The Russian Communists Were Not Motivated By Atheism

Clarifications: As is customary in a debate, the object of my position is solely to argue against the resolution as it stands: The Russian Communists Were Not Motivated By Atheism. I do not have to defend the notion that religion is necessary in legislating morality. Introduction: Pro's position in the debate requires that he prove that Russian communists were not motivated by atheism. Mine is to prove that they were. To debate Pro effectively, I will do two things: First, I will explain why Pro cannot win this debate via my own contentions. Second, I will provide a rebuttal to Pro's arguments that dismantle his points as well as use his own arguments to detail how atheism has in fact played a role in the communist agenda. Contention: Primarily, my argument rests upon the fact that my opponent does not know - and more importantly, has not proven - that communist Russian leaders were NOT motivated by atheism. In fact, he does not know what their true motivations were at all. Using public explanations of their goals does not prove anything; politicians hardly EVER reveal their legitimate intentions or goals. Rebuttal: 1) My opponent begins by stating that the basis of communism is the abolition of private property and capitalism. While that may be true, he fails to address why communists hold these ideals. Obviously our political ideologies stem from our philosophies. Even if the intentions of communist leaders could be rightfully noted via their public sentiments, Lenin's explanation of why he supported Socialism (which differs from Communism, by the way) suggests that atheism DID, in fact, play a large role in why he believed what he believed. Saying that "[socialism] frees the workers from their belief in life after death by welding them together to fight in the present for a better life on Earth" indicates that the atheist belief in there being no life after death (with the exception of some atheists who believe in naturalistic reincarnation, but I digress) most CERTAINLY influenced Lenin's ideals!!! Therefore, the resolution has been entirely negated using Pro's own source. 2) I agree that religion is not needed to legislate morality. As I've already outlined in the Clarification section of this round, arguing otherwise is not my obligation in this debate. However, I'd like to point out some holes in my opponent's logic regardless. He notes that highly secular countries enjoy the fruits of things such as higher literacy rates, infant mortality, etc. However whether or not an individual can read, or if more children survive infancy or not is highly indicative of a country's morality anyway. Additionally, my opponent argues in his second point that "atheism had no part in the crimes of the Communists because we have identified their true motivations (which is forcing religion out of the communities, and gaining a classless society, according to Pro). Again, this doesn't seem to add up. If he argues that forcing religion out of the communities is part of the Communist agenda - which he does - than clearly atheism seems to be a motivating factor. Moreover, if communist leaders promoted atheistic ideals (valuing life over the after life) in order to achieve their goals of a classless society, then clearly atheism and some of its principles did, obviously, motivate the communists. Conclusion: Even if atheism wasn't the primary goal of Russian communists, to claim that it was not a motivating factor in achieving communist ideals would be FALSE. Likewise, the fact that an atheistic ideology might contribute to the philosophy of communism in general should not be ignored. Taking both of these points into account, the resolution has been successfully negated.