Religion under Lenin

Question 1

What is the Marxist perspective on religion?

Answer 1

Marx and Engels saw religion as a conservative force which prevented social change by creating false consciousness

Question 2

What is false consciousness?

Answer 2

A way of thinking that prevents a person from perceiving the true nature of their social or economic situation

Question 3

Marx religion quote

Answer 3

Religion is the opium of the people. It is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of our soulless conditions.

Question 4

What was Lenin’s view on religion?

Answer 4

Lenin and the Bolsheviks were atheists and viewed religion as a tool of the ruling class to oppress the working class

Question 5

Lenin introduced a series of decrees that defined the relationship of the government and religion - list the title of these decrees and their introduction date

Answer 5

The October 1917 Decree on Land

The January 1918 Decree Concerning Separation of Church and State, and of School and Church

The 1922 Soviet Constitution

Question 6

What was the October 1917 Decree on Land?

Answer 6

It gave peasants the right to seize land belonging to the Church

Question 7

What was the January 1918 Decree Concerning Separation of Church and State, and of School and Church?

Answer 7

The Church lost its privileged position in society. Church land, buildings and property were nationalised, state subsidies for the Church were ended, and religious education was banned in schools

Question 8

What did the 1922 Soviet Constitution guarantee?

Answer 8

It guaranteed freedom of conscience for all Soviet people

Question 9

Why is freedom of conscience important?

Answer 9

Freedom of conscience is important because it allows individuals to follow their own beliefs and values without interference - it fosters a diverse and tolerant society where people of different backgrounds and beliefs can coexist peacefully

It is also a fundamental human right recognized by many international human rights treaties and instruments

Question 10

How did Lenin compromise religious freedom?

Answer 10

In practice, religious freedom, which had been guaranteed after the February Revolution, was seriously compromised by Lenin’s measures

Although the right existed in law, Soviet courts lacked the power to force the government to obey the law or respect citizen’s legal rights

Question 11

In the first year of the revolution senior priests in the Orthodox Church were terrorised - provide examples of this.

Answer 11

In November 1917 Archpriest Ivan Kochurov was murdered outside Petrograd

In January 1918 Metropolitan Vladimir was tortured and shot in Kiev

Orthodox priests in Moscow were massacred in January following a Church decree excommunicating the Bolsheviks

Question 12

More extreme measures regarding religion were sanctioned in November 1918 - what was this and what did it lead to?

Answer 12

the Politburo issued a secret order to the Cheka sanctioning the mass execution of priests - within two years most of the most popular Orthodox priests had been killed

Question 13

Why were Roman Catholic Priests treated differently?

Answer 13

Roman Catholic Priests were treated differently because they had traditionally been a persecuted minority rather than part of the Church that backed the Tsar

Question 14

The new government used propaganda against the Church and seized Church property - how did these two policies operate together during the 1921 famine?

Answer 14

Soviet authorities seized Church assets to fund famine relief and blamed priests who resisted for sabotaging relief efforts

Question 15

Why were Communists less antagonistic towards Islam than Russian Orthodox Christianity?

Answer 15

There had been no official link between Islam and Tsarism

Question 16

How did Communist policy regarding religion change after the Civil War?

Answer 16

Mass executions, violence and deportations stopped. They were replaced by more subtle techniques

Question 17

What was one strategy used against the Orthodox Church after the Civil War?

Answer 17

One strategy used against the Orthodox Church was the establishment of the Living Church

Question 18

What was the Living Church?

Answer 18

The Living Church claimed to be a reformed version of the old Orthodox Church in which a decentralised structure was introduced and ordinary people had power

The Living Church introduced significant chances to the Orthodox Liturgy and practices - such as allowing clergy to marry and replacing icons with photographs of Soviet leaders

Question 19

Why did the Living Church fail?

Answer 19

Lack of popular support

The Living Church was not widely accepted by the majority of Orthodox Christians in Russia, who viewed it as a tool of the Soviet government and a departure from traditional Orthodox practices

Question 20

During the 1920s Soviet authorities initiated campaigns against Islamic groups - why was this the case?

Answer 20

They claimed that Islam encouraged ‘crimes based on custom’, particularly those infringing women’s rights

Secondly, they recognised that Islamic organisations had the loyalty of many people in the Caucasus and Central Asia, and therefore they wanted to destroy the religion in order to extend their own power

Question 21

In order to weaken Islam, what did the Soviet authorities do?

Answer 21

Closed Mosques, turning them into sports clubs or storage depots

Discouraged pilgrimages

Attacked Islamic shrines

Started campaigns against women wearing the chador, a traditional form of dress which sometimes included a veil

Opened anti-Islamic museums in the midst of recognised holy places