| The communism religion theory is a theory that it declares that communism is a kind of new religion by exaggerating the similar between communism and religion.It is a very important and very popular social ideological trend in the contemporary western.There are a large number of scholars advocate it.However,in our communist China,the academia’s response to this ideological trend is abnormal.Firstly,researchers of the communism religion theory are few.Secondly,all researchers of the communism religion theory negate this theory,and they all think that the communism religion theory has a sinister attempt to demonize the communism.Abnormal phenomena above reflect that our scholars are not confident on our road,theory,system and culture.Actually,not all communism religion theories have attempted to demonize communism.We should not turn a blind eye to this major western social ideological trend,and we should not deny it simply and crudely by dead embrace preconceived prejudice.We should take an attitude of seeking truth from the fact,so that we can study it completely,and on this basis we can revalue and criticize it.Of cause this can help us to enhance our "four great confidence".Because western academic circles have created a ’humanitarian young Marx’after economic and philosophical manuscripts of 1844 found in the 1930’s,the communism religion theory was created.This is our country academic circles subjective opinion to the background of the communism religion theory.In fact,the communism religion theory appeared as early as the end of the 19th century.Gustave Le Bon,Bertrand Russell and others have raised their communism religion theories long before the found of manuscript in 1844.It means that the communism religion theory has nothing to do with manuscript in 1844,In fact,the emergence of the communism religion theory is closely associated with the communist movement.It rose because communism had been a power,and it changed because of the change of communism forces.It is another misunderstanding in our country academic circles that the communism religion theory is equal to demonize communism.Between the First World War and the 1970’s,because socialist countries showed both great achievements and some disadvantages gradually in their constructions,the western scholars evaluate communism from different position.So the types of the communism religion theory were diversity.The communism religion theory can be divided into three types from their political stances.The first type is anti-communist.Its representative scholar is Russell.As an unrepentant atheist and a deadly enemy of the Marxism,he compared the communism to religion in order to demonize communism.The second type is support-communist.Its representative scholar is Arnold Joseph Toynbee.He always loves religion.He thought that communism was the fourth kind of Judaism.But he appreciated this ’new religion’.He believed it was helpful to the development of world economy,the unity of the spirit and the formation of world government.The third type is the purely academic.Its representative scholar is Paul Tillich,a theologian who was ’intoxicated for the god in all his life’.He recommended materialism and historical materialism of Marx objectively.On the other hand,he strongly criticized Stalinism.He said we should distinct Stalinism from the real Marxism.It is reasonable that we labeled Tillich’s communism religion theory as a pure academic.In any case,it doesn’t work on the logic if he was going to demonize communism,yet he labeled it as a religion-the love of his life.Several reasons account for the generation of the communism religion theory.Religion is a kind of very complicated cultural phenomenon,and there isn’t an authoritative definition of the religion in academic circles,so pan-religions appear.There are some similarities between communism and religion.It is because of the historical origin between communism and religion.There were some phenomena of dogmatic understanding of Marxism in the former Soviet Union and other socialist countries.In corresponding with reasons above,the communism religion theory has four characteristics,pan-religion,unprofessional,metaphysic and diversity of position and purpose.The communism religion theory is an inevitable result of pan-religion.All supporters of the communism religion theory are not religious scholars.It means that it is unprofessional,and it doesn’t get the agreement of the science of religion.The people of the communism religion theory see similarity between communism and religion,as well as the side of Marxist doctrine on the Stalin socialist model.But they don’t find the essential difference between religion and communism,and they don’t find the difference between the Stalin pattern and the true Marxism.There are some essential differences between communism and religion.Communism is not a religion.The essence of religion is worship of supernatural powers,and supernatural power cannot be falsified.While communism is a science,it is worship of the law of human social development.It is a science that can be proved by people’s practice.Religion lets people put their hopes on the supernatural power,and put their happiness in the afterlife or the heaven.However communism is based on the practice of contemporary people.It emphasizes the creation of a happy contemporary life.Communist ideas,such as public property,no exploitation,all labor,have been appeared since the ancient time.Man is social animal,and human always has the dream to live in collective life.The early Christian just only inherited and developed these thoughts.The utopian socialism and the scientific socialism inherited and developed them orderly.Both Christian and communism are the fruits of human civilization.They are results of inheritance and development of human civilization.Thus it was no accident that there were some similars between communist ideology and Christian.This is not the evidence of the ’communism religion’.It is in vain whatever they exerted to compare communism and religion.It is impossible to get religious scholars agreements that communism is a religion.The socialist countries such as the former Soviet Union had some appearance of religion,such as dogmatism,idolatry,etc.,but these were because of misunderstanding of Marxism.Stalin model was a deviation from the true Marxism.Since the reform and opening up,China has made remarkable achievements in the world.Marxism is not a religion,but a science.It is a guide to progress and liberation of mankind.Not all communism religion theories have attempts to demonize communism,but no matter what types of communism religion theories,no matter what purposes,to compare communism that derived from the law of the scientific theory from the social development to a religion that established on the basis of imagination,are all wrong and harmful.To sum up,if we want to get the right understanding of communism religion theory,we should adhere to ideology and academic research unity,history and reality unity,truth and value unity. |
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