Peris 1998, p. 2, Storming the Heavens: The Soviet League of the Militant Godless: "The League's Central Council in Moscow published its own newspaper, Bezbozhnik (The Godless), several other Russian-language journals, and propaganda materials in many other languages of the Soviet Union. Antireligious pamphlets and posters were printed in large numbers. The League's far-flung network of cells and councils sponsored lectures, organized demonstrations, and actively propagandized against religious observance. Leading Bolshevik figures gave speeches at the League's national congress in 1929, at which the League officially became "Militant." The Communist Party, the Komsomol, the trade unions, the Red Army, and Soviet schools all conducted antireligious propaganda, but the League was the organizational centerpiece of this effort to bring atheism to the masses." Peris, Daniel (1998). Storming the Heavens: The Soviet League of the Militant Godless. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN978-0-8014-3485-3.
Wessinger 2000, p. 282, Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases: "Democratic Kampuchea was officially an atheist state, and the persecution of religion by the Khmer Rouge was matched in severity only by the persecution of religion in the communist states of Albania and North Korea, so there were not any direct historical continuities of Buddhism into the Democratic Kampuchea era." Wessinger, Catherine (2000). Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases. Syracuse University Press. ISBN978-0-8156-2809-5.
Bullivant & Lee 2016, p. 74, A Dictionary of Atheism: "State Atheism is the name given to the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes, particularly associated with Soviet systems. State Atheisms have tended to be as much anti-clerical and anti-religious as they are anti-theist, and typically place heavy restrictions on acts of religious organization and the practice of religion. State Atheist regimes are sometimes seen as examples of political secularism because they entail a nonreligious form of government; these regimes are even sometimes described as 'radically secularist'. However, where political secularism is understood as political neutrality towards religion or religions, or even political neutrality towards any worldview or existential culture including not only theist but also atheist examples, State Atheism is considered non-secular." Bullivant, Stephen; Lee, Lois (2016). A Dictionary of Atheism. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-181681-9.
Bullivant & Ruse 2015, pp. 461–462, The Oxford handbook of atheism: "As we look elsewhere around the world, the dynamics of secularization and religionization are even more complex. The largest-scale experiments in secularization — state atheisms — have had mixed outcomes. In the former Soviet Union, as in China, Communist 'scientific: 'militant', or 'practical' atheism has unquestionably had some secularizing effect overall. But the story—or history—does not end there. As the former Soviet countries illustrate, long-term effects of the experiment are uneven. It took hold more profoundly in, for example, eastern Germany or the Czech Republic than in Poland. Armenia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, or Uzbekistan, among others (Froese 2004; see Irena Borowik, Branko Ana& and Radoslaw Tyrala's 'Central and Eastern Europe)." Bullivant, Stephen Sebastien; Ruse, Michael (2015). The Oxford handbook of atheism. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-874507-5. OCLC936352170.
Bullivant & Ruse 2015, p. 626, The Oxford handbook of atheism: "There have been only a few comparative analyses of atheism carried out in the CEE region. One of the few attempts of this kind is that undertaken by Sinita Zrinkak (see 2004). Comparing different types of generational responses to atheism in several CEE countries, on the basis of studies carried out in these countries and based on data from the EVS, he distinguishes three groups of countries in the region. The first group comprises countries in which state atheism had the most severe consequences... This group includes such countries as Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Bulgaria." Bullivant, Stephen Sebastien; Ruse, Michael (2015). The Oxford handbook of atheism. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-874507-5. OCLC936352170.
Temperman 2010, p. 120, State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law : Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance: "A constitutional declaration of secularity means, first and foremost, that the state does not wish to invoke religion as a justification for its authority, actions and decisions. It must be emphasized that proclamations of secularity, both historically and presently, in the majority of cases denote official impartiality in matters of religion rather than official 'irreligiosity'. Secular states in that respect should certainly not be confused with declared atheist or anti religious states. " Temperman, Jeroen (2010). State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law: Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance. Brill Academic/Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN978-90-04-18148-9.
Temperman 2010, p. 140, State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law : Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance: "Although the historical underlying incentives that accompanied the establishment of a secular state may have been characterized by criticism of certain religious doctrines or practices, presently a state of secularity in itself does not necessarily reflect value judgements about religion. In other words, state secularism does not come down to an official rejection of religion. State secularism denotes an intention on the part of the state to not affiliate itself with religion, to not consider itself a priori bound by religious principles (unless they are reformulated into secular state laws) and to not seek to justify its actions by invoking religion. Such a state of secularity denotes official impartiality in matters of religion rather than official irreligiosity. By contrast, secularism as a philosophical notion can indeed be construed as an ideological defense of the secular cause, which might include criticism of or scepticism towards religion. Thus, states that are 'ideologically secular' and that declare secular world-views the official state doctrine give evidence, explicitly or by implication, of judgements about the value of religion within society. Most versions of state communism, for instance, embrace Marxist criticism of religion." Temperman, Jeroen (2010). State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law: Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance. Brill Academic/Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN978-90-04-18148-9.
Atwood 2001, p. 311: "The Soviets moved quickly against the Russian Orthodox Church in 1918. Most church lands became the property of the state, but the state refused to pay the salaries of the clergy. Education was taken out of the church's hands, and the state legally recognized only civil marriages. Many church leaders responded by supporting the anti-revolutionaries and tsarists. Thousands of priests and monks perished in the civil war and subsequent repression. In 1929, Stalin instituted harsher measures against religion. The state strictly controlled the publication of religious books, including the Bible. Confirmed Christians could not teach in schools or join the Communist party. The erection of new church buildings was forbidden and many former church buildings were desecrated or used to promote anti-Christian propaganda. For slightly more than a decade, the week officially contained only six days because the Christian Sabbath had been simply removed .... the Stalinist campaign against religion was directed against Jews and Muslims as well, particularly in the southern Soviet republics. As many as ninety percent of the churches, mosques, and synagogues that had been in existence in 1917 had been forcibly closed, converted, or destroyed by 1940." Atwood, Craig (2001). Always Reforming: A History of Christianity Since 1300. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press. ISBN978-0-86554-679-0.
Temperman 2010, pp. 165–166, [State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law : Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance]: "A type of state-religion identification that in essence boils down to an antireligious regime, a regime which officially rejects the concept of religion altogether, can be considered, in itself, at odd with principles of human rights law , in particular to freedom of religion or belief and the equality principle. History has seen,some regimes which attempted to ban all religious activity (communist Albania for instance)...It is submitted that a state that establishes itself as an 'atheistic state" breaches the non-discrimination principle for similar reasons that were advanced with respect to religious states..." Temperman, Jeroen (2010). State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law: Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance. Brill Academic/Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN978-90-04-18148-9.
Britannica Lenin, Vladimir Lenin: "When he was 16, nothing in Lenin indicated a future rebel, still less a professional revolutionary—except, perhaps, his turn to atheism." "Vladimir Lenin". Encyclopedia Britannica. 8 June 2023.
Chen 1965, (subscription required) - Chinese Communist Attitudes Towards Buddhism in Chinese History: "In the journal Hsien-tai Fo-hsueh (Modern Buddhism), September 1959, there appeared a long article entitled "Lun Tsung-chiao Hsin-yang Tzu-yu" ("A Discussion Concerning Freedom of Religious Belief"), by Ya Han-chang, which was originally published in the official Communist ideological journal Hung Ch'i (Red Flag), 1959, No. 14. Appearing as it did in Red Flag it is justifiable to conclude that the views expressed in it represented the accepted Communist attitude toward religion. In this article, Ya wrote that the basic policy of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China is to "recognise that everyone has the freedom to believe in a religion, and also that everyone has the freedom not to believe in a religion." Chen, Kenneth (1965). "Chinese Communist Attitudes Towards Buddhism in Chinese History". The China Quarterly. 22: 14–30. doi:10.1017/S0305741000048682. ISSN0305-7410. S2CID153633666.
CIA: N. Korea, The World Factbook: North Korea:Religion tab - "note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom." "The World Factbook". cia.gov. 6 October 2021.
Madeley 2003, pp. 1–22, (subscription required) - European Liberal Democracy and the Principle of State Religious Neutrality: "As Table 2 indicates along its horizontal dimension, according to the attributions based on these criteria, in 1980, out of 35 European territories listed, only five could be coded as secular in the sense that the 'State is secular, promoting neither religion nor irreligion' and nine were deemed Atheistic. On the other hand, 21 states or governments were found to be committed in one way or another to the support of religion and/or religious institutions." Madeley, John (January 2003). "European Liberal Democracy and the Principle of State Religious Neutrality". West European Politics. 26 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1080/01402380412331300177. S2CID154541171.
Kowalewski 1980, p. 426, Protest for Religious Rights in the USSR: Characteristics and Consequences: "The Soviet policy of state atheism (gosateizm), albeit inconsistently applied, remains a major goal of official ideology. Massive state resources have been expended not only to prevent the implanting of religious belief in nonbelievers but also to eradicate "prerevolutionary remnants" already existing. The regime is not merely passively committed to a godless polity but takes an aggressive stance of official forced atheization. Thus a major task of the police apparatus is the persecution of forms of religious practice. Not surprisingly, the Committee for State Security (KGB) is reported to have a division dealing specifically with "churchmen and sectarians." Kowalewski, David (1980). "Protest for Religious Rights in the USSR: Characteristics and Consequences". The Russian Review. 39 (4): 426–441. doi:10.2307/128810. ISSN0036-0341. JSTOR128810.
Froese 2004, p. 35, (subscription required) - Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed: "Atheists waged a 70-year war on religious belief in the Soviet Union. The Communist Party destroyed churches, mosques, and temples; it executed religious leaders; it flooded the schools and media with anti-religious propaganda; and it introduced a belief system called "scientific atheism," complete with atheist rituals, proselytizers, and a promise of worldly salvation." Froese, Paul (2004). "Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 43 (1): 35–50. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2004.00216.x. ISSN1468-5906. OCLC884663575. S2CID53308958.
Tonnes 2008, p. 6, Albania: An Atheist State (subscription required): "The struggle against religion in its current, incomparably harsher phase, was inaugurated by Enver Hoxha in his speech of 6 February 1967. He declared Albania to be the "first atheist state of the world". All 2,169 religious establishments (including the 268 Catholic churches) were demolished or closed." Tonnes, Bernhard (2008). "Albania: An Atheist State". Religion in Communist Lands. 3 (1–3): 4–7. doi:10.1080/09637497508430712.
Chen 1965, (subscription required) - Chinese Communist Attitudes Towards Buddhism in Chinese History: "In the journal Hsien-tai Fo-hsueh (Modern Buddhism), September 1959, there appeared a long article entitled "Lun Tsung-chiao Hsin-yang Tzu-yu" ("A Discussion Concerning Freedom of Religious Belief"), by Ya Han-chang, which was originally published in the official Communist ideological journal Hung Ch'i (Red Flag), 1959, No. 14. Appearing as it did in Red Flag it is justifiable to conclude that the views expressed in it represented the accepted Communist attitude toward religion. In this article, Ya wrote that the basic policy of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China is to "recognise that everyone has the freedom to believe in a religion, and also that everyone has the freedom not to believe in a religion." Chen, Kenneth (1965). "Chinese Communist Attitudes Towards Buddhism in Chinese History". The China Quarterly. 22: 14–30. doi:10.1017/S0305741000048682. ISSN0305-7410. S2CID153633666.
Froese & Pfaff 2005, p. 397, (subscription required) Explaining a Religious Anomaly: A Historical Analysis of Secularization in Eastern Germany: "No religion could benefit substantially from the conditions that obtained in the GDR. Antireligious regulations and the official promotion of an exclusive, socialist-inspired atheism devastated religion. The percentage of those without any religious affiliation grew from 7.6 percent of the population in 1950 to more than 60 percent in 1986....Clearly, communist antipathy toward religion and the repression of religious organizations must have played a role in the rapid and dramatic abandonment of religion. But what contribution did atheism make to this development? In the GDR the weakening of the churches and their accommodation to communism was influential, but apparently so was the success of scientific atheism as a competitor to religion." Froese, Paul; Pfaff, Steven (December 2005). "Explaining a Religious Anomaly: A Historical Analysis of Secularization in Eastern Germany". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 44 (4): 397–422. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00294.x. ISSN0021-8294.
Kowalewski 1980, p. 426, Protest for Religious Rights in the USSR: Characteristics and Consequences: "The Soviet policy of state atheism (gosateizm), albeit inconsistently applied, remains a major goal of official ideology. Massive state resources have been expended not only to prevent the implanting of religious belief in nonbelievers but also to eradicate "prerevolutionary remnants" already existing. The regime is not merely passively committed to a godless polity but takes an aggressive stance of official forced atheization. Thus a major task of the police apparatus is the persecution of forms of religious practice. Not surprisingly, the Committee for State Security (KGB) is reported to have a division dealing specifically with "churchmen and sectarians." Kowalewski, David (1980). "Protest for Religious Rights in the USSR: Characteristics and Consequences". The Russian Review. 39 (4): 426–441. doi:10.2307/128810. ISSN0036-0341. JSTOR128810.
Froese & Pfaff 2005, p. 397, (subscription required) Explaining a Religious Anomaly: A Historical Analysis of Secularization in Eastern Germany: "No religion could benefit substantially from the conditions that obtained in the GDR. Antireligious regulations and the official promotion of an exclusive, socialist-inspired atheism devastated religion. The percentage of those without any religious affiliation grew from 7.6 percent of the population in 1950 to more than 60 percent in 1986....Clearly, communist antipathy toward religion and the repression of religious organizations must have played a role in the rapid and dramatic abandonment of religion. But what contribution did atheism make to this development? In the GDR the weakening of the churches and their accommodation to communism was influential, but apparently so was the success of scientific atheism as a competitor to religion." Froese, Paul; Pfaff, Steven (December 2005). "Explaining a Religious Anomaly: A Historical Analysis of Secularization in Eastern Germany". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 44 (4): 397–422. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00294.x. ISSN0021-8294.
Madeley 2003, pp. 1–22, (subscription required) - European Liberal Democracy and the Principle of State Religious Neutrality: "As Table 2 indicates along its horizontal dimension, according to the attributions based on these criteria, in 1980, out of 35 European territories listed, only five could be coded as secular in the sense that the 'State is secular, promoting neither religion nor irreligion' and nine were deemed Atheistic. On the other hand, 21 states or governments were found to be committed in one way or another to the support of religion and/or religious institutions." Madeley, John (January 2003). "European Liberal Democracy and the Principle of State Religious Neutrality". West European Politics. 26 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1080/01402380412331300177. S2CID154541171.
Froese 2004, p. 35, (subscription required) - Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed: "Atheists waged a 70-year war on religious belief in the Soviet Union. The Communist Party destroyed churches, mosques, and temples; it executed religious leaders; it flooded the schools and media with anti-religious propaganda; and it introduced a belief system called "scientific atheism," complete with atheist rituals, proselytizers, and a promise of worldly salvation." Froese, Paul (2004). "Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 43 (1): 35–50. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2004.00216.x. ISSN1468-5906. OCLC884663575. S2CID53308958.
Chen 1965, (subscription required) - Chinese Communist Attitudes Towards Buddhism in Chinese History: "In the journal Hsien-tai Fo-hsueh (Modern Buddhism), September 1959, there appeared a long article entitled "Lun Tsung-chiao Hsin-yang Tzu-yu" ("A Discussion Concerning Freedom of Religious Belief"), by Ya Han-chang, which was originally published in the official Communist ideological journal Hung Ch'i (Red Flag), 1959, No. 14. Appearing as it did in Red Flag it is justifiable to conclude that the views expressed in it represented the accepted Communist attitude toward religion. In this article, Ya wrote that the basic policy of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China is to "recognise that everyone has the freedom to believe in a religion, and also that everyone has the freedom not to believe in a religion." Chen, Kenneth (1965). "Chinese Communist Attitudes Towards Buddhism in Chinese History". The China Quarterly. 22: 14–30. doi:10.1017/S0305741000048682. ISSN0305-7410. S2CID153633666.
Madeley 2003, pp. 1–22, (subscription required) - European Liberal Democracy and the Principle of State Religious Neutrality: "As Table 2 indicates along its horizontal dimension, according to the attributions based on these criteria, in 1980, out of 35 European territories listed, only five could be coded as secular in the sense that the 'State is secular, promoting neither religion nor irreligion' and nine were deemed Atheistic. On the other hand, 21 states or governments were found to be committed in one way or another to the support of religion and/or religious institutions." Madeley, John (January 2003). "European Liberal Democracy and the Principle of State Religious Neutrality". West European Politics. 26 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1080/01402380412331300177. S2CID154541171.
Tonnes 2008, p. 6, Albania: An Atheist State (subscription required): "The struggle against religion in its current, incomparably harsher phase, was inaugurated by Enver Hoxha in his speech of 6 February 1967. He declared Albania to be the "first atheist state of the world". All 2,169 religious establishments (including the 268 Catholic churches) were demolished or closed." Tonnes, Bernhard (2008). "Albania: An Atheist State". Religion in Communist Lands. 3 (1–3): 4–7. doi:10.1080/09637497508430712.
Froese 2004, p. 35, (subscription required) - Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed: "Atheists waged a 70-year war on religious belief in the Soviet Union. The Communist Party destroyed churches, mosques, and temples; it executed religious leaders; it flooded the schools and media with anti-religious propaganda; and it introduced a belief system called "scientific atheism," complete with atheist rituals, proselytizers, and a promise of worldly salvation." Froese, Paul (2004). "Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 43 (1): 35–50. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2004.00216.x. ISSN1468-5906. OCLC884663575. S2CID53308958.
Bullivant & Ruse 2015, pp. 461–462, The Oxford handbook of atheism: "As we look elsewhere around the world, the dynamics of secularization and religionization are even more complex. The largest-scale experiments in secularization — state atheisms — have had mixed outcomes. In the former Soviet Union, as in China, Communist 'scientific: 'militant', or 'practical' atheism has unquestionably had some secularizing effect overall. But the story—or history—does not end there. As the former Soviet countries illustrate, long-term effects of the experiment are uneven. It took hold more profoundly in, for example, eastern Germany or the Czech Republic than in Poland. Armenia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, or Uzbekistan, among others (Froese 2004; see Irena Borowik, Branko Ana& and Radoslaw Tyrala's 'Central and Eastern Europe)." Bullivant, Stephen Sebastien; Ruse, Michael (2015). The Oxford handbook of atheism. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-874507-5. OCLC936352170.
Bullivant & Ruse 2015, p. 626, The Oxford handbook of atheism: "There have been only a few comparative analyses of atheism carried out in the CEE region. One of the few attempts of this kind is that undertaken by Sinita Zrinkak (see 2004). Comparing different types of generational responses to atheism in several CEE countries, on the basis of studies carried out in these countries and based on data from the EVS, he distinguishes three groups of countries in the region. The first group comprises countries in which state atheism had the most severe consequences... This group includes such countries as Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Bulgaria." Bullivant, Stephen Sebastien; Ruse, Michael (2015). The Oxford handbook of atheism. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-874507-5. OCLC936352170.
Kowalewski 1980, p. 426, Protest for Religious Rights in the USSR: Characteristics and Consequences: "The Soviet policy of state atheism (gosateizm), albeit inconsistently applied, remains a major goal of official ideology. Massive state resources have been expended not only to prevent the implanting of religious belief in nonbelievers but also to eradicate "prerevolutionary remnants" already existing. The regime is not merely passively committed to a godless polity but takes an aggressive stance of official forced atheization. Thus a major task of the police apparatus is the persecution of forms of religious practice. Not surprisingly, the Committee for State Security (KGB) is reported to have a division dealing specifically with "churchmen and sectarians." Kowalewski, David (1980). "Protest for Religious Rights in the USSR: Characteristics and Consequences". The Russian Review. 39 (4): 426–441. doi:10.2307/128810. ISSN0036-0341. JSTOR128810.
Froese 2004, p. 35, (subscription required) - Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed: "Atheists waged a 70-year war on religious belief in the Soviet Union. The Communist Party destroyed churches, mosques, and temples; it executed religious leaders; it flooded the schools and media with anti-religious propaganda; and it introduced a belief system called "scientific atheism," complete with atheist rituals, proselytizers, and a promise of worldly salvation." Froese, Paul (2004). "Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 43 (1): 35–50. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2004.00216.x. ISSN1468-5906. OCLC884663575. S2CID53308958.
Chen 1965, (subscription required) - Chinese Communist Attitudes Towards Buddhism in Chinese History: "In the journal Hsien-tai Fo-hsueh (Modern Buddhism), September 1959, there appeared a long article entitled "Lun Tsung-chiao Hsin-yang Tzu-yu" ("A Discussion Concerning Freedom of Religious Belief"), by Ya Han-chang, which was originally published in the official Communist ideological journal Hung Ch'i (Red Flag), 1959, No. 14. Appearing as it did in Red Flag it is justifiable to conclude that the views expressed in it represented the accepted Communist attitude toward religion. In this article, Ya wrote that the basic policy of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China is to "recognise that everyone has the freedom to believe in a religion, and also that everyone has the freedom not to believe in a religion." Chen, Kenneth (1965). "Chinese Communist Attitudes Towards Buddhism in Chinese History". The China Quarterly. 22: 14–30. doi:10.1017/S0305741000048682. ISSN0305-7410. S2CID153633666.
Froese & Pfaff 2005, p. 397, (subscription required) Explaining a Religious Anomaly: A Historical Analysis of Secularization in Eastern Germany: "No religion could benefit substantially from the conditions that obtained in the GDR. Antireligious regulations and the official promotion of an exclusive, socialist-inspired atheism devastated religion. The percentage of those without any religious affiliation grew from 7.6 percent of the population in 1950 to more than 60 percent in 1986....Clearly, communist antipathy toward religion and the repression of religious organizations must have played a role in the rapid and dramatic abandonment of religion. But what contribution did atheism make to this development? In the GDR the weakening of the churches and their accommodation to communism was influential, but apparently so was the success of scientific atheism as a competitor to religion." Froese, Paul; Pfaff, Steven (December 2005). "Explaining a Religious Anomaly: A Historical Analysis of Secularization in Eastern Germany". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 44 (4): 397–422. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00294.x. ISSN0021-8294.
