And God Created Lenin: Marxism Vs Religion in Russia, 1917-1929

By Paul Gabel

This bookexamines in depth the conflict between Lenin's logic-driven efforts to stamp out religion and the churches' passionate attempts to save themselves from obliteration. It looks at both sides objectively and admits that they both presented strong cases. In this thoroughly researched yet accessible study, historian Paul Gabel offers a new understanding of the only effort in world history to upset the universality of religion.Besides the main conflict between the Russian Orthodox Church and the atheist state, Gabel also considers the tensions that this campaign against religion caused within the Communist Party. In addition, he discusses the bitter hatred dividing the Orthodox factions that refused cooperation with the government from those that tried to adapt the church to communism. Was the failure of Soviet communism to eradicate religion simply a matter of practical miscalculation, or was this effort, in light of the persistence of religion throughout history, ultimately unrealistic and doomed from the start? This is the key question that Gabel's fascinating, insightful narrative attempts to answer.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591023068
• ISBN13: 9781591023067
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 627 Pages
• Weight: 2.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An Interesting Study of the Conflict Between Marxism and Religion.

_And God Created Lenin: Marxism vs. Religion in Russia, 1917 - 1929_, published in 2005 by Prometheus Books by historian Paul Gabel is a fairly interesting study of the conflict that arose between Marxism and religion. The author makes the contention that he is investigating whether the Bolsheviks had a realistic chance of creating a perfectly secular society free from the influence of religion. Unfortunately, at times the author is quite unfair to religion, relying on hostile sources for information about the Russian peasantry, and maintaining for example that prayer is "superstition" though with no evidence to back up this complicated issue. The author obviously favors secularism and ends his book with the hope that a perfectly secular society free from religion may one day be constructed. He also offers several possibilities for the secular state, though as I see them none of these are legitimate functions of any state. Ultimately the book is written to explain why Marxism failed in Russia and why religion persisted (though the author maintains it was severely weakened by the process). Despite these criticisms however, the book does offer quite a bit of useful information about this complicated relationship and the history of Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church. The book does make some interesting points about the brutality of the Soviets and how in trying to quash all religion committed excesses far worse than any committed by the religious. However, the author's central argument that Marxism itself is not religious in nature is not something I believe that can really be taken seriously. In the absence of religion, something must arise to take its place. And that something in the Soviet Union turned out to be a gigantic bureaucratic and totalitarian state. Eric Voegelin for example has written about this and refers to such modern "secular religions" as a revival of old Gnostic heresy with the goal of creating heaven and hell here on earth. This book offers some useful and interesting reflections nonetheless and provides information that really is difficult to come by. As such it is certainly worth reading, although at times I find myself disagreeing adamantly with the author's perspective. In the "Introduction" the author lays out the question of the nature of the conflict between Marxism and religion, in particular the conflict between Bolshevism and the Russian Orthodox Church. The author explains that both sides may be seen as the opposites in a Chinese yin-yang symbol. Following this, the author examines the meaning of religion. The author notes that Leninism developed the external trappings of religion but maintains that it in fact was not religion (however this claim seems spurious in light of the remarks made above). Part I of this book is entitled "Prelude". The first chapter of this book is entitled "A Fourth There Will Never Be: A Brief History of Russian Orthodoxy". Here, the author explains the conflict be

Worth The Money

This book is worth the money. If you interested in European history, the CPSU, Lenin, Stalin, and this era of Soviet history, you must buy this book. Even though this book was published as "popular" it's a great peace of scholarship. Gabel has over 627 pages of writing about about 100 pages of of notes (if not that many, it is a lot). I can only say you've got to buy and to appreciate it. Gabel cover's many topics that fans of history, political science, and sociology will appreciate! If you've got any questions about the books; please, email me at[...] Zach

Marxism vs Religion

Soviet Russia, under the faith of Marxism, tried to stamp religiosity out of the country. Rather than compete in the marketplace of ideas, as should have been done (but which always results in great variance in beliefs), the approach that was taken was more akin to stubborn parents trying to tell their teenage daughter that they do not approve of her boyfriend. This, of course, does nothing to lessen the girl's interest in the boy. Much of what followed in the attempt to replace old Christian faith with the new Marxist faith entailed atrocities every bit as bad as those found during Christianity's darkest hours, and really wasn't all that different than the inquisition itself.

Great book, fun to read, overlooked topic

For fans of history, this is a look at a fascinating time after the Russian revolution. The time this book covers happens within twenty years of the two world wars and the great depression. Obviously, the first wide scale attempt to force atheism on a population would get overshadowed. A lot of good stories in here, written in an easy to read fashion. Stamping out faith wasn't the first concern of the communists, but government barbarities were set up to deal with the issue creating some interesting interactions with the uneducated populace. The most ambitious of plans had to be scrapped due to resistance.