crimsonwolf20 said:Honestly, communism really does function just like a religion—actually, you could say socialism is its own kind of faith, one that’s responsible for some of the most massive atrocities in human history. No other religion even comes close. It's all done in the name of "the collective" and chasing some impossible utopia.
If you look at the empirical evidence and the theoretical arguments, it’s nothing more than a blind belief in something that doesn't exist—and honestly, can't exist. We're talking about an irrational faith in the idea that we can create this prosperous, classless society with free services for everyone through central authority and social engineering.
The thing is, socialists don't offer any actual proof, and their theories don't align with basic economic principles or real-world human experience. They aren't living in reality—instead, they aggressively cling to this blind faith and hope for some righteous socialist society where everyone is equal.
Not only do they lack evidence, but they willfully ignore mountains of data telling them the exact opposite! Even seeing how this entire system collapsed all over the world hasn't talked many of them out of their religious fervor and those irrational beliefs in socialist fairy tales.
If we want to compare communism to any other ideology, the parallels between this communist phenomenon and monotheistic religions are striking;
1. Both emerge from cults of personality and offer fairytale-like solutions to complex problems.
2. Both sustain themselves through rituals and ceremonies; both have their own heroes, saints, and folk legends of war or labor.
3. Both lean heavily on paranoia, inventing enemies out of thin air or even out of their own shadows.
4. Both claim a monopoly on the truth and use it as an alibi for everything they do.
5. Both believe they are acting out of deep humanity, whether they are killing or trying to "reform" their opponents.
6. Neither is subject to any actual verification of truth or objective interpretation of the world.
7. Both crave power and are terrified of having to share it.
8. Both are passionately intolerant, even while claiming they are saving the world in their own special way.
9. Both love converts because once someone flips, the propaganda machine can exploit them to the core for its goals.
10. Both maintain a strict hierarchy, which leads back to an elite top tier holding absolute power.
11. Everyone is supposedly brothers or comrades.
12. The proletariat plays a redemptive role, much like a cult of personality.
13. Both despise their own heretics, apostates, and internal factions.
14. Both demand an oath—either to the heavens or to the Revolution.
15. Both are incredibly, almost fanatically, devoted to their cause.
!6. Outside of the church or the Party, there is no salvation.
Or, as Pascal Bruckner puts it: "Communism was the truth of a certain kind of Christianity pushed to its extreme."
All of this—and so much more—suggests we are looking at two monolithic ideas that are self-sufficient by nature, both creating totalitarian societies in their own unique ways.
However, there is still a distinction to be made: religions focus on the afterlife, whereas communism focuses on the earthly realm (though, let's be honest, religions aren't exactly detached from this either).
Religions don't just pop up overnight. Building a system of dogmas that actually holds weight requires immense work and wisdom. Communism was short-lived and never truly became a religion because it lacked what religions have in abundance: the fear of death and life itself,
sin and personal guilt,
absolution from sin,
the cross as a reminder and a symbol of what awaits you,
and the hope that life doesn't end at death, but continues into eternal life.
So, while communism mimics religious categories as an ideology, it isn't a RELIGION in scope. It doesn't just touch physical society; it invades the human psyche, poisoning it with guilt and offering salvation through a cult and a rigid structure. It has its own headquarters with a Pope-like leader ruling via the Holy Spirit, a massive army of professionals whose sole job is maintaining the system, and it lacks longevity—communism lasted maybe 70 years, while religions have endured for millennia.
In the end, these two totalitarian systems overlap in how they execute their dictatorships, but their ultimate goals differ: one looks toward the sky, the other toward the earth. It’s hardly surprising; all repressive ideologies are woven on the same loom, even if the patterns vary.