Having grown up in Nazi Germany in the 1930's and having been conscripted into the Hitler Youth, you'd think Pope Benedict would have a firmer grasp on the German history of that period. Yet his groundbreaking visit to the U.K began with a clear and stern warning that excluding religion from public life could lead to the "atheist extremism" of the Nazis and Soviet Russia.
It's not unexpected for any religious leader to try to steer people away from atheism. That's to be expected. But the notion that atheism had anything to do with the rise of the Nazis or Soviets is simply wrong.
In the case of the Soviets, the cause and effect is backwards. Atheism in the populace didn't open the door for Lenin. Rather, Lenin went to great lengths to stamp out religion in the populace. Karl Marx famously said, "Religion is the opium of the people." Marxism views religion as competition for political power, and hence wants it eliminated. Prior to the Bolshevik Revolution, the Russian Orthodox church was a wealthy and influential organization. It was a force to be reckoned with, and Lenin treated it as such. Religion was deemed unconstitutional and churches were confiscated or destroyed. Atheism didn't give rise to the Soviets. The Soviets gave rise to atheism—by force.
As for the Nazis, the notion they were atheists seems a more recent invention, although not one unique to Pope Benedict. In reality, Hitler and the Nazis masterfully used Christianity to fuel their rise to power.
In 1933 Hitler stated, "The National Government... regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life." Biographer Ian Kershaw wrote that Hitler used his "ability to simulate, even to potentially critical Church leaders, an image of a leader keen to uphold and protect Christianity." Eventually, Hitler even began to view himself as a spiritual icon. He stated, “We are not a movement, rather we are a religion. I’m going to become a religious figure.”
Granted, Hitler wasn't adhering to the teachings of the Catholic church or any other Christian denomination. Instead, he was using Christianity as a tool to manipulate the German people. Even to the point of rationalizing that in exterminating the Jews he was the avenging hand of God, seeking retribution for the death of Jesus. In that light, it's understandable that Christians now want to distance themselves from Nazi spirituality, but that hardly makes the Nazis atheists.
It's fair and reasonable for Pope Benedict to caution against atheism... or Hinduism, Buddhism, and Lutheranism for that matter. He is, after all, the Pope. But atheists are responsible for Soviets and Nazis like puddles and dancing (respectively) are responsible for rain.
Comments
Apparently the Pope recently tried to imply atheism was partly responsible for the rise of Nazism in Germany. Sorry, sir, take off your expensive hat and put on your thinking cap. One could write volumes making the case the type of thinking that often accompanies organized religion was partly responsible for the rise of Nazism.
The brand of Catholicism practiced in Germany before the Word Wars often lead to severe beating of children; guilt about most natural urges and drives; the willingness to submit blindly to "authorities" and the search for a "Messiah" with all the answers. The Catholic Church was often responsible for disgusting anti-Jewish propaganda. If it didn't publish it, it often tolerated it. (They worship a Jew. How could they hate Jews???)
Let me be brief:
I have no problem with religion as long as its practitioners don't try to
harm nonbelievers or force others to think their way. I have no problem with Catholic laypeople. There are great people from all religions.
Do I think the Pope is God's representative on Earth? If so, God must condone sheltering pedophiles and hate children, women, and sex. It's ludicrous to believe celibate men are closer to God than those who marry and procreate.
The Pope's statement was so absurd it's not worth debating so I'll stop.
Sorry. That should be "World" Wars.
Sorry. That should be "World" Wars.
Unfortunately horrific behavior , although it may overlap with religious beliefs is a common attribute of humanity ranging from the religious to atheists. We tend to find that when one group or another gets into political power, that is when the worst offenses occur, presumably because political power makes it possible to do what you want. Catholics were pretty bad in the Middle Ages and before the reformation and the Spanish did some quite horrific things to native American Indians in the name of the Church, although fortunately have had little political power since then. Atheists have shown their colors in the wonderful Communist countries, and Protestants have almost single handedly been responsible for most of the racism and outrageous treatment of black people in the US. Were are also all familiar with the fact that the Muslims are now claiming its their turn. And while the Jews were treated horrifically by Stalin and Hitler, it didn't take them long to start bombing the crap out of the Palestinians once they established a vestige of political power in the Middle East. The dictates of a persons ideology probably provide the underlying justification, but the root cause lies deep in the human psyche and political power lets it all come flooding out.
well said...
The Pope should try to explain why German Atheists were the first to rounded up and executed by the Nazis if Nazism equals Atheism. Wouldn't that be group suicide?
The reality though is the Pope is trying to shift blame from his and the Church's misdeeds.
If a CEO of have a charity based but secular organization had covered years of brutal child molestation that CEO would already be on death row.
Every organization, religion, and nation needs to call the Pope out on those abuses. And if countries are paying for him to visit they need to stop.
Pope Benedict is a Christian version of Amadinejad. They just want power and money.
Your comments are preposterous, Mr Roth. The two issues are completely separate, and for your information, the Nazis themselves frequently accused Catholic prelates in Germany of molesting youngsters - and the charges were no more true than Streicher's claims of Jews lasciviously molesting children. Obviously, you aren't very well read re this period in history. Please provide documentation that the Nazis' 'rounded up atheists,' or that atheism itself was illegal in Nazi Germany. It wasn't and no such legislation was ever introduced. Atheism wasn't encouraged, but it was not illegal either. Ergo, the Pope is not trying to 'shift the blame' for the Church's alleged misdeeds to atheists or anyone else. They are mutually exclusive. And the 'Church' did not abuse anyone - only rogue priests within the Church were guilty of these deplorable offenses, and their numbers are thankfully minuscule in comparison with the sexual abuse of youngsters that occurs on a daily basis in our secular schools. In truth, the liberals really don't give a damn whether priests molested these youngsters or not - their only objective is to attack religion - and Catholicism in particular - just as the Nazis and Bolsheviks did- using the same charges and rhetoric. The same people who attack the Church are the most vocal supports of the homosexual agenda as well as of abortion/infanticide upon demand, and euthanasia as well as according homosexuals the legal 'right' to adopt children, so their condemnation of the Church isn't even worth considering. Even the Nazis did not attempt to legalize abortion on demand or euthanasia in Germany, so in this respect, the liberals are far worse than they. If I were you, I would start worrying about the on-going problem of sexual abuse in public schools, among rabbis, prominent protestant ministers, etc., rather than focusing all your malignant energy upon the Pope and Catholicism. Your attempt to compare Pope Benedict with President Amadinejad is reprehensible, as is your claim that the Pope is only interested in 'money and power.' Quite obviously, he 'isn't,' - What you object to, in my opinion, is the Pope's stand on MORAL issues - and although it must be painful for you to read this, he is right.,
To Anonymous "In truth, the liberals really don't give a damn whether priests molested these youngsters or not - their only objective is to attack religion - and Catholicism in particular - just as the Nazis and Bolsheviks did- using the same charges and rhetoric. The same people who attack the Church are the most vocal supports of the homosexual agenda as well as of abortion/infanticide upon demand, and euthanasia as well as according homosexuals the legal 'right' to adopt children, so their condemnation of the Church isn't even worth considering."
I'm having trouble deciding if you are a Christian with this reply. Sounds like you might think you are, but with the rude way of responding, I'm having trouble seeing how that fits with Christian behaviors. And that's what you should be worry about more than responding, is how to behave in a Christian way when speaking to others, if you do self-identify as Christian.
Fact: the belt buckle issued to the German soldier in WW2 bore the inscription: Gott Mit Uns, God Is With Us. Hardly the sort of thing that an atheist army would wear into battle..
With all due respect, the suggestion that Hitler "exterminated Jews to avenge the crucifixion of Jesus" is absurd. Nowhere in the vast literature and documentation associated with the period will one find any such justification specifically raised by Hitler, with the sole exception of one obscure passage from Mein Kampf, cited above, where he claims he is doing the work of God by resisting the machinations of Jews. The passage may be taken for what it is - an example of emotional rhetoric and hyperbole. Since Hitler never specifically referred to a program to exterminate Jews or anyone else, the attempt to ascribe this justification to him falls flat on its face. Although raised in the Catholic faith, Hitler did not remain a practicing Catholic, unlike General Franco of Spain, who remained a practicing Catholic until the day of his death. Hitler, in his capacity as supreme leader of the German Reich, only occasionally attended weddings and funerals as a formality and because protocol demanded it. This practice ceased after the onset of the war. Although he continued to celebrate Christmas, he declined to attend any religious services. In his privately recorded conversations with his cronies, Hitler was often highly critical of the Church and of St. Paul in particular, but he was astute enough to realize that he dare not openly assail the Church for fear of public disapproval and/or condemnation. His self-image as Germany's leader was carefully cultivated, and Hitler was very sensitive to public opinion. Nevertheless, a number of high ranking Nazis were rabidly anti-Christian - i.e., men such as Josef Goebbels, Martin Bormann, Julius Streicher and Alfred Rosenberg. Furthermore, the Catholic Church and its clergy were harshly ridiculed and vilified in a number of Nazi publications, such as "Der Stuermer," published by Streicher's 'Stuermer Verlag,' and "Das Schwarze Korps," which was the leading newspaper of the S.S.
excerpt from a well known source with a slightly contrasting point of view:
The Nazi ideology was anti-Christian and particularly anti-Catholic.[citation needed] Catholicism was widely
suppressed in Nazi Germany from 1933 on. State measures started with sermons being supervised and grew to the
abduction of clerics, as well as laymen, to concentration camps. This was particularly true after the 1937
publication of Mit brennender Sorge. They also led the suppression of the Modern[clarification needed] chapters of the
Teutonic Knights despite using their history and imagery in Nazi propaganda.[citation needed]
Following the 1939 Occupation of Poland, the Roman Catholic Church was even more violently suppressed in Reichsgau
Wartheland and the General Government.[56] Churches were closed, with clergy deported, imprisoned, or killed,[56]
among them Maximilian Kolbe. Between 1939 and 1945, 2,935 members[57] of the Polish clergy (18%[58]) were killed in
concentration camps. In the city of Chełmno, for example, 48% of the Catholic clergy were killed.
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