SOMETHING UTTERLY NEW has taken root in America during the past generation, a communist mentality representing a systematic, purposive, and conscious attempt to destroy Western civilization and roll history back to the age of barbaric cruelty and despotism, all in the name of “progress.” Evil is depicted as good, terror as justice, hate as love, and obedience to a foreign master as patriotism.
Numerically speaking, this mentality is limited to a few men and women, the disciplined corps of the Communist Party, USA. However, communist thought control, in all its various capacities, has spread the infection, in varying degrees, to most phases of American life.
This mentality, imported to our land for the purpose of eventually leading to a destruction of the American way of life, poses a crucial problem for every one of us. It can destroy our constitutional republic if it is permitted to corrupt our minds and control our acts.
I have tried to make the tactics of the Communist Party as clear as possible in this book. These tactics are part of world-wide communism and are offered as bait to divert and capture our minds.
In our tolerance for religious freedom, for separation of church and state, we sometimes lose sight of the historical fact: Western civilization has deep religious roots. Our schools, courts, legislative bodies, social agencies, philanthropic organizations as well as our churches are witnesses to the fundamental fact that life has a significance that we ourselves do not create.
It is part of our tradition and belief that each of us is obligated to give, when reality requires it, a reason for the faith that is in him. The presence of communism in the world and in our own country is a kind of stern reality which should make each of us explore our own faith as deeply as we can and then speak up for its relationship to our “American way.”
The very essence of our faith in democracy and our fellow man is rooted in a belief in a Supreme Being. To my mind there are six aspects to our democratic faith:
1. A belief in the dignity and worth of the individual, a belief which today is under assault by the communist practice which regards the individual as a part of the “class,” the “mass,” and a pawn of the state;
2. A belief in mutual responsibility, of our obligation to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the less fortunate,” which is affronted by communist policies of calculated ruthlessness;
3. A belief that life has a meaning which transcends any man-made system, that is independent of any such system, and that outlasts any such system, a belief diametrically opposed by the materialistic dogma of communism;
4. A belief in stewardship, a feeling that a great heritage is our sacred trust for the generations yet to come, a belief that stands today as the competitor to communist loyalty to Marxism-Leninism;
5. A belief that the moral values we adhere to, support, and strive toward are grounded on a reality more enduring and satisfying than any manmade system, which is opposed by the communist claim that all morality is “class morality”;
6. A belief, which has matured to a firm conviction, that in the final analysis love is the greatest force on earth and is far more enduring than hatred; this forbids our accepting the communist division of mankind that by arbitrary standards singles out those fit only for liquidation.
It is only as we thus take stock of what we mean by saying that our culture has religious roots that we become ready to make an accurate appraisal of communist ideology and tactics.
The most basic of all communist comments about religion is the statement of Karl Marx that religion is “the opium of the people.” This Marxian doctrine has been restated by William Z. Foster and applied to communist action in these words, “. . . God will be banished from the laboratories as well as from the schools.”
Inherited from fanatic minds abroad, this mentality poses today a crucial problem for every patriotic man and woman in America. If allowed to develop, it will destroy our way of life.
Communists have always made it clear that communism is the mortal enemy of Christianity, Judaism, Mohammedanism, and any other religion that believes in a Supreme Being.
Don’t think that “the communists have changed their minds about religion,” said Nikita Khrushchev. “We remain the Atheists that we have always been; we are doing as much as we can to liberate those people who are still under the spell of this religious opiate.” As long as communism remains, the assault will continue.
To the communists Marxism-Leninism is the “perfect science.” It accounts for everything; it has a plan for everything; it can be the source of everything man needs. Therefore, said Lenin, “We shall always preach a scientific philosophy; we must fight against the inconsistencies of the ‘Christians’ . . .”
In making Marxism-Leninism the “perfect science,” the communists characterize religion as a superstitious relic. “Religion, in its thousands of varieties,” said William Z. Foster, “was first evolved by primitive man everywhere as the most logical explanation he could devise of the complex, mysterious and often terrifying natural phenomena with which he was surrounded, as well as to work out a plausible conception of his own and the world’s existence.”
Though “historically inevitable” for primitive man, Foster goes on to say, religion has now been made obsolete by science. Science, as it advanced, gave “irrefutable materialist explanations” of the phenomena which puzzled primitive man. Hence, “in the modern world . . . there is therefore no longer . . . even the possibility, of a religious interpretation of man and the world.” “It has now become virtually impossible for a thoroughly modern person, even if he wants to do so, actually to believe the old legends, primitive philosophies, and imaginary history upon which all religions are founded.”
This communist teaching glosses over the fact that science never has given an “irrefutable” explanation of ultimate reality, neither materialistic nor any other kind. The communists ignore the further fact that the faith of religious people is a moral necessity and a sense of personal relationship, not a completion of laboratory science.
In addition to dismissing religion as primitive, the communists claim that it is a mere instrument of exploitation: another weapon in the hands of the capitalists. As Lenin said: “Religion is a kind of spiritual intoxicant, in which the slaves of capital drown their humanity, and blunt their desire for a decent human existence.”
Again: “. . . it is quite natural for the exploiters to sympathize with a religion that teaches us to bear ‘uncomplainingly’ the woes of hell on earth, in the hope of an alleged paradise in the skies.”
William Z. Foster, who in our country emphasizes the same theme, and who has always emphasized the correct Party line, declared, “. . . the Church . . . has identified itself with political reaction.” And again, “. . . the Church is one of the basic forces now fighting to preserve obsolete capitalism and its reactionary ruling classes, in the face of advancing democracy and socialism.”
The followers of Marx have a way of calling scientific any dogma to which they intend to cling, regardless of whether it can be supported by conclusive evidence. And communism has to cling to its antireligious dogma, not for scientific reasons, but for reasons of ideology and strategy. It cannot permit man to give his allegiance to a Supreme Authority higher than Party authority, for such allegiance to a higher authority carries with it a sense of freedom, of immunity to Party edict and discipline. Neither can it afford to have its members made hesitant in acts of cruelty and deception, which are ordained parts of its revolutionary program. No communist can be permitted to set an abstract truth above an expedient lie, or to extend compassion to an enemy whom the Party intends to smear or liquidate. The communists dismiss our sentiments motivated by spiritual force as silly prattlings that reflect “bourgeois weaknesses.” Therefore, they have their own morality, communist morality, as stated by Lenin:
“We repudiate all morality that is taken outside of human, class concepts . . . We say that our morality is entirely subordinated to the interests of the class struggle . . .”
Lenin made clear the function of communist morality: “At the root of Communist morality, there lies the continuation and completion of Communism.” In practice this has simply meant that the end justifies the means. That is why a communist can commit murder, pillage, destruction, and terror, and feel proud; lie and feel no compunction; seek to destroy the American form of government and feel justified. Communism has turned the values of Western civilization upside down.
Hatred of all gods was Karl Marx’s credo. Yet communism is, in effect, a secular religion with its own roster of gods, its own Messianic zeal, and its own fanatical devotees who are willing to accept any personal sacrifice that furthers the cause.
It would seem that communists, in view of the above, would make clear, always and at every point, their opposition to religion. Often, however, tactics have made it necessary to play down or to conceal entirely the Party’s intentions in line with Lenin’s advice: “. . . but this does not mean that the religious question must be pushed into the foreground where it does not belong.” The communists realize that the vast majority of non-communists believe in God. Too bold an approach might antagonize them, doing the Party more harm than good.
In the early days, before Party discipline was established, Lenin counseled: “The Anarchist, who preaches war against God at all costs, actually helps the . . . bourgeoisie. . . .” William Z. Foster, rebuking the extreme left, said that some of their efforts at “God killing” served only for “. . . overstress and distortion of the religious question.”
By 1937 such tactical caution was beginning to be replaced by a calculated program to exploit religion. Foster called this the “. . . more recent practical approach to the religious question, on the basis long ago laid by Lenin.”
This “practical approach” means attempting, through deceptive tactics, to capture support from American religious groups for an atheistic Communist Party. As Foster put it in 1937:
“In consequence, the anti-religious Communist Party is now to be found in close united front cooperation with dozens of churches and other religious organizations on questions of immediate economic and political interest to the toiling masses.”
In line with these tactics, the Party is today engaged in a systematic program to infiltrate American religious groups. “The Communist Party,” said the National Committee in 1954, “declares that it seeks no conflict with any church or any American’s religious belief. On the contrary, we stretch out our hand in the fellowship of common struggle for our mutual goal of peace, democracy and security to all regardless of religious belief.” Members are being told: “Join churches and become involved in church work.”
The Party’s objectives inside religious groups are several:
1. To gain “respectability”: “. . . a church is the best front we can have.” Comrades, by associating in church circles, secure an “acceptable” status in the community, greater credence for their opinions, and the lulling of noncommunist suspicions.
2. To provide an opportunity for the subtle dissemination of communist propaganda. Churches are convincing places in which to identify communist programs with such genuine religious values as “peace,” “brotherhood,” “justice.” One member bragged how in a church talk he had “plugged” for Marx. The communists are careful, however, not to overdo it. One fellow was too ambitious. He was challenged by alert church members and relieved of his leadership duties.
3. To make contact with youth: through class discussions, recreational affairs, etc. The object is not necessarily to recruit (although in one church several young people did join) but to plant a seed of Marxist-Leninist thought.
4. To exploit the church in the Party’s day-to-day agitational program. In the 1930’s and 1940’s the approach was chiefly through “immediate economic and political” problems, with the Party attempting to exploit the church’s legitimate interest in better housing and the elimination of social injustices.
Today this tactic is overshadowed by the “peace” issue. Every possible deceptive device is being used to link the Party’s “peace” program with the church. One Communist Party section issued instructions that every clergyman in the community be contacted to give a sermon on “peace.” Encourage “Party church members” to organize discussion groups, perhaps showing a “peace” film. If possible, circulate “peace” literature. If you can’t get inside, stand outside. One organizer said: “We are to dress up like other people and stand outside churches in our neighborhoods and use the slogan, ‘Peace on earth, good will toward men.’ “
5. To enlarge the area of Party contacts. One Party section advocated: Join small churches (100 to 500 membership), so that one can more easily work himself into a position of leader ship. Make as many personal contacts as possible. Learn where the church member works, what his hobbies are, etc. Someday he might be used. One Party member, active in youth work, learned that the parents of several young people were working in an industrial plant. Securing this information was most important, he said.
6. To influence clergymen. A dedicated clergyman, being a man of God, is a mortal enemy of communism. But if he can, by conversion, influence, or trickery, be made to support the communist program once or a few times or many times, the Party gains. If, for example, a clergyman can be persuaded to serve as sponsor or officer of a communist front, to issue a testimonial or to sign a clemency petition for a communist “victim of persecution,” his personal prestige lends weight to the cause.
The church, in communist eyes, is an “enemy” institution to be infiltrated, subverted, and bent to serve Party aims. Any successes make the comrades diabolically happy. One member, talking to her communist friends, laughed about prayers in church. “Who wants to hear such stuff, but what can I do? That’s the only way I can get in there.”
We might expect, considering the importance of materialism in communist theory, that the Party’s constitution would set forth atheism as a basic principle of communism. But “. . . we do not declare,” said Lenin, “and must not declare in our programme that we are ‘Atheists’. . . .”
The Party’s aim, in addition to that of exploiting the church, is to neutralize religion as an effective counter weapon. At present virtually nothing is being said in open Party propaganda that is antireligious. Pamphlet after pamphlet is issued on civil rights, “peace,” “democracy”; very few on religion. Communists in the United States, however, are on record in regard to their views on religion: for example, Earl Browder, Communism in the United States (1935), pages 334-49; William Z. Foster, The Twilight of World Capitalism (1949), pages 87-99 and “Reply to a Priest’s Letter,” Political Affairs (October, 1954). Also, a pamphlet, Science and Religion, by Marcel Cachin (1946), editor of L’Humanité, French communist newspaper, has been circulated.
If members are forced to present the Party’s views, they are instructed to stress, as Lenin did, that religion is a “private matter” for the individual, and to pose as “tolerant.” Doesn’t the Party’s constitution say that a person is eligible for membership “regardless of . . . religious belief?” The object here is to dull the vigilance of the noncommunist mind and to make religious belief appear as something minor, secondary, and inconsequential.
When tactically expedient, the communists even liken themselves to the early Christian martyrs suffering persecution for attempting to aid mankind.
One cartoon published in The Worker shows a sketch of Christ in the form of a wanted criminal. The caption reads: “REWARD for Information Leading to the Apprehensi—“
“JESUS CHRIST
WANTED—for Sedition, Criminal
Anarchy, Vagrancy, and Conspiring
to Overthrow the Established Government”
“Dresses Poorly. Said to be a carpenter by trade, ill-nourished, has visionary ideas, associates with common working people, the unemployed and bums . . . Alias: ‘Prince of Peace. Son of Man’ . . . Professional agitator.”
“Red beard, marks on hands and feet the result of injuries inflicted by an angry mob led by respectable citizens and legal authorities.”
A Daily Worker writer, reviewing a movie in which the back ground was laid in the early Christian era, says: “Some interesting parallels can be found between the persecution of the Christians shown in the film and the political jailings in the United States today.”
Behind these deceptive tactics, however, can be seen the real nature of communism. For the member, religion is not a private affair. No tolerance is allowed. He cannot be a Marxist and adhere to a religion. The Party is today desperately working to mold atheistic materialism as a weapon of revolution, a revolution which, if it is to succeed, must first sap religion’s spiritual strength and then destroy it.
The Party’s attack can be traced through four stages:
1. Recruitment: keyed to the Party’s general approach toward non-communists, the issue of religion is minimized. “Try to win recruits on the basis of wages and the class struggle rather than religion,” and, “Go ahead and tell a fellow you believe in God to keep from getting into an argument.” Likewise it is urged, “If we approach a church-goer we do not hit him over the head and tell him his idea is crazy. We take a tactical approach . . .”
Lenin’s advice still holds: “We must not only admit . . . all those workers who still retain faith in God, we must redouble our efforts to recruit them. We are absolutely opposed to the slightest affront to these workers’ religious convictions. We recruit them in order to educate them in the spirit of our programme . . .”
2. Early indoctrination: keyed to patience if recruits continue to attend church after joining the Party. They must be gradually “educated.” If new members begin to ask questions, they are to be made to feel, not that their fellow communists are trying to take away their belief, but that these communists are “advanced thinkers,” that they hold a “scientific” concept of the universe, and that religion is to them simply “old-fashioned.” Typical of what members are told are these comments made by communist leaders:
—“How silly to think there is a God.”
—“Religion comes from primitive man’s worship of such things as thunder, lightning and the sun.”
—“Religion was used as an explanation of unanswerable questions, such as, ‘Why does it rain?’ Answer: ‘God willed it.’”
3. Special indoctrination: keyed to the real job of teaching Marxist materialism are special indoctrination classes. “Our programme thus necessarily includes the propaganda of atheism,” said Lenin, directing his words, of course, to Party members.
A few statements from Party members reveal how persistent is the communist fight against God:
—“The concept of God is manmade and is based on ignorance.”
—“Marxism-Leninism is a science and has solved the mysteries of religion.”
—“To be a true communist you have to be an atheist.”
—“Communism will supplant religion and will keep you warm and give you all the comforts of healthful living.”
—“Religious people fear facts and resort to such things as prayer to end war, but prayers are actually futile and leave war to the capitalists while people sit around praying.”
4. Final goal: the utter elimination of all religion (called “bourgeois remnants”) from the heart, mind, and soul of man, and the total victory of atheistic communism. Religious attitudes keep cropping up, however, even in the trained member. One individual admitted that it had taken him a long time to give up his religion. “It was one of the hardest parts of my Party development.”
Even in Soviet Russia, after a generation of the most bitter propaganda, religion is far from exterminated. “One of the most widespread traces of the past in the minds of the people,” said one Soviet writer, “is religious superstition and darkness, survivals of the old, anti-scientific conceptions of nature, society and of man himself.” He adds, “The historic victories of atheism in our country do not mean, however, that religion is over and done with. There are still among us no few believers, i.e., people who continue to remain in the fetters of religion.”
To combat these religious “remnants,” says this Soviet writer, more antireligious propaganda is needed. “. . . forming an advanced, materialist outlook in the rising generation and combating every type of superstition and religious belief make up a most important sector in the fight for the communist education of youth.” Another Soviet writer states, “Convincing, profoundly reasoned propaganda of atheism which does not offend the feelings of believers is the main characteristic of all ant religious work at the present moment.”
Here, then, is the fight the communist leaders wage. We do not believe they can ever win it. These so-called “religious survivals” represent something far deeper in man than the communists can grant: some eternal reaching toward a creative source. But if the Party does not realize the true nature and strength of these “survivals,” it does realize that religion is its most potent foe. To meet this challenge no hesitant, indifferent, half-apologetic acts on our own part can suffice. Out of the deep roots of religion flows something warm and good, the affirmation of love and justice; here is the source of strength for our land if we are to remain free. It is ours to defend and to nourish.