Editing Joseph Stalin (section)

=== Freedom of religion ===
The policy of freedom of religion was first declared immediately following the October Revolution, in the Decree “Freedom of Conscience” in 1918 [https://soviethistory.msu.edu/1917-2/conflict-with-the-church/conflict-with-the-church-texts/law-on-freedom-of-conscience/<nowiki>| Freedom of Religious Conscience], further in the 1924 Constitution, then again in 1936 Constitution. Believers in any religion were never repressed for their beliefs and had the right to worship. </nowiki>

Stalin had this to say to anyone who infringed on people's right to freedom of religion: 

"These and similar numerous examples show with sufficient clarity how careless and frivolously some local Party organizations and local authorities treat such an important issue as the issue of freedom of religious belief. These organizations and authorities apparently do not understand that by their rude, tactless actions against believers representing a vast majority of the population, they cause innumerable harm to the Soviet authorities..."

Secretary of the Central Committee I. Stalin."<ref>https://stalinism.ru/stalin-i-tserkov.html Stalin and the Church]</ref>

The repression of the Church in the years of the Revolution & subsequent Civil War, was both a result of the almost universal joining or supporting of the White Army by the clergy who had just lost all their privileges and benefits from their place in society under Tsardom, and a bottom-up phenomenon on behalf of the masses of people, mainly the peasants, who had been exploited to the hilt by the Church all the years before. Resentment on behalf of the peasantry towards the Church had begun before the Bolsheviks or Stalin had anything to do with it.

Repression after the Revolution and Civil War again mainly targeted the clergy of the heavily corrupted Church, that was only freed of its corruption after the October Revolution after the corrupt clergy were purged. The church had not only been co-opted by modern capitalism but also infiltrated by foreign elements. The Church also played a role in cleansing itself of these elements, especially after establishing official ties with the Soviet State.

The Church first declared loyalty to the Soviet State in 1923, under Patriarch Tikhon. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Tikhon_of_Moscow] Following just four years later, in 1927, under the famous Patriarch Sergius, the Church declared unquestionable loyalty to and gained official relations with the Soviet State.<ref>[https://istmat.org/node/34541 Message to the flock of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) and members of the Patriarchal Holy Synod. July 16/29, 1927.]/</ref>

The Church and those clergymen who remained true to the official line of the Church, were free of repression and persecution. Repression targeted those clergymen or former clergymen, who despite the now official relations with the Soviet State, remained anti-Soviet and acted on these beliefs of theirs. Not only did they stand against the state, but also against the Church.

Churches were banned from being destroyed by Stalin himself in 1933, and can be seen in an extract of the minutes of the meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee, dated December 9, 1933:

“In the period from 20-30, 150 churches were completely destroyed in Moscow and on the territory of the surrounding areas. 300 of them (the remaining) were converted into factory workshops, clubs, dormitories, prisons, detention centers and colonies for teenagers and street children. Architectural plans provide for the demolition of more than 500 remaining buildings of temples and churches.”

“On the basis of the above, the Central Committee considers it impossible to design buildings due to the destruction of churches, which should be considered architectural monuments of ancient Russian architecture.”

“The bodies of Soviet power and the workers' and peasants' militia are obliged to take measures up to disciplinary and party responsibility for the protection of architectural monuments of ancient Russian architecture.”<ref>[https://stalinism.ru/stalin-i-tserkov/on-byil-veruyuschim.html “He was a Believer” by Dmitry Dudko]</ref>

When Stalin assumed power, there were only 780 Churches in the Soviet Union. When he died, there were 22,000.<ref>[https://ruskline.ru/analitika/2016/03/17/bogodannyj_vozhd/ Dmitry Yazov, “God-given leader”]</ref>