Abstract
Introduction. The article analyzes the process of bureaucratization of scientific atheistic activity in the Soviet Union in the second half of the twentieth century. Based on archival sources, the functions of the Soviet system of atheistic upbringing are revealed, as well as the main reasons for the ineffectiveness of the scientific atheistic project in the Soviet Union. Content. Based on various historical sources, the author proves the direct connection of ideological work with the development of the society stratification in the Soviet Union in the second half of the twentieth century. The article examines the functioning of party-state ideological institutions in the course of managing the Soviet society spiritual life. Using the example of the atheization of public consciousness, the protective role of Marxist-Leninist ideology in general and scientific atheistic propaganda in particular is explicated. The root causes of the ineffectiveness of atheistic activity in Soviet society are revealed. The development of the contradiction between the ideology of the CPSU and the policy of the Soviet state in the field of freedom of conscience is explained. The relationship between the loss of the ruling party political authority and the forced curtailment of the atheistic education system is proved. Conclusions. The formation and development of the atheistic upbringing system in the Soviet Union was caused not by an urgent social necessity, but by the desire of the party bureaucracy and its ideological apparatus to force the processes of secularization of public and individual consciousnesses. The voluntaristic formation of atheistic beliefs, out of connection with the actual laws of the development of religious consciousness, led to indifferentism, and in some cases to the open resistance of social communities that disagree with the spiritual dictates of power structures. The contradiction between the pragmatic tasks of public administration and the dogmas of party ideology was growing. Scientific atheism was a subsystem of the “scientific ideology” of Marxism-Leninism and performed a protective function of the interests of the ruling political elite of the “upper echelon” of the party-state bureaucracy. The formalization of the actions of the party apparatus to overcome religion led to the opposite result - the bureaucratization of scientific atheism and the loss of its effectiveness.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call