Lenin on Religion

“Every religious idea, every idea of God, even flirting with the idea of God, is utter vileness . . . of the most dangerous kind, ‘contagion’ of the most abominable kind. Millions of sins, filthy deeds, acts of violence and physical contagions . . . are far less dangerous than the subtle, spiritual idea of God decked out in the smartest ‘ideological’ costumes. . . . Every defence or justification of God, even the most refined, the best intentioned, is a justification of reaction.” (V. I. Lenin, Polnoe sobranie sochinenii, 5th ed., vol. 48 [1964]), quote in Robert Conquest, The Dragons of Expectation, (New York, W. W. Norton & Company. 2005), p. 155.