Changes

*Froese, Paul (March 2004). [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/jssr/2004/00000043/00000001/art00003?crawler=true "Forced secularization in Soviet Russia:  why an atheistic monopoly failed" [abstract&#93;].  ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', vol. 43, 1, pp. 35-50.  Abstract: Ingentaconnect</ref>

*Froese, Paul (March 2004). [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/jssr/2004/00000043/00000001/art00003?crawler=true "Forced secularization in Soviet Russia:  why an atheistic monopoly failed" [abstract&#93;].  ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'', vol. 43, 1, pp. 35-50.  Abstract: Ingentaconnect</ref>

China is a communist country. In 1999, the publication [[Christian Century]] reported that "China has persecuted religious believers by means of harassment, prolonged detention, and incarceration in prison or 'reform-through-labor' camps and police closure of places of worship." In 2003, owners of [[Bible]]s in China were sent to prison camps and 125 Chinese churches were closed.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35818 "China sends Bible owners to labor camp"] (November 26, 2003). ''WorldNetDaily''.</ref>  China continues to practice religious oppression today.<ref> [http://www.epm.org/resources/2003/Jun/12/chinese-police-proudly-record-their-torture-christ/ Chinese Police Proudly Record Their Torture of Christians], By Voice of the Martyrs|June 12, 2003</ref>   

China is a communist country. In 1999, the publication [[Christian Century]] reported that "China has persecuted religious believers by means of harassment, prolonged detention, and incarceration in prison or 'reform-through-labor' camps and police closure of places of worship." In 2003, owners of [[Bible]]s in China were sent to prison camps and 125 Chinese churches were closed.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35818 "China sends Bible owners to labor camp"] (November 26, 2003). ''WorldNetDaily''.</ref>  China continues to practice religious oppression today.<ref>[http://www.epm.org/resources/2003/Jun/12/chinese-police-proudly-record-their-torture-christ/ Chinese Police Proudly Record Their Torture of Christians], By Voice of the Martyrs|June 12, 2003</ref>   

The efforts of China's atheist leaders in promoting atheism, however, is increasingly losing its effectiveness and the number of Christians in China is rapidly growing (see: [[Growth of Christianity in China]]).  China's state sponsored atheism and atheistic indoctrination has been a failure and a 2007 religious survey in China indicated that only 15% of Chinese identified themselves as atheists.<ref>Briggs, David (January 23, 2011).  [http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/01/23/huffington-post-chinas-state-sponsored-atheism-a-failure/ "Huffington Post: China’s state-sponsored atheism a failure" [excerpt&#93;].  National Post website. </ref>

The efforts of China's atheist leaders in promoting atheism, however, is increasingly losing its effectiveness and the number of Christians in China is rapidly growing (see: [[Growth of Christianity in China]]).  China's state sponsored atheism and atheistic indoctrination has been a failure and a 2007 religious survey in China indicated that only 15% of Chinese identified themselves as atheists.<ref>Briggs, David (January 23, 2011).  [http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/01/23/huffington-post-chinas-state-sponsored-atheism-a-failure/ "Huffington Post: China’s state-sponsored atheism a failure" [excerpt&#93;].  National Post website.</ref>

[[North Korea]] is a repressive communist state and is officially atheistic.<ref>Lee, Sunny (May 12, 2007). [http://web.archive.org/web/20130521065544/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/IE12Dg01.html "God forbid, religion in North Korea?"]  Asia Times Online.  Archived at Internet Archive on May 21, 2013. </ref> The North Korean government practices brutal repression and atrocities against North Korean Christians.<ref>Multiple references:

[[North Korea]] is a repressive communist state and is officially atheistic.<ref>Lee, Sunny (May 12, 2007). [http://web.archive.org/web/20130521065544/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/IE12Dg01.html "God forbid, religion in North Korea?"]  Asia Times Online.  Archived at Internet Archive on May 21, 2013.</ref> The North Korean government practices brutal repression and atrocities against North Korean Christians.<ref>Multiple references:

*Clyne, Meghan (November 16, 2005). [http://www.nysun.com/article/23082?page_no=1 "Korean reds targeting Christians"]. The New York Sun.  

*Clyne, Meghan (November 16, 2005). [http://www.nysun.com/article/23082?page_no=1 "Korean reds targeting Christians"]. The New York Sun.  

*Siemon-Netto, Uwe (May 7, 2003). [http://northkoreanchristians.com/chinese-atrocities.html "North Korean and Chinese atrocities against Christians worsen"].  NewsMax.  NorthKoreanChristians.com </ref>

*Siemon-Netto, Uwe (May 7, 2003). [http://northkoreanchristians.com/chinese-atrocities.html "North Korean and Chinese atrocities against Christians worsen"].  NewsMax.  NorthKoreanChristians.com</ref>

== Atheistic communism and the torture of religious adherents ==

== Atheistic communism and the torture of religious adherents ==

Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor of the Underground Church, wrote in his book ''Tortured for Christ'':  

Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor of the Underground Church, wrote in his book ''Tortured for Christ'':  

{{cquote|I worked in both an official and underground manner until February 29,1948....On that Sunday, on my way to church, I was kidnapped from the street by the secret police....A van of the secret police stopped in front of me, four men jumped out and pushed me into the van. I was taken away for many years.

{{cquote|I worked in both an official and underground manner until February 29, 1948....On that Sunday, on my way to church, I was kidnapped from the street by the secret police....A van of the secret police stopped in front of me, four men jumped out and pushed me into the van. I was taken away for many years.

For over eight years, no one knew if I was alive or dead. My wife was visited by the secret police who posed as released fellow-prisoners. They told her they had attended my burial. She was heart-broken.

For over eight years, no one knew if I was alive or dead. My wife was visited by the secret police who posed as released fellow-prisoners. They told her they had attended my burial. She was heart-broken.

=== Torture in the Soviet Union ===

=== Torture in the Soviet Union ===

[[Image:Stalin-140508 27880t.jpg|right|235px|thumb|[[Joseph Stalin]], the Premier of the [[Soviet Union]] from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953, patronised the [[League of Militant Atheists]], whose chief aim, under the leadership of Yemelyan Yaroslavsky, was to propagate [[militant atheism]] and eradicate [[religion]].<ref name=Hesemann-Strieber>{{cite book|author=Michael Hesemann, Whitley Strieber|title=The Fatima Secret|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=tx-BEpkJBq8C&pg=PT107&dq=Joseph+Stalin+militant+atheism&hl=en&ei=-DeRTpLrJoPi0QHo88wi&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Joseph%20Stalin%20militant%20atheism&f=false|quote=Lenin's death in 1924 was followed by the rise of Joseph Stalin, "the man of steel," who founded the "Union of Militant Atheists," whose chief aim was to spread atheism and eradicate religion. In the following years it devastated hundreds of churches, destroyed old icons and relics, and persecuted the clergy with unimaginable brutality.|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|date=2000|accessdate=09 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=Steeves>{{cite book|author=Paul D. Steeves|title=Keeping the faiths: religion and ideology in the Soviet Union|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=l7soAAAAYAAJ&q=%22When+a+priest+is+deprived+of+his+congregation,+that+does+not%22&dq=%22When+a+priest+is+deprived+of+his+congregation,+that+does+not%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_ijVUemwOoXRyQGqkICwBA&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ|quote=The League of Militant Atheists was formed in 1926 and by 1930 had recruited three million members. Five years later there were 50,000 local groups affiliated to the League and the nominal membership had risen to five million. Children from 8-14 years of age were enrolled in Groups of Godless Youth, and the League of Communist Youth (Komsomol) took a vigorous anti- religious line. Several antireligious museums were opened in former churches and a number of Chairs of Atheism were established in Soviet universities. Prizes were offered for the best 'Godless hymns' and for alternative versions of the Bible from which ... the leader of the League of Militant Atheists, Yemelian Yaroslavsky, said: "When a priest is deprived of his congregation, that does not mean that he stops being a priest. He changes into an itinerant priest. He travels around with his primitive tools in the villages, performs religious rites, reads prayers, baptizes children. Such wandering priests are at times more dangerous than those who carry on their work at a designated place of residence." The intensified persecution, which was a part of the general terror inflicted upon Soviet society by Stalin's policy, ...|publisher=Holmes & Meier|date=1989|accessdate=04 July 2013}}</ref>]]

[[Image:Stalin-140508 27880t.jpg|right|235px|thumb|[[Joseph Stalin]], the Premier of the [[Soviet Union]] from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953, patronised the [[League of Militant Atheists]], whose chief aim, under the leadership of Yemelyan Yaroslavsky, was to propagate [[militant atheism]] and eradicate [[religion]].<ref name=Hesemann-Strieber>{{cite book|author=Michael Hesemann, Whitley Strieber|title=The Fatima Secret|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=tx-BEpkJBq8C&pg=PT107&dq=Joseph+Stalin+militant+atheism&hl=en&ei=-DeRTpLrJoPi0QHo88wi&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Joseph%20Stalin%20militant%20atheism&f=false|quote=Lenin's death in 1924 was followed by the rise of Joseph Stalin, "the man of steel," who founded the "Union of Militant Atheists," whose chief aim was to spread atheism and eradicate religion. In the following years it devastated hundreds of churches, destroyed old icons and relics, and persecuted the clergy with unimaginable brutality.|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|date=2000|accessdate=9 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=Steeves>{{cite book|author=Paul D. Steeves|title=Keeping the faiths: religion and ideology in the Soviet Union|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=l7soAAAAYAAJ&q=%22When+a+priest+is+deprived+of+his+congregation,+that+does+not%22&dq=%22When+a+priest+is+deprived+of+his+congregation,+that+does+not%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_ijVUemwOoXRyQGqkICwBA&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ|quote=The League of Militant Atheists was formed in 1926 and by 1930 had recruited three million members. Five years later there were 50,000 local groups affiliated to the League and the nominal membership had risen to five million. Children from 8-14 years of age were enrolled in Groups of Godless Youth, and the League of Communist Youth (Komsomol) took a vigorous anti- religious line. Several antireligious museums were opened in former churches and a number of Chairs of Atheism were established in Soviet universities. Prizes were offered for the best 'Godless hymns' and for alternative versions of the Bible from which ... the leader of the League of Militant Atheists, Yemelian Yaroslavsky, said: "When a priest is deprived of his congregation, that does not mean that he stops being a priest. He changes into an itinerant priest. He travels around with his primitive tools in the villages, performs religious rites, reads prayers, baptizes children. Such wandering priests are at times more dangerous than those who carry on their work at a designated place of residence." The intensified persecution, which was a part of the general terror inflicted upon Soviet society by Stalin's policy, ...|publisher=Holmes & Meier|date=1989|accessdate=4 July 2013}}</ref>]]

In the atheistic [[communism|communist]] regime of the [[Soviet Union]], torture was frequently employed to extract false confessions which were subsequently used to establish that individuals were "enemies of the people" - particularly under the [[Militant atheism|militant atheist]] [[Joseph Stalin]]'s regime.<ref>[[Alexander Solzhenitsyn]]. "The Gulag Archipelago"</ref>

In the atheistic [[communism|communist]] regime of the [[Soviet Union]], torture was frequently employed to extract false confessions which were subsequently used to establish that individuals were "enemies of the people" - particularly under the [[Militant atheism|militant atheist]] [[Joseph Stalin]]'s regime.<ref>[[Alexander Solzhenitsyn]]. "The Gulag Archipelago"</ref>

[[Atheism]] is a integral part of Marxist-Leninist/[[Mao Zedong|Maoist]] communist ideology (see: [[Atheism and communism]]).  In 1955, [[China|Chinese]] communist leader Zhou Enlai declared, "We Communists are atheists".<ref>Noebel, David, The Battle for Truth, Harvest House, 2001.</ref> In 2015, the Communist Party of China reaffirmed that members of their party must be atheists.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/02/china-communist-party-atheism-zhejiang-ban-religious-members-christianity_n_6599722.html China's Communist Party Bans Believers, Doubles Down On Atheism]</ref>

[[Atheism]] is a integral part of Marxist-Leninist/[[Mao Zedong|Maoist]] communist ideology (see: [[Atheism and communism]]).  In 1955, [[China|Chinese]] communist leader Zhou Enlai declared, "We Communists are atheists".<ref>Noebel, David, The Battle for Truth, Harvest House, 2001.</ref> In 2015, the Communist Party of China reaffirmed that members of their party must be atheists.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/02/china-communist-party-atheism-zhejiang-ban-religious-members-christianity_n_6599722.html China's Communist Party Bans Believers, Doubles Down On Atheism]</ref>

The atheistic communist regime of China has a long-standing track record of persecuting religious believers. In 1999, the publication [[Christian Century]] reported that "[[China]] has persecuted religious believers by means of harassment, prolonged detention, and incarceration in prison or 'reform-through-labor' camps and police closure of places of worship." In 2003, owners of [[Bible]]s in China were sent to prison camps and 125 Chinese churches were closed.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35818 "China sends Bible owners to labor camp"] (November 26, 2003). ''WorldNetDaily''.</ref>  China continues to practice religious oppression today.<ref>[http://theworldnow.wordpress.com/tag/around-the-world/asia/china/ "China: Christians tortured while under arrest"] (September 27, 2006). ''The World Now''. </ref>

The atheistic communist regime of China has a long-standing track record of persecuting religious believers. In 1999, the publication [[Christian Century]] reported that "[[China]] has persecuted religious believers by means of harassment, prolonged detention, and incarceration in prison or 'reform-through-labor' camps and police closure of places of worship." In 2003, owners of [[Bible]]s in China were sent to prison camps and 125 Chinese churches were closed.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35818 "China sends Bible owners to labor camp"] (November 26, 2003). ''WorldNetDaily''.</ref>  China continues to practice religious oppression today.<ref>[http://theworldnow.wordpress.com/tag/around-the-world/asia/china/ "China: Christians tortured while under arrest"] (September 27, 2006). ''The World Now''.</ref>

However, despite Chinese communists efforts to suppress [[religion]], [[Christianity]] is experiencing rapid growth in China (see: [[Growth of Christianity in China]]).

However, despite Chinese communists efforts to suppress [[religion]], [[Christianity]] is experiencing rapid growth in China (see: [[Growth of Christianity in China]]).

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

[[Category: Atheism]]

[[Category:Atheism]]