BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: The real reason communists fear religion and want believers silenced

Like galore others, I person been alarmed by the occurrence of definite politicians successful our state who place arsenic utmost socialists oregon communists. This is not a substance of classical liberals triumphing implicit standard-issue conservatives; this is the triumph of radical who basal athwart the cardinal principles that undergird our country.

There are galore reasons wherefore I detest communism, but I privation to gully attraction to conscionable 1 contented of ultimate importance. Karl Marx said that the archetypal critique is the critique of religion. He meant that, earlier a implicit reworking of the authorities and economics of a nine tin instrumentality place, religion has to beryllium taken down. This is due to the fact that religion, arsenic helium saw it, is the "opium of the masses," a cause taken to dull our sensitivity to the suffering caused by economical exploitation. As agelong arsenic the suffering populace is lured into complacency by fantasies astir God's providence and the committedness of eternal life, they volition ne'er emergence up and propulsion disconnected their chains.

In making this clarification, Marx was taking a measurement beyond his teacher, Ludwig Feuerbach. That little-known but massively influential German intelligence had asserted that God is but a projection of the idealized self-understanding of quality beings. We are knowledgeable, benignant and almighty to a constricted degree, but we would emotion to beryllium omniscient, omnibenevolent and omnipotent. And truthful we task this phantasy outward and invent the quality of God. And then, pathetically, we autumn connected our knees and worship what we person made and inquire it to springiness america what we want. Marx wholly accepted this mentation of religion, but helium asked the follow-up question: Why would we bash specified a thing? His reply is the opium mentation — that we bash it to dull our pain.

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On this reading, by the way, I, arsenic a bishop of the Catholic Church, would suffice fundamentally arsenic a high-level cause dealer. And during my years arsenic a seminary professor, I was fundamentally a trainer of retail-level cause pushers.

Democratic socialist and legislature campaigner Melat Kiros speaks to supporters astatine an election-night ticker enactment aft winning the Colorado superior connected June 30, 2026, successful Denver, Colorado. (Michael Ciaglo)

Can you see, therefore, why, for convinced Marxists, radical similar maine person to beryllium gotten retired of the mode and wherefore the phantasy we propagate has to beryllium debunked?

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But determination is simply a 2nd crushed wherefore the elimination of religion is of paramount value for Marx. Communism aspires to beryllium a totalizing system, involving the government's power implicit education, entertainment, communication, authorities and particularly economics.

What stands resolutely athwart this ambition is religion, which declares that each of these societal expressions are yet nether the judgement of God. If God exists, past determination is an nonsubjective motivation criterion by which each of it — government, politics, economics, etc. — tin beryllium evaluated and frankincense delimited. 

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How fascinating that the Bible, practically unsocial present successful the lit of the past world, refused to deify its leaders oregon its governmental arrangements. Even David, the top king successful the Old Testament, is frankly portrayed arsenic an adulterer and a murderer. And each of the kings of Israel — for the astir part, an unsavory batch — indispensable reply to the divine instrumentality and to the prophets who correspond that law.

The Bible, practically unsocial present successful the lit of the past world, refused to deify its leaders oregon its governmental arrangements.  (Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

This is why, incidentally, the nonestablishment of religion, arsenic good arsenic its escaped exercise, enshrined successful the First Amendment to our Constitution, is truthful vitally important. In giving religion state to run independently of the state, the framers of the First Amendment permitted religion to play its decently captious relation vis-à-vis the government.

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Therefore, it should beryllium wide that if 1 wants a totalizing strategy specified arsenic communism to succeed, religion has to beryllium stamped retired and its leaders person to beryllium silenced, marginalized or, astatine the limit, eliminated. If you uncertainty maine connected immoderate of this, I would promote you to work the caller histories of China, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Cambodia, Venezuela and Poland.

When, successful June 1979, Pope John Paul II spoke successful Victory Square successful Warsaw, astatine the tallness of the Cold War, helium was fulfilling the prophetic relation of a spiritual leader. With the full communist authorities of Poland down him connected the signifier but with astir a cardinal of the Polish radical successful beforehand of him, helium spoke of God, of quality rights and dignity, of the worth of the idiosyncratic — and the throng earlier him commenced to chant, "We privation God! We privation God! We privation God!" They accidental it went connected for 15 minutes. That infinitesimal proved to beryllium the opening of the extremity for the communist Soviet Empire. Again, bash you spot wherefore they're acrophobic of religion?

Pope John Paul II sits connected on a chair, wearing reddish robes with a representation of the St. Theresa of Avila successful the inheritance during his sojourn to Avila, Spain connected November 2, 1982.  (Getty)

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Might I promote my chap believers successful God not to beryllium complacent successful the look of this precise troubling improvement successful the American assemblage politic? The occurrence of extremist socialists and communists successful our electoral process is, for spiritual people, a existent and contiguous danger. 

So vote! Speak out! Get organized!

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