ANTI-GOD FRONT.

Grey River Argus, 22 May 1942, Page 8

ANTI-GOD FRONT.

[To the . Editor.]

Sir, —I supply the “concrete evidence” R. Mitchell asks to “establish the existence of Atheistic Communism”. I quote from “Isvestia,” August 24, 1937. The title of the article quoted is “Let us intensify the.religious struggle.” “Nearly sixty per cent, of the parents still have religious rites performed on their new-born children. In certain schools, the proportion of i children influenced by religion attains to ninety pei’ cent. Therefore, in spite of the immense progress realised in the organisation of Socialism, we have not yet broken the religious front. This failure . shows that certain of our organisations do not appreciate the fact that the religious idea is one of the principal obstacles to the Socialistic transformation of the country, and religion and Socialism are things incompatible. This passive atheism is particularly intolerable amongst the members of the Communist Party, amongst the Komsomols (Communist Youth) among the workers and m the ranks of the Red Army... an end must be put to the dispersion of our forces on the Anti-God Front. Toeration of religious obscurantism must not be allowed to continue. Every Besbojnik should pass iiom a passive attitude to actual warfare —action, action all. along the antiGod front. Militant Atheism not merely in words but in acts, that is what is wanted and expected from all organisations.” „ . Then “Rabotchay a Moskva published seven columns calling all workers to “the far-flung anti-God front,” viz:—“The plans of reconstruction are impeded by only ine obstacle, —religion. All centres—Orthodox, Jewish, Protestant, Mahommedan, Catholic must be closed. Whatever is in any sense religious must cease to exist. ’ Therefore, to those not familiar with these matters, I say again the Communist Party is, and has always been, Atheistic. That is a deep shadow lying across its material and economic progress, which has been considerable, and often produced by force. We must always distinguish between Communism and the RusSian people. I am etc., Greymouth, May 19.