Communist Persecution
The conflict between communism and religion stems from their fundamentally irreconcilable ideologies: communism promotes atheism and materialism while viewing religion as an oppressive force hindering social progress, whereas religion offers spiritual purpose and community. This opposition manifested as the persecution of religious institutions and believers in communist states, including forced closure of churches and imprisonment of clergy.
The persecution of Christian churches has increased in communist regimes such as China, Cuba, Eritrea, Vietnam, and North Korea. As the paragraph above indicates, communism views religion as an oppressive force which is seen as a threat against their fundamental ideology. Communism is the application of Marxism in government to create the perfect state in which the ideal utopian society can be realized. Socialism is the economic aspect of Marxist ideology through which the State owns all property and business in order to disperse them equally to all so that no one does without, and utopia is achieved. In this idealistic society, the communist government is the source of all rights and determines what rights are granted to the people. Religious beliefs and ideas place the authority of God above the State and therefore challenge the State’s unrestrained rule. This causes a conflict of loyalties between God and the State. Therefore, belief in God must be eliminated so that there is only belief in the State with absolute loyalty to the dictatorships which govern the State, and which brutally suppress any opposition. Christianity is identified as a major enemy of the State and must therefore be suppressed. Suppression is achieved through persecution which has been ongoing since the formation of the first communist regime. Socialist and communist views are gaining acceptance in many western nations which will develop into religious persecution when it becomes the ruling authority as it is the major enemy of these ideologies. For those who have been seduced by the false promises of Marxist ideas then I recommend they read the experiences of Richard Wurmbrand in his book, “Tortured for Christ.” He reveals the horrors of being imprisoned by the Communist Romanian government and the torture that they inflicted on him and other Christians, for no other reason than for their faith.
The following stories from the VOM, (Voice of the Martyrs), magazine give recent accounts of communist persecution.
Vietnam
The Vietnamese government actively restricts Christian activity in the country but does not outlaw belief. They do conduct a campaign of pressure and harassment in order to keep it under control and prevent its growth. Gia and her husband Dai are Christians in Vietnam who have endured harassment from government officials for the fifteen years that they have been members of the faith. The communist government offers socialized medicine to all citizens but have refused care for the family of Gia and Dai unless they renounce their faith and change the Christian name of their daughter. They refused to comply and forfeited the medical care.
Hosea 4:6 Teaching Ministry 