Anti-religious Propaganda Research Articles

Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study of Mass Persuasion.David E. Powell

<i>Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study of Mass Persuasion.</i>David E. Powell

D. E. Powell, Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union. A study of Mass Persuasion. Cambridge, Mass. – London, The MIT Press, 1975. 23 × 15, 206 p., £ 18,70.

D. E. Powell, Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union. A study of Mass Persuasion. Cambridge, Mass. – London, The MIT Press, 1975. 23 × 15, 206 p., £ 18,70.

Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study of Mass Persuasion

Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study of Mass Persuasion

Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study of Mass Persuasion

Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study of Mass Persuasion

Leadership of antireligious propaganda in the Soviet Union

Re-emergent scientific atheism bears the marks of its historical origins in the efforts of Bonc-Bruevic and Jaroslavskij. The disciples of the ‘Lenin generation’ use their ‘fathers’ somewhat as ‘second-level classics’.

The Effectiveness of Soviet Anti-Religious Propaganda

If the problem of determining the effect of specific types of propaganda on public opinion is difficult under the best conditions, it is almost impossible in a country like the Soviet Union, where the gauging of public opinion is in a rudimentary state. Nevertheless, Professor Powell gives a thoughtful and comprehensive analysis of the many aspects that condition the effectiveness of Soviet anti-religious propaganda. David Powell is Assistant Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland. Q VER THE COURSE of nearly half a century, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has endeavored to undermine the religious ties and inclinations of its citizens. Repressive actions against church officials, the introduction of laws limiting church power and religious proselytism, and the dissemination of atheist propaganda have all been aimed at diminishing the scope and relevance of religion in the U.S.S.R. It is not possible to gauge precisely how successful the regime has been in its efforts, nor is it possible to isolate the relative importance of propaganda in the over-all drive to create an atheist society. What we will do here is outline the principal strengths and weaknesses of anti-religious propaganda. Then, applying to the U.S.S.R. Western findings on opinion formation and opinion change, we will try to assess the effectiveness of Soviet propaganda. The question of how effective the Party has been in its effort to eliminate religion is clouded by uncertainty. No official statistics on church membership are published by Soviet authorities; indeed, the last official survey of religious belief was never published, apparently because it revealed the presence of too many believers.' Many of the available data are selective and ambiguous, for they are designed to be inspirational as well as informative. Refugee accounts and the observations of Westerners who visit the Soviet Union are not wholly reliable either, for they depend on isolated, superficial and perhaps unrepresentative experiences. Nevertheless, that religious belief is less widespread today than it was before the Bolshevik Revolution cannot be denied.2 No one source has yet revealed how many believers

De-Stalinization and Religion in the U.S.S.R.

In a seeming paradox, the Kremlin's de-Stalinization campaign of the past decade has been accompanied by the gradual withdrawal of the war-time concessions granted to organized religion in the Soviet Union and a marked reintensification of militant anti-religious propaganda. Officially rationalized at first as a reaction against the churches' violations of the Soviet legislation on religious cults,1 the new line was given a new interpretation after the 1961 Party Congress as the liquidation of the harmful consequences of the cult of Stalin's personality in the realm of church-state relations. In 1962, the anti-religious monthly, Science and Religion, accused the late dictator of having violated the Leninist line on religion:

Freedom of Conscience and Observance of the Laws on Religious Denominations

Freedom of conscience is one of the most important democratic institutions in the Soviet state. The basic content of that institution lies in the citizen's right not to profess any religion or to profess any religion whatever; the freedom to perform religious rites to the degree that this does not involve disturbance of public order and does not infringe upon the personal rights, honor and dignity of citizens; and the freedom to carry on antireligious propaganda in ways that do not offend the religious sentiments of believers.

Problems of Atheistic Education in the Works of N. K. Krupskaya

Problems of antireligious propaganda, the fostering of militant atheism hold a paramount place in the educational heritage of N. K. Krupskaya. Her treatment of these problems is profound, versatile and concrete.

The Constitutional and Legal Status of Religion in Public Education

The principle of separation of church and state in America makes impossible the direct teaching of religion in public schools. By implication anti-religious propaganda is also excluded. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 declares that religion is to be encouraged. The common law back of the Constitution recognizes Christianity as a part of the law of the land. This has been expressly stated in a Pennsylvania court decision. Legislation prohibiting teaching contrary to Christianity is thus probably constitutional. The difficulty of such legislation will lie in the definition of terms and the administration of the law.