Is Communism Synonymous With Atheism?

[epix]

This is the silliest thing I've seen online since the Hello Kitty tampons

Do you know what synonym means? It means there is a meaning of both that is the same or nearly the same.

So, yes, if you claim they're synonyms, by _definition_ it's claiming that all atheists are communists. And that all communists are atheists too. That's what synonym means.

Same as pail is a synonym for bucket. Yes, that mean implicitly that all buckets are pails, and viceversa.

That's an implication that is as much ridiculous as the messiahs of atheism themselves. Synonyms exist coz there are differences. If one word could exactly describe what is to be described, then there would be no synonyms. If one religions would satisfy the insane inclinations of Homos sapiens, then there would be only one religion and atheism would not exist. Unfortunately it did and does, but castrated by its collapse in Eastern Europe. That's the good news.

If I say that "atheism" is a synonym to "communism," then I can't possibly claim that ALL atheists are communists, coz the majority of synonyms do not have an IDENTICAL meaning to begin with. If I wanted to make such a claim, I would do it in the first place through an OP. But I would say that a good number of atheists think the way the commies do. And the commies think the way 12th century hookers did. (Think transitive property in order to reach the undesirable conclusion. LOL.)

 

[Travis]

But I would say that a good number of atheists think the way the commies do.

Explain. As an atheist in what way does my (or any typical atheist's) thinking likely mirror that of a Communist?

And the commies think the way 12th century hookers did. (Think transitive property in order to reach the undesirable conclusion. LOL.)

Again, please explain what you mean by this.

 

[timhau]

If I say that "atheism" is a synonym to "communism," then I can't possibly claim that ALL atheists are communists, coz the majority of synonyms do not have an IDENTICAL meaning to begin with.

Keep at it, and you just might produce the Stundie you're striving for.

 

[fls]

By definition, Yes.

The roots of communism are in the French revolution, and its doctrines reject explicitly God and belief in God.

But this was not the consequence of atheism, but rather because the existing power structure made heavy use of religion. Many political/economic ideologies are otherwise indifferent to religion. Were some other ideology used to maintain power and justify atrocities, say a right-to-rule based on genetic fitness, then it would be that doctrine which was explicitly rejected and no one would have had anything to say about God.

For the same reason, democracy is not religious just because it replaced communism in the Soviet Union.

Linda

 

[HansMustermann]

Epix, again, "synonym" doesn't mean "subcategory of" or "aspect of" or "one of the many (possible) properties of". If it's a synonym, it may not be for all meanings of the word, but it means that for at least one meaning you can use either word interchangeably, without distorting the meaning of the whole sentence much or at all.

Like, say, the sex preference meaning of "gay". It's a synonym for "homosexual" precisely because there is one meaning that is the same for both words. An for that particular meaning, yes, all gays are homosexual and all homosexuals are gay. Not only that, but you can pretty much drop in one word to replace the other in a sentence. That's what makes it a synonym. You can replace "John came out of the closet and admitted he's gay" with "John came out of the closet and admitted he's homosexual" and most people would say it's really the same message.

Now look at "atheism" and "communism". You can't replace "atheism" with "communism" or viceversa in a sentence without distorting the meaning majorly. That's not a synonym.

And it's not that it's an unwanted conclusion, it's more like it's BS but wanted by a certain kind to justify their own BS dogma.

 

[HansMustermann]

But this was not the consequence of atheism, but rather because the existing power structure made heavy use of religion. Many political/economic ideologies are otherwise indifferent to religion. Were some other ideology used to maintain power and justify atrocities, say a right-to-rule based on genetic fitness, then it would be that doctrine which was explicitly rejected and no one would have had anything to say about God.

For the same reason, democracy is not religious just because it replaced communism in the Soviet Union.

Linda

QFT. Best explanation I've seen so far.

 

[westprog]

But this was not the consequence of atheism, but rather because the existing power structure made heavy use of religion. Many political/economic ideologies are otherwise indifferent to religion. Were some other ideology used to maintain power and justify atrocities, say a right-to-rule based on genetic fitness, then it would be that doctrine which was explicitly rejected and no one would have had anything to say about God.

For the same reason, democracy is not religious just because it replaced communism in the Soviet Union.

Linda

The reason that Marxist communism is considered to be atheistic, by its supporters and its opponents, is because Marxist theory has atheism as an essential element. Simple as that - it's in the documents.

 

[HansMustermann]

Right, and obviously every implementation of communism EVER, was based strictly and unerringly on Marx's documents, right?

 

[GrandMasterFox]

The reason that Marxist communism is considered to be atheistic, by its supporters and its opponents, is because Marxist theory has atheism as an essential element. Simple as that - it's in the documents.

Yes, but the key word here is "marxist communisim". Marxisim wasn't part of the subject at hand.

I see no reason what so ever why there can't be a theist communist political party.

 

[fls]

The reason that Marxist communism is considered to be atheistic, by its supporters and its opponents, is because Marxist theory has atheism as an essential element. Simple as that - it's in the documents.

But that is to be expected, isn't it? At that time, religious beliefs were heavily involved in the maintenance of power, so any new ideology would have to specifically say something about what role they would or would not play. If all theists were Deists and there was no history of religion justifying the maintenance of power, do you think Deism would have received any sort of mention by Marx? Why do you think the US constitution specifically mentions the separation of Church and State, but makes no mention of the separation of Science and State?

Linda

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

But that is to be expected, isn't it? At that time, religious beliefs were heavily involved in the maintenance of power, so any new ideology would have to specifically say something about what role they would or would not play. If all theists were Deists and there was no history of religion justifying the maintenance of power, do you think Deism would have received any sort of mention by Marx? Why do you think the US constitution specifically mentions the separation of Church and State, but makes no mention of the separation of Science and State?

Linda

Whereas today a potential president of the USA could openly declare him or herself an atheist and still expect to get nominated and elected.

 

[Dave Rogers]

You twist stuff around again the way communist/atheist propaganda used to. I never said that all atheists are communists. All I said is that atheism is a synonym to communism.

And it was an extraordinarily stupid thing to say. The relationship of atheism to communism is the same as the relationship of mammals to dogs; all dogs are mammals, all mammals share some characteristics with dogs, but not all mammals are dogs. "Dog" and "Mammal" are not, therefore, synonyms. Even if we stipulate that all communists are atheists, which is so far not established, it is clearly not the case that all atheists are communists; in fact, there are very large numbers of atheists who have political views directly in opposition to communism. "Atheism" and "Communism" are not, therefore, synonyms, and anyone claiming otherwise simply doesn't know what the word "synonym" means.

Incidentally, is there another word that means the same thing as "synonym"?

Dave

 

[Ladewig]

But I would say that a good number of atheists think the way the commies do. A

There's your problem. You are making statements for which there is absolutely no evidence.

Communists believe that to achieve equality and justice, private property should be eliminated and the means of production should be shared by all. Atheists believe that there is no evidence for God.

Perhaps you could explain your perspective in more detail. In what way do "atheists think the way communists do"?

 

[fls]

Incidentally, is there another word that means the same thing as "synonym"?

Coincident.

Linda

 

[Foster Zygote]

You can as well recite from the Book of Ezekiel. . .

Why, were the Chaldeans communists too?

You twist stuff around again the way communist/atheist propaganda used to.

I haven't twisted a thing.

I never said that all atheists are communists. All I said is that atheism is a synonym to communism.

By saying that 'atheist' and 'communist' are synonymous you are effectively saying that all atheists are communists. Synonyms are different words with the same meaning. Responding to your statement as written is not tantamount to twisting your words. If you have miscommunicated your meaning through the misuse of a word then the error is yours, not mine.

If you suspect that there is a relationship between atheism and communism given the fact that the doctrine-makers Marx and Lenin were atheist, and you conduct the poll in communist countries, then the conclusion is pretty clear.

Firstly, Marx did not author the doctrines of Communism. He was an economic theorist who made certain predictions. Those who called themselves 'Marxists' based their doctrine on their interpretations of Marx's predictions. Marx himself was rather annoyed with their interpretations of his ideas, famously proclaiming "I am not a Marxist". Marx himself did not envision atheism as a necessary component of communism. He predicted that religion would fade considerably in popularity and influence once the proletariat was no longer living with virtually constant hardship and stress. The fact that Karl Marx and Vladimir Ulyanov were atheists does not support your claim that to be an atheist is to be a communist or even that atheists tend to be communists.

Secondly, you really need to learn more about statistical analysis. A survey of Communist Party members in former Communist states tells us about the attitudes of those populations in that environment. It does not follow that these attitudes are therefor universal among all populations in all environments. Again I refer you to my Vatican City analogy.

Btw, ways and means don't deny existence. (Didn't Eichmann receive orders to take care of the Jews from Hitler? He was forced, of course. But your defense didn't do much for him. He got a rope.)

What is the relevance of this statement to the discussion at hand?

Atheism in the communist countries was an active pseudo religion that chased theists around.

You're almost correct. It wasn't atheism that was the religious analog in Soviet and Soviet-style states, it was Communism that filled this role. The policy of declaring official state atheism was a political tool used by Party leaders to suppress rival power structures within their societies. Had the leaders of the Revolution been radical clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church then they could have used their version of Christianity to fill the same role.

Since the Founding Fathers were not atheists, you can only twist around things that other people said -- just do a tiny fraction of the evil that the commies did.

Again, this is not relevant to the specific subject of this debate and it only serves to demonstrate your inability to construct a cogent argument.

Atheism can't serve as a vehicle for social changes any more, so it's very unlikely that it would ideologically support some crappy political systems once again.

You really are desperate to indict all atheists for the worst crimes of the Soviet Socialists and their imitators, aren't you? But the more you try, the more you reveal your ignorance of sociopolitical history.

It's very simple: Atheism and communism are independent ideas. They can be held concurrently, but they can also be held exclusively. A communist can be an atheist or a theist. An atheist can be a communist, a Tory, a Libertarian, a Democrat, a Republican or any other political ideology.

 

[Damien Evans]

That's an implication that is as much ridiculous as the messiahs of atheism themselves. Synonyms exist coz there are differences. If one word could exactly describe what is to be described, then there would be no synonyms. If one religions would satisfy the insane inclinations of Homos sapiens, then there would be only one religion and atheism would not exist. Unfortunately it did and does, but castrated by its collapse in Eastern Europe. That's the good news.

If I say that "atheism" is a synonym to "communism," then I can't possibly claim that ALL atheists are communists, coz the majority of synonyms do not have an IDENTICAL meaning to begin with. If I wanted to make such a claim, I would do it in the first place through an OP. But I would say that a good number of atheists think the way the commies do. And the commies think the way 12th century hookers did. (Think transitive property in order to reach the undesirable conclusion. LOL.)

 

[Foster Zygote]

That's an implication that is as much ridiculous as the messiahs of atheism themselves.

And who might they be?

Synonyms exist coz there are differences. If one word could exactly describe what is to be described, then there would be no synonyms.

No, you are wrong. If you used the word 'synonym' incorrectly that's fine: Admit your error and move on. But you appear to be trying to change the definition of the word in order to avoid acknowledging your error. Around here, admitting an error will actually earn respect from the great majority of posters. Refusing to admit an obvious error on the other hand...

If one religions would satisfy the insane inclinations of Homos sapiens, then there would be only one religion and atheism would not exist. Unfortunately it did and does, but castrated by its collapse in Eastern Europe. That's the good news.

If I say that "atheism" is a synonym to "communism," then I can't possibly claim that ALL atheists are communists,...

Actually, that is what you are saying, even if you don't realize it.

...coz the majority of synonyms do not have an IDENTICAL meaning to begin with.

syn·o·nym
-noun
1.
a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another in the language, as joyful, elated, glad.
2.
a word or expression accepted as another name for something, as Arcadia for pastoral simplicity; metonym.
3.
Biology. one of two or more scientific names applied to a single taxon.

But I would say that a good number of atheists think the way the commies do.

And I would say that this assertion is a rectal auto-extraction.

 

[scrummie02]

The reason people think the two our the same is because of the USSR. The governments of the USSr and Soviet backed Warsaw pact countries had an official stance that they were atheist states.

 

[CriticalSock]

I'm an atheist but I'm not a communist. Epix, did you use the word synonym wrongly or do you think I don't exist?

 

[Ysidro]

I am an atheist. I am not a communist. I still voted Planet X.

Hell, the only communist I've personally known was also a Jehovah's Witness.