Confronting Militant Atheism

 

I concur. He likely ran across the term in some polemic he skimmed, and decided to adopt it into his vocabulary; a man of his character would have a need of as many hateful terms as possible.

 

-Akolouthos

 

I believe this is an example of a man who was too hasty in his zeal and missed the way

I remember I wrote sometime ago in this forum about the religious persection from USSR. On Romania you can check the Final Report issued in 2006 signed by the Presidential Comission of Analysis of the Communism Regime in Romania (which is a body of scholars from various fields). "Claiming the freedom of religious choice remains a formal affirmation, as other juridical acts forbade any religious manifestation contrary to the Communist 'discipline'." (p. 404), "The most important proselyting action was of the Communist state itself, aiming for the elimination of religion from citizen life, under whatever forms it manifested." (p. 453), "Worried by the persistence of the religious beliefs, the Communist authorities were determined to initiate in the '60s-'80s actions of 'scientific education and eradication of mysticism and obscurantism from the conscience of the masses'. [...] In the Romanian theatres or sometimes on improvised scenes in factories or villages, there were staged various plays with anti-religious message or where the historical reality was manipulated and distorsionated. In the '60s-'80s many works of 'scientific atheism' were published - initially translations after Soviet authors, like the famous in that period Atheist Guide, but later autochtonous productions. Usually, it was no neutral presentation of the phenomenon, but about undisimulated attacks against practicing Christians, especially the Neo-Protestants." (p. 469),  "All the authorized cults had to face regime's propaganda through the intensification of the marxist indoctrination, the so-called 'scientific atheism' classes and the campaign against 'mysticism and obscurantism' launched through the July theses from 1971. Moreover cutting down the university positions for theology students, refusing the authorizations necessary to repair or to build churches, closing or demolishing churches, affected all the cults which functioned legally under Communism." (p. 610), etc. - you can find the Report online in Romanian.

 

 

That campaign against "mysticism and obscurantism" you mentioned is something the USA might need now. There are to many stances when a person can say "the Bible is all I need" and is appreciated while someone who says "I doubt there is a God" is ostracized. Religion powers up the fundamentalists, and religious people are those who want to save me or my soul. They believe in their divinity and because of that they will burn me at the stake to be sure that I will be pardoned by that illusion.

The crimes of the communist regime were not commited in the name of atheism. They were justifying them by the better good of the society. And the Church was functional those days only not so ostentative as it is  now. As for the preservation of the churches, especially those with historical and cultural significance, do you know that nowadays there are more money spent on building new than restorating the old ones?