Is it possible to be a communist and christian at the same time or is there room for religion in communism ? I dont know if this is the right forum to post this topic.

I don't see why not. All that aside, religion will have absolutely nothing to do with government law

I think it can exist atleast on a personal level, but preaching is questionable. I think most will say it can't exist at all.

And religion does have things to do with goverment law. THe Catholic Church used to represent large portions of what was the "government" in the middle ages. Thankfully it lost power. BUt now preachers can influence voters. And many preachers are extremists(such as pat robertson), and many preachers trick their followers into accepting unjust society.

The entire evangelical movement in the USA has tricked their followers into believing war and capitalism are ideal.

What I was stating is that in a Communist society, that religion will have nothing to do with the law of the people. I understand what you are saying about the preachers and the voting, but that is ill minded of a person, because in logic no man can know what God is thinking

Some will tell you that communism and religion cannot co-exist peacefully, but I believe they can. As long as you don't try to enforce our beliefs on others, don't let your beliefs get in the way you function in society, keep your religion to yourself, and don't spend too much time dwelling on the subject of religion. Oh yeah one more, DON"T BE A JESUS FREAK! or hypocritical. Personally I'm an agnostic who thinks that there is no way to tell that there is or isn't a god so debating on the subject is trivial.

Ok, I thought you said religion had no influence on government these days.

At a personal level, without the preaching.

The thing I'm not sure about is people congregating to discuss theology as equals, or to prayer in groups and stuff like that, but without one "leader" "priest" "scolar" or some other religous leader preaching how it should be interpreted.

I'm not so sure that the two can co-exist at all While I generally lean towards the above sentiments regarding personal religion, as opposed to the organised sort, I’m starting to wonder whether the two are incompatible. Basically most religions believe that some deity is up in the clouds while keeping an eye on affairs on the ground. Historical materialism rejects the idea that there is any divine intervention in human affairs – history progresses due to the relations of production and the class antagonisms that grow out of these. So really if you believe that there is a god up there directing events then you’re in direct conflict with Marx’s theories.

How do those things oppose eachother. If people believe a god exists that doesn't intervene, then how is there a problem.

Why must we follow exactly what Marx said. You know, he was wrong about a lot of things. He said there would be massive revolutions before the turn of the century in Europe.

A lot has changed since Marx died. You can't follow exactly what he said word for word.

What does the history of the world and the existence or non existance of a god(s) have to do with the problems capitalism creates.

Religion has no place in government policy, despite what you may hear. All foreign policy is determined by economic factors. The clash of civilizations much touted is nothing more than a land grab and buffet for crude oil.
The religious right in the land of the yankees does not function to spread or safeguard morality, but only to condemn government policy adversaries in language that can be understood by the lowest common denominator of intelligence. To condemn 'rogue' states with old rhetoric and furthur the yankee policy of demonisation of the enemy, to help yankee propaganda.
It isn't altar boys or donations that keep the televangelists on the air, nor the large organizations, that are funded by the government, through covert means or subsidies, or tax cuts, to keep them in business as an efficient proganda tool spouting off dogma and rhetoric conducive to yankee foreign policy.
It isn't about god, it's about the moolah!

Of course blindly following every word Marx, or anyone, says is stupid and no better than religion. But historical materialism is a fairly crucial aspect of Marx’s work. It explains how the theories apply to past history and how capitalism will similarly be overthrown. If you attach any weight to Marx’s teachings then this is not a concept that you can easily jettison.

Where does this feed into religion? Simple. Historical materialism shows that all past, and future, history is determined by economic factors (ie the relations of production). Politics and religion (the church, not the god) can influence history but it is ultimately the economic base that directs it. There’s no overriding human ideal or divine intervention that directs affairs, its purely a matter of material conditions.

Now you try and relate the above paragraph to religion. How many religions, or those that follow them, believe that there is a god that doesn't intervene in human affairs? The entire point of religion is that there is someone up there who gives a damn and who can help you out in a pickle. If you’re a devout believer then you don’t agree with historical materialism (and then I’d seriously doubt whether you were a Marxist) because you believe that history is a series of events directed by god or at least part of a divine struggle between good and evil.

I only see one problem with communism and religion co-exisiting and it is as follows

Religion is the opium of the people

Its peoples way of searching for hope in the epochs were man is exploited by man. In a communist world, hope will not have to be searched for, everyone will be equal, the world will be a better place, it won't matter if Gods exist because people will be happy with life, won't have to pray for hope and such like they used to.
I suppose it won't entirely fade a way. Maybe Budhism will rise in popularity. Catholicism fade more so? I dunno. Its hard to say.
If it continues to exist then I don't see why it cant apart from the above, people are entitled to their own belief systems but RELIGION SHOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH POLITCS AND EDUCATION DIRECTLY.
:P

But in writing this you completely disregard the idea of God giving free will to humans. How can God direct one's events if He, at the same time, gives one free will? That is a contradiction. I know of very, very few people, religious or otherwise, who hold to that silly idea of fate. God has, in truth, one plan for all of us: to live. What we decide to do with that life is something with which God cannot interfere. On these grounds, I say that religion and communism are certainly compatible.

Christianity is one of those 'few religions' which believes that God does not interfere. On the issue of prayer, God, according to Christians, really just says yes or no, depending upon reasoning we cannot hope to understand (I'm sure you atheists love that little part, don't you). But, in truth, Christianity teaches that God has, essentially, deserted the human race for awhile. Because of this, Christianity, in and of itself, does not conflict with Marx's theories. Now, I am referring to only basic Christian dogma. With the poorly translated King James Bible out there, one bad translation may very well conflict with Marx, and certainly some well translated verses do. But basic Christian dogman can easily coexist with Marxism.

That sounds a lot like deism to me anomaly and certainly nothing like the Catholic beliefs I was raised with. On one level you pray to God in times of need and hope that He will save you via a miracle. That’s hardly unusual but I’m of two minds as to whether it actually has an impact on historical progress. Still, from everything that I’ve ever learnt or heard Christianity - while not explicitly laying out that God has a master plan for us all, though that belief is popular in a number of countries – preaches the divine struggle. Satan is there to tempt man but, luckily for us, there are a host of angels protecting us blah blah blah. In short – divine interference in the affairs of man.

From a more theological standpoint, and I’m not that keen to tread here, an all powerful god is, well all powerful really. Let’s assume he exists. Free choice is available but do you really think that history anywhere is progressing down anything but His desired route? He may not even be actively promoting it (though the arrival of His son suggests otherwise) but it is impossible for the creation of such a being to deviate from the intended plan. After all, omnipotent means more than being able to hurl lightning.

To be honest I'm still struggling to come to terms with my own religious beliefs so a lot of this is thinking out loud. Maybe I'm trying to convince myself. Meh.

Maybe slightly off-topic, since I am neither a christian nor a communist, but I do not know why communists historically have targeted organised religion. Of course, the churches are often a stronghold of remaining reactionary forces, but since they often holds a certain popularity, the best thing would be to offer them cooperation. If Lenin - for example - had used the strategy of connecting the communist ideology with orthodoxy, the support of the bolsheviks would have increased on the countryside.

In the present-time Russia, about two thirds of the population counts themselves as Christians, despite 70 years of active persecution of the church. A majority of the Russians want the orthodox church to handle education.

In Sweden, we have about 30-40% Christians, and most of them are only Value-christians, which means that they are agnostics who upholds the Lutheran values in some issues.

The Swedish church itself could largely be said to be run by socialists. It has done very much in order to help immigrants, people with alternative sexualities as well as supporting cultural projects which could be said to be "progressive".

Historically the reason for the conflict between communism and religion has been because religious organisations have often, if not always, been highly reactionary organisations that have actively opposed revolutionary proletarian movements. Why should the Orthodox Church in Russia have allied itself with a movement that vowed to strip its members of their land and privilages? Even today I'd imagine that it is difficult to find a priest that supports revolutionary change.

Of course there are other, deeper, issues in this dispute with organised religion. Marx’s infamous quote was perfectly correct. Religion was, and is, used to direct the support of the masses towards the very classes that oppress them. In early feudal times this was the primary tool for keeping the serfs in line. Obviously communism wanted to change that and open people’s eyes as to the true nature of the bourgeoisie. Remember also that the clergy represent a very distinct class of their own. This was particularly apparent in medieval times where bishops ran entire towns but still holds true today. Yet another reason for them to oppose massive social change.

The Orthodox church did not, except for popular support, have any [political] power in Russia in year 1917. Peter the Great had already crushed the Patriarchate and made it a substitute for the Imperial state in the 18th century. All the Bolsheviks would have to do was to make a power swift inside the church.

As it looks now, the persecution of the Orthodox church seems to have failed.

Try:
Lenin - Socialism and Religion
Rosa Luxemburg - Socialism and The Churches

Tat.