(June 19, 2018 at 8:14 pm)Tizheruk Wrote:(June 19, 2018 at 8:05 pm)Brian37 Wrote: Um no CL, the rise of the Soviet Union did so because of the SUPPORT of the majority of Russian Orthodox Christianity. The USSR did not persecute religion itself, it was a totalitarian state that squashed any dissent. Putin is a product of the KGB and even as President today, he quotes God all the time.Not to mention it was NOT an atheist state for most of it's history
No, it was never an atheist state. It has always been a Russian Orthodox Christian majority. I hate this crap of calling the "state" "atheist". No, it was authoritarian, not "atheist". Same with China, it has a majority Buddhist/Asian religions, and even Muslims and Christians live in China. There is no lack of religion in China. The "state" is not atheist in China, it is authoritarian. Same with Cuba. There is no lack of Catholics or even Catholic churches in Cuba.
Authoritarian states can also be theocracies like Iran or Saudi Arabia. The issue isn't religion or lack of, most of the world is religious, in both open and closed societies regardless. The issue is the authoritarian state squashes any and all dissent or challenge to it. Western secular states simply value protecting openness, holding power to account and allow challenge to power.
