How did Commmnist countries have so many self-described Christians

[LookinForMayberry]

Originally Posted by GSPNative

In Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, many countries have very high percentages of Christians, and the percentage of their population that was Christian was even higher soon after Communism ended in 1989/1990. For example, Romania has a very high percentage of Christians. (East Germany and Czechoslovakia are the exceptions.)

During the Communist period, was church attendance high, and did large numbers of people self-identify as Christian? Or did few people actually attend church, out of fear of persecution, but self-identify as Christians in opposition to governmental repression? And did church attendance increase once Communism ended?

I know that religious practice is declining throughout Europe (and the US) now.

Thanks.

Historically, Communism is a late arrival on the scene of human history. Prior to the modern era, the church was actually stronger in many ways than the state -- or whatever the regional leadership was known by. Some leaders didn't dictate the religion, though they may have required dues from those that did not practice the religion the leader himself followed. Some leaders, such as Emperor Constantine of Constantinople, used religion as a tool for power, converting all of his subjects from Roman polytheism to Christianity in the 4th century, others just let people follow their inherited beliefs. England's Henry VIII kicked Catholicism out of his country, or tried to, through violent means, burning those that refused to convert to his church and didn't escape. Still, now there are Catholics in England.

I believe what we are seeing now is a low in a cycle of human history. Humans ultimately need a higher power. I hope we will always have some sense of spiritual life, even if we drop religion.

[Mightyqueen801]

I had a coworker who came from Ukraine when it was part of the USSR, a religious man who used to say "Jesus was the first communist". The early churches were communes where people worked to keep the community going, shared food, and all pitched in.

Some Christians like to misuse the verse "If a man shall not work, neither shall he eat" to justify withholding food from the poor, but in reality, it comes from the apostle Paul telling the church at Thessalonika to behave better because apparently, some of its church members thought that since Jesus was coming back any day now, there was no reason for them to exert themselves. They were not pulling their weight in their church commune.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by GSPNative

How did Commmnist countries have so many self-described Christians

They were already there and for a very long time before the Bolsheviks showed up.
They all had children.

[msgsing]

The early communists after the overthrow of the Tsar and his cronies in the monarchy were rabidly anti religion. But with the German invasion in 1941 Stalin loosened the persecution of the church to bolster morale among the general population. It’s the old lure of religion basically saying life might be miserable but there’s the so called promise of a better life in the afterlife. Today the Russian Orthodox Church is a strong supporter of Putin and the atrocities in Ukraine.