Quite possibly, but Christianity and other religions adapting to a socialist state will essentially change their nature. It will be christianity or whatever religion only in name and its practice will be indistinguishable from socialism. As the divide between the social collective and religion narrows the historical necessity of religion will disappear and anything that exists will be a vestigial appendage of the old society.
The claim that it will wither away is that it will not have a social function anymore, it will become something akin to entertainment and not an institution with material effects on society. Like how the Roman gods still exist today, but it's Thor in the Avengers.
Edit: In the case of Soviet oppression of Christianity, that was more a decision made by the party as a means of preventing the emergence of the church as a counter-recolutionary force either by domestic bourgeoisie or international intervention.
You can see in China a good example of the state facilitating religion without giving it special priveleges. Also a similar form of supression occurring when the church (in this case mosque) becomes a source of counter revolutionary action.
Quite possibly, but Christianity and other religions adapting to a socialist state will essentially change their nature. It will be christianity or whatever religion only in name and its practice will be indistinguishable from socialism. As the divide between the social collective and religion narrows the historical necessity of religion will disappear and anything that exists will be a vestigial appendage of the old society.
The claim that it will wither away is that it will not have a social function anymore, it will become something akin to entertainment and not an institution with material effects on society. Like how the Roman gods still exist today, but it's Thor in the Avengers.
Edit: In the case of Soviet oppression of Christianity, that was more a decision made by the party as a means of preventing the emergence of the church as a counter-recolutionary force either by domestic bourgeoisie or international intervention.
You can see in China a good example of the state facilitating religion without giving it special priveleges. Also a similar form of supression occurring when the church (in this case mosque) becomes a source of counter revolutionary action.
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Oh I know, they just had a lot of KGB agents constantly watching the church and kept a close eye on the clergy (and rightfully so).
Kinda need to do that with something as volatile as the European Christian church. Something that millions had fought and died for over the centuries.
Repression of the church in the USSR was more like repression of the clergy