade our country." The Leninist flavor is quite strong in these texts, showing that Marxists within the Federation attempted to steer the movement toward an anti-imperialist path. However, on March 21, the Federation published a "Declaration" and a "Circular Telegram" stating that the Federation relied on "scientific truth" and "humanitarianism," criticizing religion for shackling thought, destroying truth, and causing wars. While opposing the "11th Conference of the World Student Christian Federation" and demanding the "cleansing of the poison of religion," they also specifically emphasized that the Federation only distinguished between "religious belief" and "non-belief" and was "unrelated to the functions of any political party." On April 1, the Federation published another telegram stating they "only act for science to triumph over religion," do not discuss social issues, and are even less "anti-foreign" or "extremist." Thus, due to the complex composition of its personnel and the fact that its scale had exceeded the control of the Communist Party and the Youth League, the movement did not follow an anti-imperialist trajectory.
(3) The Guangdong Socialist Youth League Actively Carries Out the Anti-Christian Movement
The Guangdong Socialist Youth League carried out the Anti-Christian Movement based on the experiences of Shanghai and Beijing, evolving step-by-step into a non-religious movement. The movement in Guangdong was also grand in scale, not only attracting the participation of youth and Kuomintang members from neighboring provinces but also engaging in direct confrontation with Christian forces.
In August 1920, Tan Pingshan, Chen Gongbo, and Tan Zhitang organized the Guangzhou Socialist Youth League. In November, the Guangzhou League merged with the "Mutual Aid Corps," an anarchist group, and was subsequently controlled by anarchists. In March 1921, the Mutual Aid Corps withdrew from the League, and shortly thereafter, the Guangzhou League declared its dissolution. In December, Tan Pingshan and Zhang Tailei resumed the activities of the Guangzhou League and prepared for the establishment of the Guangdong League. On March 14, 1922, the Guangdong League was formally established; it and the Guangdong Branch of the CPC were "essentially one set of personnel performing both Party and League work."
The Guangdong League led the Anti-Christian Movement from both propaganda and organizational perspectives. On one hand, it created a public opinion atmosphere against Christianity. On March 24, 1922, the Guangdong Qunbao (Guangdong Masses Daily), edited by Chen Gongbo, reprinted the "Declaration of the Anti-Christian Student Federation" and subsequently opened a "Pro-Anti-Christian Opinion" column, which published responses to the movement from various places, becoming an important propaganda front for the movement in Guangdong. The League's official publication, Youth Weekly, also joined in, publishing articles such as Zhang Qiuren's "What Kind of Thing is the YMCA?" and Guo Shouzhen's "The Proletariat and Christianity" to launch an offensive against the religion. The propaganda work also included criticizing the "Purity Movement." On April 3, the Guangzhou YMCA held a Purity Movement parade with the slogan "Petition to Abolish Prostitution," on a scale "unprecedented for past processions."
On the other hand, it organized Anti-Christian Student Federations and Non-Religious Federations at all levels. Students from the Guangdong Public Law and Political Science School were the first to respond to the "Beijing-Shanghai Alliance," forming a school-level Anti-Christian Student Federation in late March 1922 and actively networking with schools such as the Guangdong Higher Normal School and the Guangdong Provincial Women’s Junior Normal School. On April 4, Tan Pingshan and Ruan Xiaoxian initiated the Guangzhou Anti-Religious Alliance. In mid-April, the movement spread to counties such as Maoming, Xiangshan, Sanshui, and Kaiping. On April 16, the Guangdong Anti-Christian Student Federation was officially established with Shen Houpei as chairman; He Juefu drafted the "Articles of Association," and committee members were subsequently elected accordingly. Among the members, Shen Houpei, Lan Xiangkui, He Juefu, Ruan Xiaoxian, Zhou Qijian, Liu Ersong, and Liu Qinxi were all members of the Guangdong League. Shen and He were students at the Law and Political Science School and were highly active and popular during the movement. The Guangdong Anti-Christian Student Federation rapidly developed into the Guangdong Great Anti-Religious Federation. On April 21, the Police and Prison School on Guangta Street in Guangzhou held a meeting to prepare for a non-religious alliance, and the Guangdong Higher Normal School also sought to "link up with various schools in Guangzhou to organize a Guangdong Great Anti-Religious Federation," which resonated widely. Subsequently, a teacher from Fuzhou Middle School stated that "Christianity is the claw and tooth of imperialism" and is utterly hateful, but that religions like Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are "birds of a feather" with Christianity, "deluding people’s thoughts and hindering human evolution," and expressed a desire to "expand the Anti-Christian Student Federation into a Non-Religious Federation." On May 17, League members He Shouying and Guo Shouhua convened various groups to establish the Guangdong Great Anti-Religious Federation at the Law and Political Science School. The Federation took advantage of mass gatherings such as the Universal Suffrage Movement and the anniversary of the Huanghuagang Uprising [11] to distribute leaflets and give public speeches, expanding the influence of the movement.
The movement in Guangdong attracted the attention of the Comintern. On May 20, 1922, Lijin, the Comintern representative in Guangdong, reported to the Far Eastern Department of the Comintern Executive Committee on the recent work of the "Chinese Communist organizations." The report noted that the Anti-Christian Movement was the largest propaganda activity of the past half-year, and that the CPC and the Youth League were the fundamental forces of the movement, "providing practical leadership" and "breaking up" the Christian conference. It should be noted that Lijin's report was not entirely accurate. What was broken up by the movement was not the Christian conference itself, but a parade organized by Guangzhou missionary schools to promote the conference; the activity was cancelled "out of fear of the non-believers' momentum."
Nationwide, between March and April 1922, students in Changsha, Nanjing, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Tangshan, Baoding, and Taiyuan also established Anti-Christian or Non-Religious Federations. Although social celebrities, school teachers, and workers participated, the members were primarily young students. Given the blurred boundaries between the CPC and the Youth League in the early 1920s and the League’s massive influence among students, it can be argued that it was the local League branches that launched the Anti-Christian Movement, and through it, they consolidated and grew, preparing the ground for the establishment of the Socialist Youth League of China.
III. The Establishment of the Socialist Youth League of China
By around May 1922, 18 cities across the country had restored or newly established League organizations, with over 5,000 members. Facing such large-scale local organizations and the burgeoning Anti-Christian Movement, the Provisional Central Bureau could no longer meet the requirements for leading the national youth movement. It was necessary to convene a National Congress, adopt an official constitution, and organize a central body to build a "firmer foundation."
(1) The First National Congress of the Socialist Youth League of China
In March 1922, the Young Communist International representative Dalin came to China to work with Qu Qiubai (representing the CPC) and Zhang Tailei (representing the Youth League) to draft the program and constitution of the Socialist Youth League of China and prepare for the First National Congress. On May 5, the League's First National Congress convened in Guangzhou. Zhang Tailei presided over the opening ceremony, and 16 people, including Huang Bihun, Chen Duxiu, Zhang Guotao, Deng Zhongxia, and Dalin, delivered speeches. The following day, the congress began hearing reports and discussing proposals, concluding on the night of the 10th after electing the Central Executive Committee.
The Congress adopted the "Program of the Socialist Youth League of China," which analyzed China's national condition of suffering under "international capital oppression," clarified the League's aim to "struggle for the complete liberation of the proletariat," and expounded on the League's work policies in political, economic, and educational aspects, emphasizing that "to reach the goal of socialism, the proletariat and oppressed nations of the whole world must rise up together in revolution." The "Constitution of the Socialist Youth League of China" was passed, providing regulations for members, organization, discipline, meetings, reports, organs, funds, and official newspapers. Resolutions were passed regarding the "Improvement of the Living Conditions of Young Workers and Peasants," "Political Propaganda Movements," "Educational Movements," and "Relationships Between the Socialist Youth League of China and Various Chinese Organizations," making specific arrangements for the League's priorities. Finally, the Congress elected Shi Cuntong, Gao Junyu, Zhang Tailei, Cai Hesen, Yu Xiushong, Zhu Wushan, Ruan Yongzhao, and He Chang to form the first Central Executive Committee as the leading organ of the League, with Shi Cuntong serving as Secretary.
The First National Congress established a unified national organization for the League, marking the formal founding of the Socialist Youth League of China. From then on, the League established Marxism as its guiding ideology, truly shaking off the past state of ideological confusion within local organizations; it established a youth leadership core with a clear program, laying the organizational foundation for Chinese youth to play a role on the political stage.
(2) The Socialist Youth League’s Work Arrangements Regarding the Anti-Christian Movement
Between April and May 1922, the Anti-Christian Movement reached its peak. Newspapers such as Chenbao (Morning Post), Minguo Ribao (Republic Daily), L'Impartial (Ta Kung Pao), The China Times, and Shanghai Journal (Shun Pao) frequently published opinions criticizing Christianity. Various Christian denominations counter-attacked or reflected through journals such as The True Light, Life, and Youth Progress. Under these circumstances, the Youth League attempted to lead and expand the Anti-Christian Movement.
The Youth League actively sought leadership over various non-religious organizations. In the "Resolution on Relations with Various Chinese Groups," the Youth League established specific regulations regarding the attitude it should maintain in interactions with other social groups. First and foremost were the "Young Men's Christian Association" (YMCA) and "Anti-Christian and Non-Religious Groups." Regarding the former, the Youth League adopted a dual strategy of both struggle and co-optation. On the one hand, it adopted the perspective of the Congress of the Revolutionary Youth of the Far East [12], maintaining that the YMCA combined with Chinese bureaucratic forces to entice youth and "infect the ignorant with the poison of capitalism"; thus, it was necessary to "publicize and expose its crimes... and unmask its goals and intentions." At the same time, having experienced the intellectual collisions of the Anti-Christian Movement, the Youth League acknowledged the role of the church in promoting compulsory education and conducting charitable work, stating that they "should make use of it." Regarding the latter groups, the Youth League pointed out that Christianity was "the most powerful tool of imperialism," and therefore "what the anti-Christian groups are doing is exactly what we wish to do"; religion was something that "always combines with old forces" to shackle thought, whereas non-religious groups denied the value and meaning of all religious existence, helping youth attain freedom of thought and identify with the revolution. Therefore, they should do their best to assist anti-Christian and non-religious groups, establish League organizations within them, and strive to "attain a leading position." However, the Youth League did not seize the momentum to establish a national-level anti-Christian or non-religious federation; the Anti-Christian Movement in various locales continued to operate in a scattered and relatively independent manner.
The Youth League attempted to expand the influence of the Anti-Christian Movement into other fields. First was national education. The "Resolution on the Education Movement" pointed out that "the Chinese educational world is now permeated everywhere by the power of Christianity, which imprisons the thoughts of the youth." Consequently, it was necessary to expose the "mask of threats and inducements" of mission schools and exclude them from the educational sector. This proposition was not implemented immediately at the time. By 1924, the Anti-Christian Movement erupted again in the form of the "Movement to Recover Educational Rights," exhibiting a more distinct and direct anti-imperialist character; it lasted for nearly a year and achieved significant results in "excluding mission schools." Second was the labor movement. On April 17 and May 20, 1922, the Japanese-owned Rihua Cotton Mill in Pudong, Shanghai, saw two consecutive strike movements. Youth League organizations mobilized Shanghai students to establish strike economic support committees to console and encourage the workers. On May 24, the Central Executive Committee of the League published the "Appeal to All Circles and Groups Nationwide to Aid the Textile Workers of Pudong, Shanghai," noting that among the more than 4,000 workers on strike against capitalist oppression, over 2,000 were Catholics. They reminded those in the non-religious alliances that they must not only liberate themselves from religion but also liberate these "men and women deluded by religion," allowing them also to "become anti-religious believers." However, by this time, the tide of the labor movement had fully captured the attention of young students; opposing capitalist oppression became the primary task. Once the religious veil was pulled back, mere criticism of religion could no longer reflect the social demands of the time.
IV. Conclusion
From April 4 to 9, 1922, the World Student Christian Federation conference was held as scheduled; the immediate goal of the Anti-Christian Movement failed to materialize. Between May and June, the First Zhili-Fengtian War [13] broke out, and the Beijing Government was reorganized. New issues championed by Li Yuanhong, such as the "abolition of military governorships and troop reduction" [14], became the focus of public attention, and the voice of discussion regarding religious issues gradually faded. By June, various schools began summer vacation early, and many students left school to return home; the main force of the Anti-Christian Movement was lost. Thus, the Anti-Christian Movement came to a temporary close.
The formation and development of the Anti-Christian Movement were closely related to the Youth League. Local League branches organized the initiation of the movement and attracted various social strata to join, forming a social movement with broad nationwide influence. Although the Anti-Christian Movement "bloomed everywhere," it was not in lockstep, and the Youth League failed to achieve unified leadership over it. Differences in political environments and cultural customs across regions gave the movement unique characteristics in terms of organizational form and propaganda methods in different areas. After its First National Congress, the Youth League attempted to expand and lead this movement, but changes in the situation caused this plan to fall through temporarily.
The Anti-Christian Movement served as the practical background for the founding of the Socialist Youth League of China and possesses significant historical meaning. It continued the trajectory of the New Culture Movement, spread Marxism-Leninism, and expanded the League’s influence among the student population. Through the movement, the Youth League tempered its early members, enhanced organizational cohesion, and announced its establishment amidst the heat of the struggle. Furthermore, the organizational forms, methods of struggle, and even the name of the movement adopted during the Anti-Christian Movement did not vanish with the conclusion of its first stage. Two years later, with the realization of the first First United Front [15] and the upsurge of nationalism, the Anti-Christian Movement rose again. The Communist Party of China moved from behind the scenes to the forefront, achieving leadership over the movement through the form of a national united front.