Religion is Religion, Communism is Scientific
But what I want to focus on here—because it is a very important point of
distortion which not only characterizes this letter but is much more broadly
promoted, particularly by religious fundamentalists, and is the source of
considerable confusion and misunderstanding—is the insistence that communism
(and atheism generally) is actually just another form of religion and that in
fact not only communism but all scientific thinking involves just as much a
"leap of faith" as does religion. In this article, I will discuss how
this is completely wrong and will examine the crucial differences between
religion and "leaps of faith," on the one hand, and science and the
scientific method—including communism, with its thorough, systematic and
comprehensive scientific outlook and method—on the other hand.
This claim that communism (and more generally a scientific outlook and
method) is just another form of religion is concentrated in the following from
this letter:
"I hope you’re not offended that I call your atheism faith. I’m sure
you realize atheism is a faith system too. And since you’ve pinned you’re
[sic] hope on its truthfulness, we can call it your religion. How about that!?
Bob Avakian is a religious man!
"You probably realize what most evolutionists don’t since no one was
there to record the Big Bang, it too is just as much a leap of faith as the
biblical version of creation. But no worries, you can always make your case
stronger by stating forcefully, ’Evolution is a fact!’ "
The heart of the matter here—and what is fundamentally wrong in the
viewpoint of the writer of this letter—is the attempt to distort what is
involved in the application of a scientific method and approach, in the process
of scientific investigation and analysis and in the drawing of scientifically
based conclusions. More specifically, what is fundamentally wrong is the attempt
to say that the actual leaps that are involved in arriving at rational
knowledge of things —including through the application of the scientific
method—somehow amount to the same thing as "leaps of faith"
that are characteristic of religion. In fact, these are profoundly and radically
different kinds of "leaps," and digging into the difference
will not only further expose the confusion and outright distortions and
misrepresentations in this letter, and in the method of thinking of its author,
but much more importantly can help clarify the fundamental difference between a
scientific and a religious approach to reality and to changing—or not
changing—reality, including human society.
Read the whole article at http://rwor.org/a/010/avakian-leap-faith-leap-rationale.htm