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Was atheism responsible for Nazism and communism?
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For the past two thousand years, religion has been responsible, both directly and indirectly, for innumerable wars and atrocities. The Western mainstream dismisses the events as relics of more primitive times and assigns the blame on superstitious and misguided fanatics. While some of the more fundamentalist defend religion’s historical conduct, most condemn it and distance themselves from it. Apologetics are then quick to point out that unconscionable violence has not been the exclusive property of the religious. They charge that atheists and secularists carried out some of the most shocking of those atrocities. The most common examples are Hitler’s Third Reich and the various communist regimes. The question has been answered by prominent non-theist authors like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins, but I feel that it needs further elaboration.
The error of such thinking can most easily be seen in the case of Hitler. The fuhrer’s Catholic upbringing is known to most readers. Hitler eventually adopted the Lutheran view on the Catholic Church’s excesses and corruption. It would be somewhat unfair to paint the man as a Christian. Despite the multitude of references to god and higher powers in his speeches and writings, Hitler probably did not care much about religion. It would also be dishonest to turn a blind eye to the role Christianity played in the shaping of his ideology. Adolph Hitler was a great fan of Martin Luther. Luther, in addition to being a powerful force in the Reformation, was a rabid anti-Semite. But more importantly, one must understand the source of Hitler’s and Luther’s hatred for the Jewish people.
Europe has never been the most hospitable place for Jews. Anti-Jewish propaganda like Passion Plays (which partly inspired the modern Mel Gibson movie) was common place. European Christians generally accepted that the Jews were collectively responsible for the killing of Jesus. They were guilty of the most unforgivable sin of deicide. Consequently, rumors and accusations meant to portray Jewish people as inherently evil began to surface. Jews created The Plague. Jews tortured and murdered innocent Christians in secret rituals. Jews drank the blood of Christian children as a mockery of the Eucharist. Nazi policies were simply a continuation of the historical persecution of the Jewish people. An important factor separates Nazi Germany from the pogroms of old. Nazis believed in the supremacy of the so-called Aryan race. They considered the Germanic people to be the most favored by the gods. Unfortunately for the Jews, the Bible declares them God’s chosen. The Old Testament’s references to the Jews’ special status were known to almost everyone in the Western World. To the Nazis, that was unacceptable. There can only be one chosen people. For the Nazis to become the new supreme race, the old one must die. In the case of Hitler, Christianity, and not atheism, is to blame.
The case against communists is more compelling. Atheism is indeed an integral component of totalitarian socialism. I will not be discussing Mao and other Eastern dictators. The Eastern culture is very different from ours, and we cannot make informed conclusions unless we thoroughly analyze their political and religious culture and history. Stalin’s position is easier to understand from a Western perspective. Throughout his tyrannical reign, Stalin’s policies caused the death of up to 20-million people. Stalin was an atheist.
Unlike the atrocities of Medieval Europe that were committed in the name of religion, Stalin’s behavior was not done in the name of atheism. He did not starve his people because of his unrelenting skepticism, nor did he wage wars for the advancement of objective empiricism. Soviet atheism is an important part of the communist dogma. To be a communist, one’s loyalty must belong to the people and their party. All other affiliations, whether national, political, or ideological were distractions that would eventually lead to the destruction of the system. The tragic actions of the communists were in pursuit of blind and unrealistic dogma. They were committed by atheists, it’s true. But they were not carried out for atheism. In fact, communism resembles far more closely religious fanaticism than Western secular ideals.
Atheism is life without god. It does not require belief in any universal and unchangeable truths, and therefore will never compel their forceful enactment by its adherents. Religion, with its all-knowing god, is inherently a dividing force. As long as people believe in a vengeful and demanding god who works above and beyond human reason, religion will always be a potential tool for evil.
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