Evening star., 1924-08-15
ARTICLE XII.

/ When the bolshevists in the first
| flush of their successes declared war
on God and abolished religion in the
Soviet dominions they little foresaw
that in a few short years they would
not only admit defeat in their cam
paign to extirpate Christianity, but
would be setting up an established
state religion for themselves. Yet
such is the case.
The brutal persecution of the Chris
tian faith, and with it of Mohamme-
danism, creed of other millions in
Soviet Russia, has just been called
off by the Big Seven. Bolshevism
itself is at the same time crystalliz-
ing, or rather petrifying, into a reg
ular religion. Leninism, with creed,
ritual and rules of conduct built up
around the person and writings OF
bolshevism's dead prophet
The evolution of Leninism into an
out-and-out cult came from a variety
of causes. The personality even of
the hopelessly paralyzed Lenin had
absolutely dominated the party and
government, and this absolute domi-
nation continued to be exercised from
the grave. The oracle, speaking from
the curtained sickroom long after the
physical Lenin was seen no more by
his follower ers, appealed to the element
of mysticism in all Russians, even in
bolshevists, and prepared the faithful
to accept it's guidance from the tomb.
The emotional element of religion
throve on the stately pomp of the
funeral, on the enshrinement of the
embalmed body of the prophet, on the
pilgrimages to look upon Lenin's
face in the open tomb, until it threat
ened to get out of hand altogether.
Bosses Distrust Own Powers.
Add to these involuntary factors
the deliberate determination Of the
surviving clique of bosses to canon
ize their dead leader, to exalt him as
head OF a dogmatic political religion
out of distrust in their own capacity
for leadership and fear that new men
| with new ideas might threaten their
rule.
AS priests Of the Lenin cult, custo-
| dams and interpreters of the ortho-
dox doctrines Of Leninism, they could
not be blamed if the party went
| wrong or was assailed by upstarts
who had not known Lenin. Further
more, the bolshevist leaders found
that human nature, even atheist, ma
| terialist, communist human nature,
calls for certain esthetic elements
which they had discarded along with
religion, such as ritual. ceremonial,
symb olism and pomp and proceeded
| to restore these elements of opium
for the people" through the new
Lenin religion.
The new religion is a thoroughly
| dogmatic one, too. Everything Is
settled now in accordance with the
appeal: What did Lenin say. or what
would Lenin have done? The policies
! Of the bolshevist party and the Rus
sian government are stereotyped on
the basis of Lenin's writings, with
| no room for evolution or modifica-
tion to meet conditions rising since
his death. The government is bring
| ing out complete popular edition OF
Lenin'S writings and speeches to serve
as q bolshevist bible. Editions In
English and German will follow, and
| it is planned to publish them in all
living languages SO as to make 1t an
evangelium for Communist parties
| throughout the world.
In this the bolshevist leaders are
again committing the customary boil
shevist blunder of cutting communist
clothing everywhere upon Russian
patterns, imagining that Russian expe-
rierce can be transferred and applied
bodily to Western conditions, which
10 the steady ana principal source Of