Did Stalin kill in the name of atheism?

Question

Ok, before you answer, read my extra details.

It is in my belief (pun) that Stalin killed in the name of paranoia, power and his dogmatic political party (communism). But as such I have little evidence to support my argument.

Can anyone find me a quote where Stalin states that he did ANYTHING in the atheism? Or can someone find me a quote which details why he did the things he did at all? (a quote explaining why he oppressed the Church would be nice)

Thank you and FSM bless you.

Azza xoxo

Answer 1

What planet is Buddy R living on?

The more atheists in a country the MORE rights people have. For example contrast Sweden or Denmark with Saudi Arabia.

Answer 2

Perhaps others kill in the name of paranoia, power and their dogmatic religious organization.  You treat atheism as a philosophy or way or life, while you treat Christianity as an organization.

Alternatively, one could say that paranoia, power and dogmatic politics are an outgrowth of atheism, so you really need to get out of this "kill in the name of" argument.

Answer 3

Stalin killed because he was power hungry and in order to beat the people into submission, he killed many people. If he killed in the name of anything, it was Communism. Atheism was just a result of being a Communist country.

Answer 4

Communism is an absolute ideology, so any form of religion would be seen as competition. This makes them atheists by default, but their overall system is more like a religion. Look at the way they even tried to hijack science (causing famine, etc.). I think communism further supports the argument against ideologies that do not yield to evidence. Associating them with atheism is simply guilt by association (a fallacy). Associating communists with the mindset of the religious is a much easier charge to make stick.

The motto "from each according to his ability, to each according to need" that is associated with communism comes out of the Catholic monasteries. A thoughtful, politically uncoerced atheist would not be a communist.  

Answer 5

How can a person have an atheist motive? It's not an organisation, and no two atheists are exactly alike.

God bless

[Brightness]

Answer 6

Communism of the period was nominally atheist not because the leaders believed that to be true, but because they found it to be a useful position from which to attack the existing Church's powers and influence.

Beyond that, Stalin did nothing in the "name of atheism", he did everything that he did in the name of pure and naked power... for himself and then for his political party.

Answer 7

Yes. Stalin was an athiest ruling an athiest country. All officially athiest countries suppress rights, including the freedom of religion.

Answer 8

1st. (For you, Central N.Y. Guy, and anyone else that didn’t know.) There is a form of communism called Christian Communism. Also, neither North Korea (Communist) or Cuba (Communist) is an atheistic country. So, any notion that "Atheism go's hand and hand with communism" or "is key to it's existence and growth" is fundamentally and historically inaccurate.

It is important to remember that the fundamentally speaking, communism is about everyone being on a level playing field. Everyone receives what they need and gives what they can. The idea being that the community of people comes before the individual but if all individuals are taken care of, then the community is doing well. Religion divides. Marxist and Maoist communism had less of an issue with the belief in a god or in Jesus, but had a serious issue with 'religion.' For centuries prior to the Communist government in Russia, the Church, that is the Russian Orthodox Church  had it's hands in all facets of Politics. By the time the Tsarist government fell in 1917, the Church was almost as powerful as the Tsar himself.  The Bolsheviks instituted a policy of separation of church and state, but the effects of the power the Church had mustered over the years was still felt in the political circles. When the communists took control of Russia, they knew that the only way to silence the church was to eradicate it. In communist thinking, the government IS the people and the people ARE the government, thus to separate the church and the government, the church had to be removed. That is what fueled the actions of Stalin and Mao as well. Yes, it is true that they were atheists. After all, atheism IS logical and understandable, and as far as I am concerned the only intelligent decision. But, it was not their personal theological beliefs or lack there of, that caused them to commit the actions they did.

That said, despite being an atheist and an antitheist, meaning that I believe theism in all it's forms is detrimental to humanity, I do NOT agree with the communist agenda or philosophy and I do most certainly do not agree with the actions taken by Stalin and Mao.

Here are a few quotes. They don’t necessarily show a lack of atheistic intent but it does show a more human side of Stalin.

"Anti-Semitism, as an extreme form of racial chauvinism, is the most dangerous vestige of cannibalism." Joseph Stalin - "Anti-Semitism: Reply to an Inquiry of the Jewish News Agency in the United States" (12 January 1931)]

"The writer is the engineer of the human soul." Said by Stalin at a meeting of fifty top Soviet writers at Maxim Gorky's house in Moscow (26 October 1932)

As a note, Steel Rain quoted "Death solves all problems — no man, no problem." This was NEVER said by Stalin. It actually comes from the novel Children of the Arbat by Anatoly Rybakov. Rybakov admitted that he made the quotation up.

I hope this helps.

~~

Answer 9

Well, he DID use to gulag Orthodox priests and other religious people just for being religious.

I know very well how atheism was promoted in USSR. Very well. And that's not just the physical violence. I'm talking about all sorts of propaganda (including movies and literature).

Answer 10

No.  He killed in the name of Power.  He killed in the name of Paranoia.  For dictators, that's what it's all about.

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Answer 11

Stalin killed because he was nuts. He used to cut out pictures of children and glue them on the walls and never sleep in the same bed twice. He had a general who's sole job was to sit at a desk near Stalin's office so that Stalin could pour out a bottle of ink and rub the guys face in it if he felt like it.

It's a fools errand to try to figure out why crazy people do crazy stuff. You can't reason out the unreasoning mind.  

Answer 12

I don't have any quotes but I do know that Stalin killed people that got in his way or held to much influence, such as Priests.

It should be worth noting that he killed off intellectuals with many undoubtedly being Atheist.

Answer 13

shouldn't his action speak louder then words?  Sometimes words are empty it is the actions that have meaning...  

Answer 14

The church was seen as competition for the state or communist philosophy. At the time the Catholic church was the religion that had been in place. It had wielded enormous influence and power over state and accrued vast wealth. This was in direct competition and a threat to communist policy. Many were killed as a result but not nearly as many who were victims of what are purely economic and political agendas that he held plotted to achieve consolidation of his power.

Answer 15

"You believe in a God! I'm going to kill you in the name of my lack of belief in gods!"

Somehow I doubt he said that.

Answer 16

Imagine that Buddy r not only lied, but he didn't read the question.

Switzerland is an atheist country and one of the most free.

Answer 17

Stalin killed in the name of Stalinism.

Answer 18

One example was the execution of all priests in Poland when he invaded in 1939.

As he later become a US ally, this was downplayed.

Sorry, it's true.

Dan Dannett says:

1) Kill God (in USA first)

2) Then decide morality (without God)

This is building a Utopia, like the USSR was supposed to be. (Side note: The early USSR even backed off abortion when its effects were later felt.)

So it seems we do not learn from history.

This past century mankind has been both the most educated and bloodiest in human history. Most bloodshed came from the atheistic societies.

Answer 19

Just for the fun of it all really.

Answer 20

It's funny how some people understood your question, and others posted their stock-answers about how "Stalin's a Communist, therefore Atheists would slaughter untold millions if they came to power!"

Stalin was also an aleprechaunist (as far as I know, anyway). So was Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. Perhaps we should say that aleprechaunism leads to mass murder?

Under no circumstance can anybody demonstarte how a lack of belief in god would lead somebody to start killing people. It doesn't make sense.

Structurally, if you dissect Communism (and Stalinism, which doesn't look very Marxist in application), it's very religious. It just replaces "god" with the state. People are nothing; the state is everything...The state is watching you...we must sacrifice ourselves for the greater good...the state's will be done... you name it, Communism takes it. China never lost the "mandate of heaven" mentality; they just started calling it "the will of the people as determined by the party."

Stalin was brutal, power-hungry dictator who seemd to think that preserving Russian power and prestige depended on consolidating the party's power base, and held himself to be the lynchpin and foundation of the party. He was nothing more than a maniac, and a man like him deserves no seat at any table I'd ever eat at. That he was an Atheist means nothing...not to me, not to him, and not to his contemporaries.

Answer 21

No, in the name of absolute power.

Answer 22

"Death solves all problems, - no man, no problem".               "a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic". These quotes clearly show an atheists point of view of the afterlife.

Answer 23

No, Stalin was likely a paranoid schizophrenic, coupled with a severe lack of patience and an overwhelming amount of power, Staling killed in the name of Stalin and Stalinism, not because of any religious belief or lack thereof. People who assert otherwise are simply being dishonest...which is nothing new for the religious people.

Answer 24

Power and paranoia, yes.  However, even a dogmatic reading of communist ideology wouldn't have supported the kinds of activities Stalin got up to.

His actions were totally in the service of the Party and himself.  Although they called themselves "Communists", by that time they were no longer true communists, but instead a totalitarian regime in place only to keep themselves in power and prestige.

Stalin's actions were not motivated by religion (or lack thereof), or economic ideology, but purely through selfish greed for material wealth and power.

Answer 25

Aaron.. A little information for you. Stalin was hand picked by the communist soviet government for his out right hatred for people of religious faith . Atheism go's hand and hand with communism and is key to it's existence and growth. The same as would be sunshine and water to plant life. If you think that's not the case then I would refer you to the father of communism Carl Marx and the communist manifesto he wrote. Basically this was the holy bible of communism. In it you will find Marx talking about religion as the Opium of the people. And also commenting on it being very detrimental to communisms  health and it's thriving as a social, political and economic dictatorial system. If you think I'm kidding. Check it out for yourself . Atheist for yrs have tried to distance themselves from  Stalin and communist regimes with such arguments as your trying to put forth here . Atheism has been a key ingredient in the horrible atrocities that took place under Stalin's rule and other communist empires like his . I cant really blame atheist for wanting to distance themselves from communism as history has clearly laid atheism bare for what it really is and what it breeds. And strikes a major blow to any trying to defend the atheistic point of view. I hope this helped.... God bless you !