Superstition and religion

Whether religion and superstition are the same or different is not only a theoretical issue, but also a practical issue. Correctly distinguishing religion from superstition is of great significance for us to adhere to the Marxist view of religion and comprehensively and correctly implement the policy of freedom of religious belief.

We know everything. "We must pay attention to its similarities with other sports forms." But it is particularly important to pay attention to its particularity, that is, to pay attention to the qualitative difference between it and other things. Only by paying attention to this point can we distinguish things. "Selected Works of Mao Zedong 1 Volume, p. 283]. We should not only know the similarities between religion and superstition, but also know their specialities. Only in this way can we distinguish religion from superstition.

Religion and superstition are based on theism, believing in and worshiping gods or supernatural forces, which is their similarity. The early primitive religion in the history of religious development is polytheism or fetishism, which is amorphous and immature. For example, some religions have no religious doctrines, no religious organizations or even no religious names. What does this primitive religion contain:

First, people have theistic ideas in their minds, which is the condition for the emergence of religion;

Secondly, people hold sacrificial ceremonies for "personified gods and their idols" to pray for the gods of natural things to bless and eliminate disasters;

Third, there are people who preside over sacrifices in society. At first, it was the head of the family, and later there were full-time staff.

In the whole primitive society, it is difficult to distinguish the boundaries between religion and superstition, forming a state in which religion and superstition coexist. After mankind entered the class society, stereotyped, complete and systematic religions appeared, such as Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Taoism. Since then, superstitious activities characterized by witchcraft and exorcism have gradually separated from religion, forming a vulgar superstition of ghosts and gods. In the history of our country, some superstitious ghosts and gods existed as early as slave society, but most of them originated in feudal society. Therefore, this superstition of ghosts and gods is generally called feudal superstition.

There is a clear difference between religion and feudal superstition. Religion is a specific form of ideological belief and world outlook, which is only a reflection of the fantasy of external forces that dominate people's daily lives in people's minds. In this kind of reflection, human power is manifested as superhuman power? Quot[ZW (Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 3, page 354 [ZW]] Religion is still a certain form of cultural phenomenon, and it has left a rich cultural heritage in the fields of sociology such as philosophy, literature, art and ethics, and natural sciences such as medicine, chemistry, astronomy and life sciences.

Historically, religion has become an important part of cultural exchanges among people all over the world. Religion is also a social entity composed of people with the same thoughts and beliefs, that is, a social entity composed of religious ceremonies and religious organizations that are adapted to religious beliefs and feelings. Normal religious beliefs and activities, as long as they are well guided, will be conducive to social stability and national unity. Feudal superstition originated from theism, but it was not religion.

In our country, feudal superstition mainly refers to the activities of those gods, witches and superstitious professionals who use the witchcraft left over from feudal society to play tricks, deceive people, deceive people and harm people, such as inviting immortals to descend to earth, exorcising ghosts to treat diseases, reading bones, reading fortune, watching feng shui and so on. This feudal superstitious activity plays a role in destroying social order, disturbing people's hearts and damaging people's health. In addition, there are not many people who really believe in religion in our country, but many people believe in ghosts and gods and fate. They sometimes burn incense and kowtow, praying to God to bless them. If religion and superstition are regarded as one thing, anyone who believes in ghosts and gods and fate will be regarded as a "religious believer", which is not only absurd in theory, but also harmful in practice.

Our party and state have always had clear policy boundaries in dealing with religious beliefs, feudal superstitious activities and general superstitious activities. We will implement a policy of freedom of religious belief for major religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity, and protect normal religious beliefs and activities. All banned reactionary sects, gods and witches are not allowed to resume their activities. Anyone who deceives and harms others with lies will be severely banned and brought to justice. Article 99 of China's criminal law stipulates: "Whoever organizes and uses feudal superstitions and cults to carry out counter-revolutionary activities shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than five years; If the circumstances are minor, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention, control or deprivation of political rights. " Article 165 stipulates: "A wizard who uses superstition to spread rumors and defraud property shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, criminal detention or public surveillance; If the circumstances are serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years. " In addition, for superstitious professionals who make a living by reading fortune-telling, fortune-telling and geomantic omen. Mainly to educate, persuade and help them to stand on their own feet. Don't engage in such activities of deceiving people by superstition. If they don't comply, they should also be banned according to law. For the general superstitious activities of the masses, we can only adopt the method of education and guidance, improve their ideological consciousness and get rid of superstitious thoughts by popularizing scientific and cultural knowledge.

At present, in some places, it deserves attention. One is the revival of the forbidden witchcraft, and superstitious professionals also return to their old jobs, leading to the rise of feudal superstitious activities. A few grassroots cadres are not clear about what normal religious beliefs are and what feudal superstitious activities are, and some even support or participate in feudal superstitious activities. The other is that some people not only have low religious motivation, but also have poor religious awareness. They only know the canon and don't know the doctrine, which has certain blindness. Therefore, confusing religious belief with superstition of ghosts and gods also encourages feudal superstition activities.

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