World War II Brings a Change

WORLD War II broke out in September 1939. Within two years Hitler’s armies overran western Poland, France, several other European countries and much of the Balkans. Then, in 1941, the victorious Nazis turned their attention eastward.

In June of that year, German armies plunged into the Soviet Union. By December they had captured nearly all the western part of the country and had reached the outskirts of Moscow. The nation’s survival was hanging in the balance.

However, severe winter weather and determined resistance by Soviet troops and partisans stopped the German tide at the year’s end. But it was obvious that more assaults would be forthcoming the next spring. The Soviet government knew that its people had to be stirred up for what was ahead. A maximum effort was needed.

One thing that made this task easier was the viciousness of the German invaders. The devastation they caused, their slaughter of millions of people, their claims to racial superiority and their clear intent to wipe out many of the Slavs, infuriated the Soviets.

Yet, even more motivation was needed. In order to muster all the resources of the nation and to get the wholehearted cooperation of all the people, the government had to have the support of the religious leaders. Why was this the case?

The government needed the support of religious leaders because there were still tens of millions of religious people in the country. True, Communism had been in control of the nation for twenty-four years. But that was not nearly enough time to raise several younger generations of atheists who, the Communists felt, would gradually replace dying older believers. Many of the people over twenty years of age, especially the women, still professed a religion.

Change Toward Religion

Therefore the Communist rulers, including Stalin, saw the need to change their attitude toward religion. They realized that their campaigns against religion had alienated many religious people. So, from the autumn of 1941 onward, the Communist leadership started making concessions.

Before long, these efforts had their effect. In 1942 Metropolitan Sergei hailed Stalin as Russia’s “divinely anointed leader.” Then, in 1943, Stalin received leading officials of the Orthodox Church in his Kremlin office and authorized them to elect Sergei as the new patriarch. Thus ended a period of eighteen years without an official head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

More concessions were made. The publication of a Church journal was permitted. Several theological seminaries were reopened, as were many churches. The drive to destroy religion was muted. Also, limitations on other religions were eased.

Patriarch Sergei died in 1944. He was succeeded by Alexei. The Encyclopædia Britannica notes that Alexei assured Stalin of the “feelings of profound love and gratitude” with which all “church workers” were inspired. Now, church leaders everywhere pleaded with their followers to give their support to the Communist government. And the government rewarded some of the clergy for their effort by giving them medals.

Church leaders told their followers that the fight against the Nazi invaders was, not only in defense of the Soviet Union, but also in defense of Christianity. The churches took up collections to buy weapons. By January of 1943 the donations were enough to equip a squadron of fighter planes. Another contribution equipped a tank unit, and when this unit was turned over to the Red Army in a solemn ceremony, Metropolitan Nikoloy praised Stalin as “our common Father.”

Finally, by 1945, the German armies were rolled back. Soviet troops advanced into Germany. To commemorate these events, an assembly was convened under the direction of Patriarch Alexei. The assembly adopted a proclamation in which the victories of the Red Army were praised as victories of Christ over the forces of darkness. The proclamation stated: “Everyone can see whose weapons [those of the Soviets] our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed and whose weapons [those of the Germans] did not receive such blessing.” A few days later the Communist leaders expressed their gratitude for the effort put forth by the churches.

A Change of Heart?

Did the change in attitude by the government indicate a true change of heart toward religion? By no means. As the book Europe Since 1939 states:

“Strictly secular objectives impelled the Soviet masters, who were materialistic atheists, to extend concessions to religious sentiments. Religiously inclined citizens in the USSR, it was reasoned, would support the state at war more fully; animosity toward the Communist way of life among Christians in allied countries to the west would be tempered, and devout Orthodox Christians in the Balkan peninsula would sympathize more warmly with Russia.”

Did these tactics succeed? The author of the book just mentioned, Arthur J. May from the University of Rochester, states: “In greater or lesser degree, all of these aims were achieved through the moderation adopted by the Kremlin.” Another result he observed was that “in the sphere of religion, as indeed everywhere else, the cult of Stalin flourished.”

Religion had become useful to the Communists! How useful can be seen even after the war’s end. In the book The Soviet Union: The Fifty Years, edited by Harrison Salisbury, we read: “With the war’s end, church leaders fell in with the Cold War demands of Stalin’s foreign policy.”

At an Easter celebration in 1949, a typical incident occurred. During midnight services at Moscow’s Yelokhovsky cathedral, Patriarch Alexei pronounced God’s blessing on the leader of the Soviet state, Joseph Stalin. And, in 1950, Alexei sent a telegram to the United Nations Security Council protesting “United States aggression in Korea.”

It becomes obvious, then, that the Soviet leadership’s concessions were politically motivated. By this means the churches would be more cooperative. In addition, with the government approving only those clergymen loyal to the State, religion could be completely regulated in harmony with Communist goals.

There could be no doubt that the changes did not represent a real change of heart. The Communists’ objective was still the strangulation of all religion. But their tactics were becoming more subtle. They saw the advantage of using “salami tactics,” whittling away the power and support of religion gradually. This would avoid the undue arousing of opposition, or the creating of martyrs for religion, as had been the case with the head-on tactics used at first.

Of course, not everybody abroad or even in the Soviet Union was convinced that high church officials were all genuine churchmen. The extent of their compromising caused some of them to be accused of being government agents put in office to control the churches. The accusers pointed out that other high clergymen who had opposed Communism had been imprisoned or killed. But the favored clergy were able to move about freely and continue in their offices.

Whether such high clergymen were direct agents of the government or not, the effect was the same. They worked closely with the Communist government to accomplish its aims. And one of those aims was still the determination to kill religion.

Actions Show Objective Unchanged

That the government’s long-range policy of destroying religion had not changed could be seen in its official acts and pronouncements. For instance, despite the concessions made to religion in return for its support, the right to spread one’s religion was still forbidden. The profession of atheism continued to be a condition for membership in the Communist party.

Also, religious instruction continued to be forbidden in school. Atheism was still the official teaching, and it included anti-religious propaganda. Special attention was given to the promotion of atheism among the “Young Pioneers” and “Union of Communist Youth.” The party’s official policy was summed up in this counsel published in Komsomolskaya Pravda, the official journal of the youth league:

“Young Communists must be not only convinced atheists and opposed to all superstitions [religion], but must actively combat the spread of superstitions and prejudices among youth.”

The death of Stalin did not halt the Soviet’s long-range goals against religion. Toward the end of the 1950’s and especially in the early 1960’s under Premier Nikita Khrushchev, much pressure was brought to bear against all religious groups. The scope of it became evident later. New York Times correspondent Peter Grose reported:

“The extent of the damage done to the religious structure across the Soviet Union in the five years before 1964 is now becoming apparent. Dissident churchman in Russia have claimed that 10,000 places of worship were closed down by authorities in those years. . . .

“A vast bureaucratic structure was evolved to insure that church operations across the land were brought under the effective control of the civil power.”

Hence, while Communist leaders have made adjustments in their fight against religion, they have been, and continue to be, single-minded in their objectives. They work unceasingly toward wiping out religion in the Soviet Union.

After all these years of opposition, what is left of religion in that land? Just how strong is religion in the Soviet Union today?