• RedWizard [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    2 days ago

    I mean, you provide little context on what you mean here. However, Marx was pretty clear that the abolition of religion will come from the abolition of the conditions that create religion. Since religion is simply a reflection of the conditions of life under capitalism, or more accurately, a reflection of life where material needs are not fully met.

    Abolishing religion through “eradication” would undoubtedly create a whole cast of reactionary forces within the masses who simply reject the idea of being secularized in that way. Moreover, there is some evidence that official state atheism in the USSR failed to do what was intended. You cannot cast religion out of the minds of the masses by force. You have to remove the conditions under which the masses seek religion as a form of comfort and direction in what otherwise appears to be a heartless world. Religion across many capitalist countries has seen a sharp decline since the onset of the industrial revolution. However, countries with high fertility rates and lower levels of human development tend to be more religious. One could argue that the conditions of capitalism accelerate secularization and religiosity on imperial boundaries. In the imperial countries, secularization seems to continue at pace, while in the exploited countries, religion is still very much a part of everyday life. The USA, for example, has seen a large drop-off in those saying that “religion is an important part of their daily life”. It is not surprising to me that most of the countries on the left hand side of this scatter plot graph are either countries with a history of strong social democracies or are explicitly communist in nature, or former members of the USSR. It’s also not surprising to me that many countries on the right hand side of the map are countries heavily exploited by imperialist nations.

    People should be provided for in all realms of life. They should be provided meaningful work, food, shelter, medical care, child care, and more. They should be free to practice religion, and religious institutions should be free to operate so long as they are not acting in a counter-revolutionary way. Over time, people will find that religion isn’t offering them anything they need, since the needs of life are already being provided. I think Xinjiang is a prime example of what I mean here. The radical sects of that region were created by A) being propped up by western imperialist nations and B) the conditions under which people in that region lived. The way the CPC addressed this was through their material conditions, through education and economic stimulation. They didn’t address it through supressing their religion or religious rights.

  • shreditdude0@lemmygrad.ml
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    2 days ago

    Religion of the bourgeoisie, ruling class and oppressors will be swept away (not immediately, but with time, as old tendencies typically need to be “unlearned”) after their orders are deposed. Religion of the masses belonging to a society with a socialist/communist economic base would look far different than what humankind has experienced hitherto. Reactionary thought and tendencies will be actively combatted across many facets of social life, so there’s no doubt that those within religion, too, will be challenged and removed from the differing practices.

  • Comradeasaurus@lemmygrad.ml
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    2 days ago

    You can’t “eradicate” religion. Not only morally speaking but also practically speaking. The majority of the world is still religious and will continue to be until material conditions improve. You’re not going to get the group with the most revolutionary potential, the proletariat in the periphery, to sign on to a revolutionary program that wants to “eradicate” something they hold literally sacred.

  • Horse {they/them}@lemmygrad.ml
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    2 days ago

    other than putting some limits in place to prevent clergy having a dangerous degree of influence, suppression of religion tends to have the opposite of the desired effect
    it will wither away as the conditions for it disappear, no need to try to force the issue and have it blow up in your face


  • davel [he/him]@lemmygrad.ml
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    2 days ago

    I think most MLs and most AES states have similar takes on the matter. https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Religion

    Religion continues to exist long after socialism is constructed but is predicted to eventually disappear under communism. Attempts to forcibly suppress religion under socialism are ultra-leftist and counterrevolutionary.

    I’d say there are exceptions to be made, like Salafi jihadism in so-called “East Turkistan.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_China#Xinjiang

  • Ronin_5@lemmygrad.ml
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    2 days ago

    Religion tends to be the stronghold of reaction. And in that aspect, religion as an institution of control should be done away with. However, religion as an institution of worship should remain.

    While the ultimate goal is freedom from religion, there also needs to be freedom of religion.

    While I would recommend Marx’s answer to the Jewish question as a reference text, Anna Louise Strong’s “the first time in history” has a section regarding what the soviets did with religious institutions which is much more comprehensive.

  • opiumfree@lemmygrad.ml
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    2 days ago

    i actually made a post about this on reddit about how removing religion through hard measures only brings suffering to 1 generation while the next benefit greatly from secularism and freedom from those beliefs

    • Orcinus@lemmygrad.ml
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      2 days ago

      Won’t be everyone in the generation, I sure as shit won’t suffer from that unless they take it out on me.

      • opiumfree@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 days ago

        exactly, our western friends are careful about this but im of the opinion that you shouldnt go easy here