The Communist Party warns Chinese Communists against professing a religion. It is dangerous for Communist Party members to join a religion; it is not “a private matter” since they are subject to the Party’s constitution, this according to a paper by the Communist Party Central Committee in Liaoning province designed to boost atheism.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – Some 20 million members of the Chinese Communist Party have joined various religions and this is a concern to its Stalinist stalwarts as evidenced in an internal paper in Liaoning province which has come into AsiaNews’ possession. Here is the full text: “In the last few years, in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities where not all the people were professing a religion some Communist Party members have become religious. This is a threat to building our party. It is bad behavior and a bad idea that influences and weakens the party’s purity.. We must fight it with vigor and determination.

The problem of Communists professing a religion should not be underestimated. It is necessary to reassert the Communist Party’s atheism. It is a fundamental need of the proletariat’s dialectical materialism.

Communists cannot use Article 46 of the constitution as a pretext to profess a religion. The article says that “citizens have religious freedom”. That is true, citizens have religious freedom, but that is for the average citizen, and although Communists are also citizens, they are not average citizens. They are members of the “vanguard of China’s working class”. Hence, every Communist must be subject to the Party’s constitution. No one can deny that religion is not an idea of the proletariat. How can a Party member be guilty of complicity [in this]?
 

[It is said that] religion draws people because it teaches good things. For instance, Buddhism is
against stealing, obscenities, lying. In the teaching of Christianity the focus is on work, love for one’s parents, and an injunction against harming others. Islam teaches to tell the truth, promotes good deeds, and condemns gambling and prostitution. But Marxism is not opposed to “good deeds”. On the contrary, recommendations to do “good deeds” are found in the texts and works of Marxism and the central government.

The “three disciplines and eight attentions” (san da ji lu, ba xiang zhu yi) are so deep that religious doctrines cannot reach their depth. Why can't we carry out propaganda that is superior to that of religion? If we look back at the history of Communists in the revolutionary war against feudalism and imperialism and during the period of peace and reconstruction we can extol once again the majesty of our ideological construction. Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Liaoning province.”
 

Members challenge Communist Party on religion

Internal debate about an anti-religion directive of the CP of Liaoning, reveals the profound dissent of those who maintain their right to belong to a religious faith, and who judge positively the effect religion has on people.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – The Party commands and its members challenge. This would seem to be the conclusion of the internal debate sparked by the dictate of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (CP) of Liaoning against the adherence of party members to a religious faith. AsiaNews has
come into possession of a series of internal interviews with government representatives, Party figures and others from state and private enterprises, and with simple members.

The document records the statements of the Party, followed by comments of members. There is a battle against the influence of opinions and actions which could diminish the purity of the Party. In this battle, the Party believes that religion is a serious problem, which cannot be ignored. Communist atheism and historical dialectical materialism should be emphasized.

Liu Fuan, one of the CP managers of a large state enterprise. I don’t believe in any religion and I have no interest in religion. But this document smacks of the past and does not correspond to the current Communist mentality. There are different opinions among the Communists: the improvement of the quality of Communists lies in education. But it is not about fighting against religions, as the document says. This is no longer the time to talk about class conflict.

Hu Zhong Heng, policeman. There are many Communists who behave badly. For example, even if the government arrests many corrupt people. From this, we can see how Communist education has failed. On the contrary, religious faith can give people great morality. Even as regards crimes and violence, members of some religion are never among those who commit them. If there were more believers among Communists, it
will be useful for the purity of Communism.

Wang Hui Wen, Party leader in a university. There are many universities which have set up
institutes for religious studies. The aim is to increase the level of morality and therefore the quality of life of the nation. Western civilization is very influenced by the Christian religion; we need to study it, to boost the advancement of Party members.

Yang Li Min, manager of a large state-owned enterprise. What I believe in my heart is a private matter. In our company, there are some workers who are believers, including Communists. When we talk in the committee, we are all agreed that this is a private thing and we should not intervene. Workers who are believers live up to our expectations from all points of view.

Li Li Jun, a woman, head engineer of a state-owned industry. What man thinks in the depths of his heart is a private matter and is defended by the law. Joining the party does not cause him to lose a fundamental right of every citizen. In the past, the Party obliged us to write reports about our way of thinking. I can say everything we wrote was false. What do you care about what there is in my heart?
 

Sun Jia Ping, worker. The time when they could use Marx and Lenin to scare others is over now. If you prevent others from believing, they will believe in secret. I am a Protestant Christian and I frequent an underground Church. There’s no need for the Party to expel me; if the section head was not my friend, I would have already left.
 

Among the Party members, there is the phenomenon of people who are believers. To resolve this problem, some university professors of sociology set up departments to study and resolve the problem. Already 10 years have gone by and, far from diminishing, the number of Communist believers has increased very much. I think the Party should face this reality: perhaps it’s better to give Party members the permission to be believers.

Xin Zhen Zhong, engineer. The Party has always wanted to control people’s thoughts, but it has always failed. You can order people not to speak, but you cannot prevent them from thinking. Believing in a religion is something linked to one’s thoughts. This problem cannot be solved through political means: the only consequence will be that members who are believers will turn to underground churches.

(Translation from Chinese by AsiaNews)