Atheism and repressive prisons
Contents
Atheistic China, political prisoners and forced labor in prisons
See also: Atheism and repressive prisons and Atheism and forced labor and Atheism and communism
Most atheists are East Asians (see: Asian atheism).
China has the world's largest atheist population.[2][3]
In 1955, Chinese communist leader Zhou Enlai declared, "We Communists are atheists".[4] In 2014, the Communist Party of China reaffirmed that members of their party must be atheists.[5]
In 2016, the International Business Times reported:
| “ | A senior Chinese advisor on religious affairs has said the country should promote atheism throughout society, in remarks that appear to reflect a deepening campaign to reinforce traditional Marxist values in China — and could add to concern about official attitudes among believers in the country’s five officially recognized religions.[6] | ” |
According to CNN, hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of labor camps and forced labor prisons (called laogai) still exist in modern China.[7] The prisons house political prisoners and dissidents alongside dangerous criminals.
The Chinese government run media outlet Xinhua reported in early 2013 that the country plans to reform its "controversial re-education through labor system this year."[8]
See also:
China and involuntary organ harvesting of prisoners
See also: China and involuntary organ harvesting
Several researchers — for example, Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas, former Canadian parliamentarian David Kilgour, and the investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann estimate that tens of thousands of Falun Gong prisoners in communist China have been killed to supply a financially lucrative trade in human organs and cadavers, and that these human rights abuses may be ongoing concern.[9]
Soviet Gulags, political prisoners and forced labor
See also: Atheism and forced labor and Atheism and communism
According to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."[10]
The Gulag is the extensive network of prison camps used in the atheistic Soviet Union to imprison Joseph Stalin's political enemies. Although the prison camps housed a wide variety of criminals, it also had a large amount of political prisoners.
For information about forced labor in Soviet prison camps, please see: Atheistic communism and forced labor
See also
- ↑ Labor camps reinforce China's totalitarian rule. Cnn.com (1984-10-09). Retrieved on 2013-03-20.
- ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)
- ↑ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live, Washington Post By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013
- ↑ Noebel, David, The Battle for Truth, Harvest House, 2001.
- ↑
- ↑ Senior Chinese Religious Advisor Calls For Promotion Of Atheism In Society, International Business Times
- ↑ Labor camps reinforce China's totalitarian rule. Cnn.com (1984-10-09). Retrieved on 2013-03-20.
- ↑ "China to reform re-education through labor system", Xinhua, January 8, 2013. Retrieved on January 8, 2013.
- ↑ Review of: Ethan Gutmann, “The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem”, (Prometheus Books, 2014).
- ↑ Investigating atheism: Marxism. University of Cambridge (2008). Retrieved on July 17, 2014. “The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.”
