Demolishing Religious Groups
(EN: This book is somewhat controversial - not merely because of its topic, but because of its origin. It is presented as a synthesis of various Soviet documents on the practice of brainwashing, but may in fact be a fabrication to provoke outrage and opposition to the communist party and due to its suspicious origin is considered that it may be a hoax or a work of science fiction. I've read it, and preserved notes, as it seems interesting and plausible, in spite of its dubious validity and origin.)
Until the past century, mental illness and antisocial behavior was the concern of the church, as there was no scientific approach nor any other institution charged with dysfunctions of the mind, which were considered spiritual matters. When someone showed signs of physical illness, a doctor is called. When they showed signs of mental illness, a priest.
An in this way, the church defined, promulgated, and enforced standards of behavior in society and for many centuries exercised great power - greater even than the governments of many nations. In many instances, the church still holds this position and is reluctant to cede power over the people. Hence, the conflict between church and state, church and science, church and philosophy, church and anything that proposes to unseat the church as the dominion over morality and behavior. As such, the church is the greatest enemy to communism.
There is still widespread sentiment that the church should continue to hold power over matters of morality and propriety of conduct, whereas the state should be relegated to practical matters of the conflict over the material (property) concerns. While the notion of the separation of church and state is several centuries old, he church still holds power in the minds of the faithful, to the degree that they will defy the state when commanded by religious leaders to do so.
In Russia, the church had to be destroyed for communism to take root, and so must it be in other nations, though outright violence (the execution and imprisonment of clergy and the destruction of places of worship) is not an available or effective means for the operator - an unsystematic attack against a single church or a single religion is met with backlash and defense, and there is little opportunity to systematically destroy all religions and churches as was accomplished during the revolution.
Fortunately, religion does much to discreet itself: the corruption of religious leaders is simple enough to expose, and there is little public sympathy for hypocrites in the ranks of the church. Religions are also highly factionalized, with various groups struggling for control, each of which is attempting to redefine the core tenets of the system, which only serves to reinforce the perception that religion is not infallible, as it claims to be, but is instead quite arbitrary.
Religious zeal also closely resembles insanity, as concern with imaginary realm of the supernatural requires a dismissal of more concrete and objective concerns. The devout are intentionally and steadfastly out of touch with objective reality. As such it is a simple matter to gather evidence necessary to denounce them as insane. Their followers "are stupid and stampede easily" when their leaders are discredit and deposed - but because they are fickle and weak-minded, the congregations are useful as little more than "trained apes" when separated from their masters.
It is also important to remember that in all societies, the many are governed by the few, and in nations in which the state serves the few at the exploitation of the many, there is a great deal of resentment, which is why the common people take great interest in the degradation of their masters. One hardly needs to build a credible case, simply make an accusation - propaganda, false evidence, and even blatant lies will be embraced if it enables people to strike back at their oppressors.