[Marxism] Re Religion and Opium

[Ilyenkova@xxxxxxx]

Leon Trotsky writes: 
>Ilyenkova said "The proof of atheism lies in the future society where the 
conditions which require illusions(in 1844) have been abolished and replaced 
byconditions which empower human beings to realize the powers they've always 
possessed in producing their
lives, but which have been alienated and stolen from them in the epoch of 
class society."  So any opposition to religion and other reactionary 
ideas(sexism, racism, homophobia,...ect) has to be put on hold until after the 
revolution?<


By no means. We actively oppose those practices of institutionalized religion 
that abrogate democratic rights, like to abortion, or which attempt to 
violate the separation of church and state. What Marxists oughtn't do is rant 
about 
religion as such, or to require atheism for political affiliation. That 
stuff's the province of anarchists or intellectual atheists like the late 
Madelyn 
Murry O'Hare. Of course any Marxist organization will patiently explain the 
materialist opposition to religious belief in supernatural entities or an 
afterlife. Lenin's attitude on this was extremely flexible as shown by his 
attitude to 
strikes. He warned against a sectarian attitude towards those workers who 
were religious but who participated in strikes: "To preach atheism at such a 
time 
[i.e., during a strike] and in such circumstances, would only be playing into 
the hands of the church and the priests, who would desire nothing more than 
to have the workers participating in the strike movement divided in accordance 
with religious beliefs." ("On Religion", p 16)
As I wrote, Marx was an atheist to the bone, as was Trotsky, Lenin, Luxemburg 
etc. Historical materialism holds that in the final analysis changes in the 
mode of production determine the ideological systems-- whether juridical, 
philosophical or religious.  When socialism has been won we'll know if the 
early 
Marx's views on religion being a product of class society were correct. If 
people are still building churches, mosques and synagogues then we'll have to 
refine our view. I doubt it; but we don't have crystal balls. 
The importance of this question today can be seen in the sectarian atheism of 
groups like Lutte Ouvriere in France whose teacher comrades spearheaded the 
ban on head scarfs in schools, or the Sparts incessant "No to the Veil."  Also, 
many of the youth being attracted to Marxist politics today from the antiwar 
and social justice movements have religious beliefs-- either of the 
conventional sort, or the New Age Spirituality variety. It's critically 
important in 
winning these young people to Marxism that we make clear that we fight to unify 
all the oppressed and exploited across national, religious, racial and all 
other lines of division in the struggle against capitalism and for a socialist 
world. No one is turned away because she can't pass a litmus test on religion.
Ilyenkova



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