The Socialist Way of Life

Abstract

This chapter examines how the Soviet Communist Party sought to cultivate a socialist way of life in order to overcome ideological indifference and develop atheist conviction, especially among the youth. Using the social sciences and the results of sociological research, the Soviet Communist Party identified a particularly worrisome trend: young people's growing indifference to religion and atheism. The chapter first considers how the party shifted the focus of atheist work to the production of the socialist way of life as a spiritual project before discussing the creative intelligentsia's god-seeking. It then explores the ways that the party tried to address Soviet society's growing interest in spiritual culture, the spiritual consumerism and indifference of Soviet youth, and the debate over the role of atheism in the greater project of building Soviet Communism. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the return of religion to public life and its implications.