Atheism and authoritarianism

Joseph Stalin's atheistic regime killed tens of millions of people. See: Atheism and mass murder

There is a significant correlation between authoritarian regimes with state atheism and the spread of atheism.

According to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."[1]

Atheism is a core tenet of militant communist ideology (see: Atheism and communism). In 1955, Chinese communist leader Zhou Enlai declared, "We Communists are atheists".[2]

## Contents

* 1 State atheism and authoritarian, repressive regimes
* 2 Atheistic Soviet Union and authoritarianism
* 3 Atheist controlled mainland China and authoritarianism
* 4 Atheistic communism and cults of personality
* 4.1 Chinese atheist cults: Xi Jinping and Mao
* 4.2 North Korean atheist cults: Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung
* 4.3 Soviet Union atheist cult: Joseph Stalin
* 5 Atheist deification of politics
* 6 Protestantism and its contribution to democratic/free countries
* 7 See also
* 8 References

## State atheism and authoritarian, repressive regimes[edit]

See also: State atheism

Today, and in the recent past, several nations have mandated state atheism, including the governments of the Soviet Union,[3][4] Albania,[5][6][7] China,[8][9] North Korea,[9][10], Vietnam[11] and Cuba.[9][12]

Historically, state atheism has been extremely repressive (see: Atheism and mass murder and Atheistic communism and torture).

In addition, atheistic regimes have employed indoctrination and pseudoscience to promote their ideology (Atheist indoctrination and Atheism and science and Atheism and the rejection of science).

## Atheistic Soviet Union and authoritarianism[edit]

As noted above, according to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."[1]

The former Soviet Union had state atheism.

## Atheist controlled mainland China and authoritarianism[edit]

See also: China and atheism

China has the largest atheist population in the world.[13]

China has the world's largest atheist population and practices state atheism.[14][15]

East Asia contains about 25 percent of the world’s population. China’s population represents 20 percent of the people on earth.[16]

Razib Khan points out in Discover Magazine, "most secular nations in the world are those of East Asia, in particular what are often termed “Confucian societies.” It is likely therefore that the majority of the world’s atheists are actually East Asian."[17] See: Asian atheism and Global atheism

On November 1, 2014, an article in The Economist entitled Cracks in the atheist edifice declared about the growth of Christianity in China:

“  |  Officials are untroubled by the clash between the city’s famously freewheeling capitalism and the Communist Party’s ideology, yet still see religion and its symbols as affronts to the party’s atheism...

Yang Fenggang of Purdue University, in Indiana, says the Christian church in China has grown by an average of 10% a year since 1980. He reckons that on current trends there will be 250m Christians by around 2030, making China’s Christian population the largest in the world. Mr. Yang says this speed of growth is similar to that seen in fourth-century Rome just before the conversion of Constantine, which paved the way for Christianity to become the religion of his empire.[18]

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The Telegraph reported on December 19, 2012:

“  |  The notice, apparently issued in May 2011 by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, suggests ongoing misgivings among senior leaders that religion, and in particular Christianity, poses a direct challenge to the ruling party.

Bob Fu, the founder of ChinaAid, the group which obtained and published the document, said the directive was proof China's central government was "directing a national crackdown against religious freedom especially targeting Christianity [in universities]".

Mr Fu claimed the document also indicated "panic" among Chinese intellectuals about the "rapid" growth of [China's] underground Christian population".

An official from the propaganda department of the State Council said they were unable to immediately comment on whether the document was genuine. But posts on the websites of several Chinese universities appear to confirm the leaked document's existence....

Yet despite government controls, the number of Christians in China has rocketed since the 1980s with many worshipping in illegal "house churches" which are subject to sporadic crackdowns. Some estimates suggest there are now as many as 130 million practicing Christians in China.[19]

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## Atheistic communism and cults of personality[edit]

See also: Atheist cults and Atheism and communism and Atheism and mass murder

Xi Jinping is the President of the People's Republic of China, current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China which requires that all their members be atheists.[20]

Historically, cults of personality surrounding communist, atheist leaders or thought leaders have been common such as Mao Zedong, Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, Joseph Stalin, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-un

Communist Party members were constantly working in the interests of the Soviet Union, and at the dictates of the Soviet Union, while lying to and manipulating their friends and co-workers about their motives. They misrepresented their political positions as independent radical opinions when in reality those positions were dictated from elsewhere.

### Chinese atheist cults: Xi Jinping and Mao[edit]

China has the largest atheist population and has state atheism(see: China and atheism).[21][22] In addition, it is likely that a majority of the global atheist population is East Asian (see: Asian atheism).[23]

Xi Jinping is the President of the People's Republic of China and current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. According to Foreign Policy Magazine, Xi Jinping has developed a cult of personality related to himself using songs of praise, videos, etc.[24]

Mao Zedong also had a cult of personality.[25] Mao's atheistic regime killed tens of millions of people (see: Atheism and mass murder).

### North Korean atheist cults: Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung[edit]

North Korea practices state atheism and belief in God is actively discouraged.[26]

Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung are examples of North Korean atheist dictators who have promulgated cults of personalities around themselves.[27]

### Soviet Union atheist cult: Joseph Stalin[edit]

Joseph Stalin had a cult of personality around himself.[28][29] Stalin's atheistic regime killed tens of millions of people (see: Atheism and mass murder).

## Atheist deification of politics[edit]

See: Atheist deification of politics

## Protestantism and its contribution to democratic/free countries[edit]

See: Protestant cultural legacies

## See also[edit]

* Militant atheism
* Atheism and politics
* Atheism and intolerance
* Atheism and dogmatism
* Atheism and culture
* Atheism and repressive prisons
* Atheism and human rights violations
* Atheism and its anti-civilizational effects
* Atheism and anarchism

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Investigating atheism: Marxism. University of Cambridge (2008). Retrieved on July 17, 2014. “The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.”
2. ↑ Noebel, David, The Battle for Truth, Harvest House, 2001.
3. ↑ Tʻinatʻin Bočorišvili, William Sweet, Daniel R. Ahern. Politics, ethics and challenges to democracy in 'new independent states'. Berghahn Books. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “During the past 150 years in Azerbaijan, Islam has experienced an ascendancy over the official Orthodoxy of the Russian Empire and, then, the state atheism of the Soviet Union.”
4. ↑ Russian postmodernism: new perspectives on post-Soviet culture. Berghahn Books. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “The seven decades of Soviet atheism, whether one calls it "mass atheism," "scientific atheism," "state atheism," was unquestionably a new phenomenon in world history.”
5. ↑ William B. Simons, Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. The Constitutions of the Communist World. Springer. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “Article 37. The State recognizes no religion and supports and carries out atheist propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialist world outlook in people.”
6. ↑ Robert Elsie. A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk culture. New York University Press. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “Article 37 of the Albanian constitution of 1976 stipulated, "The State recognizes no religion and supports and carries out atheist propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialist world outlook in people."”
7. ↑ Richard Felix Staar. Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe. The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “By 1976 all places of worship had been closed. However, the regime has had to admit that religion still maintains a following among Albanians. In order to suppress religious life, the following article has been included in the 1976 constitution: "The state recognizes no religion and supports and carries out atheistic propoganda to implant the scientific materialistic world outlook in people" (Article 37). In its antireligious moves, the regime has gone so far as to order persons to change their names if they are of a religious origin.”
8. ↑ China in the 21st century. Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “China is still officially an atheist country, but many religions are growing rapidly, including evangelical Christianity (estimates of how many Chinese have converted to some form of Protestantism range widely, but at least tens of millions have done so) and various hybrid sects that combine elements of traditional creeds and belief systems (Buddhism mixed with local folk cults, for example).”
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “Atheism continues to be the official position of the governments of China, North Korea and Cuba.”
10. ↑ World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “North Korea is officially an atheist state in which almost the entire population is nonreligious.”
11. ↑ Jan Dodd, Mark Lewis, Ron Emmons. The Rough Guide to Vietnam, Vol. 4, 2003. p. 509: "After 1975, the Marxist-Leninist government of reunified Vietnam declared the state atheist while theoretically allowing people the right to practice their religion under the constitution."
12. ↑ Freeing God's Children: The Unlikely Alliance for Global Human Rights. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. “Cuba is the only country in the Americas that has attempted to impose state atheism, and since the 1960s onward its jails have been filled with pastors and other believers.”
13. ↑
* Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)
* A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live, Washington Post By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013
14. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)
15. ↑ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live, Washington Post By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013
16. ↑ The Growth of Christianity in East Asia
17. ↑ Most atheists are not white & other non-fairy tales, Discover magazine
18. ↑ Cracks in the atheist edifice, The Economist, November 1, 2014
19. ↑ Chinese universities urged to fight back against foreign religion, The Telegraph, 2012
20. ↑ China’s Communist Party Reaffirms Marxism, Maoism, Atheism, New American, 2014
21. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)
22. ↑ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live, Washington Post By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013
23. ↑ Most atheists are not white & other non-fairy tales By Razib Khanm, Discover Magazine
24. ↑ Behind the Personality Cult of Xi Jinping, Foreign Policy Magazine
25. ↑ Behind the Personality Cult of Xi Jinping, Foreign Policy Magazine
26. ↑ Elizabeth Raum. North Korea. Series: Countries Around the World. Heinemann, 2012. ISBN 1432961330. p. 28: «North Korea is an atheist state. This means that people do not pray in public or attend places of worship. Buddhist temples exist from earlier times. They are now preserved as historic buildings, but they are not used for worship. A few Christian churches exist, but few people attend services. North Koreans do not celebrate religious holidays.»
27. ↑ Analysis: North Korea's bizarre personality cult and why it has worked – so far
28. ↑ Graeme Gill, "The Soviet Leader Cult: Reflections on the Structure of Leadership in the Soviet Union", British Journal of Political Science 10 (1980): 167.
29. ↑ Father of Nations at the Encyclopedic dictionary of catchy words and phrases.