恩格斯晚年宗教思想研究

Study on Engels' Theory of Religion in His Later Years

宗教是人类社会历史发展中的一种文化现象,并始终对人类文明进程发挥着独特的影响力。作为马克思主义的创始人之一,恩格斯毕生关注着宗教现象。在历经前期探索基础上,恩格斯晚年更是对宗教问题给予了极大兴趣,撰写了一系列理论著作,从多个维度剖析了复杂的宗教现象:从意识形态角度论述宗教特质;基于辩证思维彰显宗教功能的双重性;立足唯物史观视野剖析宗教的历史形态变迁及其未来的自然消亡等。此外,恩格斯还对具体宗教现象或宗教问题进行了分析,特别是对近代科学诞生时期宗教与科学张力关系以及早期基督教起源问题等,在具体历史情境中展现成熟宗教理论的解释力,并透视出其晚年宗教研究的历史底蕴。可以说,晚年恩格斯宗教理论具有总结意味的系统化、理论化,也对我们把握当下宗教现象具有启示意义。

Religion is a historical and cultural phenomenon, which has been playing an important role in the civiliza- tion. As co-founder of Marxism, Engels had always been concerned about religious problems. On the basis of his previous research, Engels in particular had generated considerable interests in the religion phenomenon in his late years, and analyzed it very closely in many works. He systematically studied the problems of religion： on the es-sence of religion from the view point of ideology, expressing the social function of religion based on the dialectical thinking, analyzing the historical forms of religion and withering away of religion from the perspective of Material-ist conception of history, Last not least he also made a concrete analysis of concrete religious phenomenon, espe-cially the conflicts between religion and science during the advent of modern science, and the history of Christiani-ty, which showed the historical dimension of Engels＇ religious theory. So we can say that Engels＇ theory of reli-gion in his later years was theorized and systematized, and it still gives us great inspiration in understanding pres-ent religion.