The National Conference on work related to religious affairs in 2021 put forward “the Party’s theory of work related to religious affairs in the new era” and the requirement of “comprehensively implementing the Party’s theory of work related to religious affairs in the new era.” To seriously study and comprehensively implement the Party’s theory of work related to religious affairs in the new era, we should grasp its history, era and scientific orientation, and correctly understand the relationship between this theory and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the religious theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Marxist concept of religion, and Marxist religious studies; we should interpret the core meaning, spiritual essence and practical requirements of comprehensively implementing the Party’s theory of work related to religious affairs in the new era, and analyze the main ideological obstacles to the publicity and education of atheism from the aspects of the “duality” of the social role of religion, the two “essences” of religion, the long-term nature of religion and the task requirements of the new era, the individual and social attributes of religion, the “sinicization” and “rule of law” of religion, adhering to the principle of independence and resisting foreign religious infiltration, the governance pattern of religious affairs, and the contest between atheism and theism in the field of ideology; we should take the Party’s theory of work related to religious affairs in the new era as a guide, seize the historical opportunities and promote the construction of Marxist religious studies and Marxist atheism.

Editor: Zhong Yao、Zheng Yifan

From:Studies on Marxism.2021.No.12.