User blog comment:Weedle McHairybug/Peace doesn't really sound very good to me... (various MG references and real life references ahead)./@comment-77.27.160.189-20121102125700

Definition of religion: set of beliefs and practices (ususally concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies) generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects.

This definition doen't contradict how Communism was applied in these countries. Communism had a set of beliefs based on an almost "supernatural" being (Lenin, Stalin, Mao,...)

A religion can hate religion when it doen't admit that it in itself is a religion. But most historians agree with the assertion that State Communism acted like a religion. This is true (like it or not). Dogmas, martyrs, human gods,... In the practice, there isn't much difference between State Communism and the other religions.

You talk about Khrushchev. He was a pragmatic politician. Most people in the Politburo knew that Stalin and his propoganda was bullshit. But that didn't stop the regular people (soldiers, workers,...) to think that Stalin was some sort of Superman. Communism was used to manipulate the masses, like Christianity or Islam. The political puppet masters knew better. They were the ones pulling the strings. They were the ones who used Communism to manipulate people, like the Clergy in Christianity.