Soviet Union wars in the name of Atheism?

[Mister Agenda]

But there have been atheists who organized and acted badly. I never claim that we're better than theists, only that we're not worse.

[robvalue]

"In the name of atheism" is a nonsensical phrase. Unless you're talking about the letters in the word atheism, I suppose.

Any agenda further to the non belief in gods is by definition a further agenda. The atheism is as irrelevant as what their favourite sandwich is.

Even enforcing atheism is an agenda further to atheism. It is not atheism itself.

[Brian37]

When Stalin needed morale boosters during WWII he reopened the churches, and the pews fill up quickly. When the Soviet Union collapsed people started openly worshipping in Russia. The habit is hard to kill.

But it does need killing.

How, because I do not see state fascism as any better than religious fascism.

I think the only reasonable and humane thing we can do with religion is advocate science, ridicule and blasphemy. Otherwise force is no better than what either of them did.

[robvalue]

We'll worry about that after we kill it :p

[Brian37]

But there have been atheists who organized and acted badly. I never claim that we're better than theists, only that we're not worse.

NO we are still the same species.

I also get a lip twitch when I hear atheists say "When we become the majority we will treat you better",

NO NO NO NO, that is part of the "virtue of the oppressed" and that is in the moment when how you are treated is direct and fresh because you are living it. A future majority generations from now after we die will not be closely connected to the past.

Ultimately we are the same species and no label give anyone a patent on morality. No label will automatically make you do good or bad. Our species ability to be cruel or compassionate is in our evolution, not the labels we assign ourselves.

[Dystopia]

When we talk about the Soviet Union or even Cuba, China and North Korea I don't think there were any acts or violence or persecution in the name of atheism... I do think there was a strong (too strong) anti-religious sentiment and obviously being an atheist was preferable, Stalin was himself an atheist, so was Lenin...

I think this is the result of political dogma, in this case communist, marxist-leninist and stalinist, as well as maoist, together with a political agenda and anti-religious ideas. It's not atheism's fault. Any political ideology can end badly if it's applied trough force. I am right wing, but I'm not going to lump communists into the same category, because I've personally met some of them, and curiously they all seem to hate Stalin (but not Lenin so much).

It is, hypothetically, possible for a war in the name of atheism to exist if people fighting in it claimed that they were officially doing for the right of non belief in gods, but no one has ever done that. Quite the contrary in fact (pun intended).

[FatAndFaithless]

It is, hypothetically, possible for a war in the name of atheism to exist if people fighting in it claimed that they were officially doing for the right of non belief in gods

No, that's where I think you're wrong. Fighting for the right to hold a belief is not atheism.

[Dystopia]

It is, hypothetically, possible for a war in the name of atheism to exist if people fighting in it claimed that they were officially doing for the right of non belief in gods

No, that's where I think you're wrong. Fighting for the right to hold a belief is not atheism.

In this case it's to hold non belief, so yeah, that's atheism, as far as I know (no belief in gods)...

[watchamadoodle]

When Stalin needed morale boosters during WWII he reopened the churches, and the pews fill up quickly. When the Soviet Union collapsed people started openly worshipping in Russia. The habit is hard to kill.

I've always been confused by the status of Christianity in Russia and its rapid reemergence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Somebody (I believe FatAndFaithless) linked some articles about Putin's support of Russian Orthodoxy and oppression of all other religions. That explains some of it I suppose.

It's just so depressing to see people go back to religion after being raised in an environment where atheism was the norm. All that hard work for nothing. (Of course I'm not condoning the religious oppression under the Soviet rule.)

[FatAndFaithless]

No, that's where I think you're wrong. Fighting for the right to hold a belief is not atheism.

In this case it's to hold non belief, so yeah, that's atheism, as far as I know (no belief in gods)...

No, that's not right. In order to "be in the name of atheism", they'd have to act specifically because they hold no belief in god (which is absurd). If they are fighting because they do not have the right to disbelieve in god, that's an entirely different thing.