Imposing your beliefs on a population through fear and force is despicable whether it is atheism, Islam, or Christianity.
There have been thousands of Christian rulers who, throughout history, have sought to impose their brand of religion on the population against their will. The history of my country, England is replete with examples, including Queen Mary (Catholic) and Queen Elizabeth I (Protestant). When you look at the archives from Elizabethan England, in many ways it was little more that a police state where neighbors were encouraged to inform on each other if they suspected that subversive Catholic activities were going on.
Atheism, by itself does not lead to tyranny any more that Christianity does. Many countries in Europe are majority non-believers, or close to it, and since the Wall came down, none has shown any desire or propensity to impose a dictatorial atheistic regime. If anything, Christianity starting to is flourish again in Eastern European countries even where the atheistic leaders are still in the majority.
Blaming the evils of Communism on non-belief is an easy scare tactic to employ to frighten poor believers away from questioning their beliefs, but the truth is that history has shown that despicable men will use whatever tools they need, religion included, as a means to impose despotic rule over their fellow countrymen.
No. Atheism in combination with Human Nature leads to tyranny. Christianity in combination with Human Nature militates against tyranny.
Many countries in Europe are majority non-believers, or close to it, and since the Wall came down, none has shown any desire or propensity to impose a dictatorial atheistic regime.
No? Ever hear of the European Union?
No one's blaming the evils of communism on non-belief. We're blaming the existence of the monstrous communist political philosophy (which leads to mass carnage of commodity human beings) on the bankrupt and despairing notion that God doesn't exist. It certainly wasn't Christianity that devised Marxist thought, so, I'm afraid the atheists will have to take the blame for this one.
Agreed. The problem is, Communism, in its proper order, negates the individual and his free will - leaving him inevitably fodder for tyrants who can sweep hundreds of thousands of us away without an ounce of remorse. People who use religion as a tool to do these things do not pass judgment on religion, but their perverted, evil interpretation of Christian teaching, which, last I checked, does not provide for genocide and squashing of the human spirit.