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The dialectics of Soviet religious policy repudiate any uniform and universally held theoretical premises valid under all conditions and historical circumstances. Identical treatment or consistent rules have not been applied to the "opiate of the people" everywhere in the U.S.S.R. or in all periods of Soviet rule. Religion, like nationality and democracy, is viewed not abstractly but specifically, as a concrete phenomenon or situation in a given setting of events and interacting forces. Seen in some settings as useful, in others it may be viewed as a nuisance or an outright social-political peril. Expediency, prompted by opportunism, defines the criteria which determine the course to be followed towards a certain ecclesiastical community. Contradictory policies may even be pursued simultaneously in one and the same case, depending on the particular context of the episode and the objectives set by the policy-makers. Thus any course of action may be chosen — alliance, toleration, deliberate exploitation, hostility, or suppression — vis-à-vis a religious community. Any course but passivity, disinterest, or benevolent neutrality, which would dispute the very nature of the Soviet system and ideology.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-1870-8_7

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