Activities of the Union of Militant Atheists in Kazakhstan in 1920-1930s
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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32523/2664-5157-2022-3-44-57Keywords:
atheists, antireligious propaganda, atheism, confessions, Soviet power, religion, Kazakhstan, archival sourcesAbstract
The Union of Militant Atheists (UMA) was created as a mass voluntary
public organization, which set as its goal the fight against religion in all its
manifestations. The Union’s main task was considered to build effectively an
organizational structure, forming regional, provincial, and district and volost
councils with the aim of mass coverage of the population with anti-religious
propaganda. The authors attempted to give a comprehensive analysis of the
activities of the regional organizations of the Union of Atheists in Kazakhstan in
1920-1930s, to show the features of building an organizational structure, the
nature and content of anti-religious propaganda. With the help of the method
of discursive analysis of archival sources, the history of the formation of the
regional organization of the UMA is studied, the stages of its development are
indicated, and the main directions of activity, forms and methods of fighting
against the religious worldview of the masses are considered.
According to the results of the study, it was found that the organization
and activities of the UMA in Kazakhstan were carried out in accordance with
the instructions and recommendations of the central party and Soviet bodies.
