Attacks on religious beliefs and practices (Stalin)

• • Stalin was pragmatic when dealing with religion.
  • During WW2, Stalin allowed Russian Orthodoxy because it provided a morale boost to citizens and soldiers.
  • Orthodox Church grew under Stalin.
• • Stalin gave Patriarch Sergius a personal home in Moscow.
  • Stalin reopened 414 churches.
  • Stalin proclaimed as 'God's Chosen Leader'.
• Stalinist attacks on religion

  • Collectivisation; ordered closure of many Churches due to rumours they resisted Collectivisation policies.
  • Central Asia; targets set for purging ethnic groups; NKVD attacked Islamic Priests and Intellectuals.
  • Jadids and Sufi Islamic Groups attacked.
  • By end of 1936; Sufi groups in Ferghana Valley of Turkestan were destroyed.
  • Islam still survived; Sufi Groups led by women kept their Islamic traditions alive.
• Religion and WW2

  • Pragmatic alliance with the Church; Orthodox Church linked to Russian patriotism; Church provided comfort for bereaved families; soldiers found 'more comfort and inspiration in a few of Jesus' words than the entire works of Marx and Lenin'.
  • Policy shift; anti-religious publications such as 'Bezbozhnik' ended; Metropolitan Sergey granted official residence in Moscow; censorship of religious magazines ended after war.
  • Orthodox priests rose to 11,827 in 1948.