Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

to church.’ In spite of improvement in volume and quality of the atheist literature, Pravda still found that this Children and Youth 299 literature suffered from a frightening thematic monotony and lack of creativity. The struggle for the hearts of Soviet children and young people continues. Believers encounter tremendous handicaps in trying to compete with the state-sponsored atheist apparatus and yet the believers appear to be making some gains. During the past decade reports about young people searching for religion have increased steadily. What the Atheists Offer Actually, atheist instruction begins at childbirth when the mother is instructed how to protect the new Soviet citizen from the harmful in- fluences of religion.’ The kindergarten is also supposed to foster a spirit of atheism. But the major program of atheist propaganda begins in school. With the beginning of the Khrushchev campaign, the Ministry of Education began to introduce stronger guidelines whereby atheist propa- ganda would be included in the subject matter of all grades beginning with the fifth grade. In the older classes atheist instruction was more systematic and in Belorussia, for example, strudents in the tenth or graduating class were required to write essays giving their views on atheism and religion. In the universitites and other institutes of higher education, courses on the fun- damentals of scientific atheism became mandatory with the 1964-65 school year. This included twenty-four hours of course work, examination, and, ac- cording to a resolution of the Council of Ministers (December 29, 1975), scientific degrees were awarded to persons who “have mastered Marxist- Leninist theory ... and who observe the norms of communist mo- rality...” Soviet specialists have emphasized that not only do students study atheism, they are also drawn into atheist work. Under the guidance of experienced teachers, they participate in conducting atheist conversations, disputes, celebrate special atheist days or weeks, and help produce atheist displays. For the child from a Christian family, one of the major worries is the pressure to join the junior party organizations. Although some believers regard membership in the Young Octobrists, Pioneers, or even Komsomol (Communist Youth League) as harmless—they serve a useful function for teaching children discipline, how to survive in the woods, as North American children would in Boy Scout organizations—there is an initiation ceremony with an oath that includes an affirmation of atheism. For many Baptists, especially the Reform Baptists, this is a serious matter. It means 300 Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II that the young school child must personally take a stand to refuse to join the Octobrists, to refuse to wear the red tie of the Pioneers, in spite of extreme pressure from classmates and teachers