In this episode I chat with Michael Jones from Inspiring
Philosophy about his recent debate with atheist Aron Ra on the question,
"Is Christianity Dangerous?"
Enjoy the show!!!
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Here are some excerpts from peer reviewed articles on the
role of Atheism in Albania and the former Soviet Union:
From the article,
“Violations of Freedom of Religion in Albania” by Barbara Frey, OPREE, vol IX,
no. 6. 1989.
“Belying the
Constitution, however, anti-religious activity commenced almost immediately
after the new government was formed. In August 1945, the government passed an
agrarian reform law which deprived religious institutions of much of their
property. A series of show trials and executions were held, following which the
Jesuit order was banned in 1946 and the Franciscans in 1947. In 1946, all Catholic
priests, nuns, and monks were expelled. Many priests were imprisoned, executed,
or assassinated.” pp4-5.
“At about the same
time, the Ministry of Education banned the teaching of religion in state
schools. In April 1947, the Party of Labor recommended introducing
anti-religious teaching in schools. The government also attempted to halt
religious instruction by clerics and lay-people even in homes.” p5.
“Once the statues
were passed, criminal penalties which had formerly protected the constitutional
guarantee of freedom of religion were removed from the Albanian Penal Code.”
p5.
“Public meetings were
held at which the public denounced the clergy and vowed never to practice
religion again. People’s tribunals decided which public celebrations were
religious in nature and how to replace them with appropriate national atheistic
holidays. During public proceedings, crowds turned over their crucifixes,
icons, bibles, and other religious items. Children whose fathers were priests
denounced them as fakes, and “thunder sheets” (fletë-rrufe) were posted
attacking those parents who had given religious names to their children.” p6.
“All possible signs
of religion were eradicated. Graveyards and tombstones were cleared of
religious symbols: only the Communist star was permitted. Religious phrases
were attacked too: the term “P.K.” meaning Përpara Krishit (in English, B.C.)
was replaced with “P.E.R.” for Para Erës Sëre (“Before the New Era)... Despite
stated constitutional guarantees, the People’s Assembly passed Decree No. 4334
on 13 November 1967 (Published in Gazeta zyrtare on 22 November) which
cancelled the legal status of religion... Radio Tiranë announced that Albania
was now the “first atheist state in the world.” Religious freedom was removed from
the statures; it would shortly be removed from the constitution as well.” p7.
Speaking of the 1976 Constitution:
“Article 37: The
State recognizes no religion whatever and supports atheistic propaganda for the
purpose of inculcating the scientific-materialist worldview.” p8.
“Article 55 of the
1977 Criminal Code: Fascist, anti-democratic, religious, warmongering or
anti-socialist propaganda, as well as the preparation, distribution or the
possession for distribution of literature with such a content in order to
weaken or undermine the state of the dictatorship of the Proletariat are
punishable by imprisonment of between three and ten years. If these actions
occur in time of war or if they have caused particularly serious consequences,
they will be punished with imprisonment of not less than ten years or with
death.” p9.
“The government had
already instituted another facet of it’s anti-religious campaign. On 23
September 1975, it passed administrative Decree No. 5339 (also the similar
Legislative Decree No 5334...) which stipulated that, ‘Citizens who have
inappropriate names and offensive surnames from a political, ideological, and
moral standpoint are obliged to change them...’ therefore, it is legitimate to
insist on the use of national names so that... the names of people do not
become an indicator of the religious affiliations and divisions of yesteryear
in the eyes of future generations.” p9.
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From the article, “Soviet Books and Pamphlets on the Theme
of Atheism: Statistics and Crucial Points” by Paul Roth, OPREE, vol V, no. 4.
1985.
“Indeed, the Soviet constitution permits public atheistic
propaganda but not religious propaganda. A religious book offered to the public
would be an offense against the constitution. Thus, it is not surprising the
Soviet authorities consider so-called “illegal” importation of Bibles into the
Soviet Union as an offense against the laws of the state.” p9.
“Those books and
pamphlets which belong to the categories ‘Marxism-Leninism,’ ‘Social Sciences,’
and ‘Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology’ are based on atheism. Those which
belong to the category ‘Atheism and Religion’ are anti-theistic, often
militantly atheistic, with the exception of those texts which are intended for
export to foreign countries.” p10.
“Most of the titles,
17, are concerned with ‘atheistic education of the population’ (total number of
copies 761,000)... Some publications deal especially with the question of how a
person can accomplish atheistic education goals in mathematic classes by using
films.” p14.
“In connection with the previously discussed group, we must
also observe the following thematic category which presents ‘Atheism as a
provision for a fulfilling life’ to Soviet citizens... Religion is presented as
the reason for spiritual and intellectual problems. Religion is to be replaced
by a life based on atheistic principles with an atheistic value system and
holidays and rituals free of religious content.” pp16-17.
“If we attempt to draw a conclusion from the statistic taken
from “New Books,” which, we reiterate, are obviously incomplete, we can state
the following: 1) Clearly, atheistic literature in the Soviet Union belongs to
the category of prescribed literature, not popular literature.”
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From the article, “The Current Situation of Religion in
Albania” by Peter Prifti, OPREE, vol III, no. 3. 1983.
“Questioning the
zeal, if not the integrity of critics of Albanian atheism, Hoxha said that
there are hundreds of millions of people in the world who do not believe in
religion. Why then all the astonishment at socialist Albania? He closed his
defense by saying, ‘Our state is atheistic by the will of its people.’” p2.
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From the article, “Grave Violations of Religious Rights in
Albania” by Gjon Sinishta, OPREE, vol III, no. 5. 1983.
“Enver Hoxha again
set the stage for action with his infamous speech of February 6, 1967, urging
the Albanian youth to fight “religious superstitions.” A ruthless campaign
against all religions followed. Everywhere churches were burned or turned into
sports arenas, dance halls, movie theaters, apartments, etc. Priests and
bishops were publicly beaten. The Franciscan church of Arrmadhe in Shkodra,
together with the Friary, was set afire one evening and four elderly
Franciscans were burned to death. During 1967, according to the journal of
Albanian writers, Nendori (November), about 2200 mosques, churches, chapels,
monasteries and other religious buildings were vandalized and closed. Of that
number, 327 were Roman Catholic. On November 22, 1967, the government published
Decree No. 4337 ordering the annulment of the religious charters and of all
laws pertaining to state-church relationships. All religious rites were
prohibited and grave penalties were imposed on violators. The remaining priests
were sent to forced-labor camps for ‘re-education.’ The Albanian Party and
government boasted that it had become the first totally atheistic state in the
world.” p13.
“With these articles Albania became the only country in the
world where the suppression of religion and the propagation of atheism have
become a constitutionally mandated state policy... Prior to the actual
enactment of such official acts, the government manifested the same kind of
suppression of religion. Fr. Stephen Kurti was executed in 1972 for baptizing a
child in a labor camp at the parent’s request. In 1974 the government also
sentenced the three remaining Catholic Bishops to detention camps for conduction
religious services in private. Following the constitutional outlawing of
religion, in 1977 Fran Mark Gjoni of Shkodra was brought to trial for the
possession of Bibles. Gjoni admitted, when presented with the Bibles taked from
his home, that he had found them in parks and at the seashore where they had
been left by tourists or floated in by sea. For his ‘crime’ Gjoni was sentenced
to 12 years in prison... For religious criminals such as Gjnoi, according to
reports from recent refugees, the government has at least six prisons, nine
concentration camps and 14 areas of external exile.” pp14-15.
