Marxist–Leninist atheism, also known as Marxist–Leninist scientific atheism, is the antireligious element of Marxism–Leninism. Based upon a dialectical-materialist understanding of humanity's place in nature, Marxist–Leninist atheism proposes that religion is the opium of the people; thus, Marxism–Leninism advocates atheism, rather than religious belief. To support those ideological premises, Marxist–Leninist atheism proposes an explanation for origin of religion and explains methods for the scientific criticism of religion. The philosophic roots of Marxist–Leninist atheism are in the works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) and of Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–1872), of Karl Marx (1818–1883) and of Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924). Marxist–Leninist atheism informed public policy in various nations, such as the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China for example. Some non-Soviet Marxists opposed this antireligious stance, and in certain forms of Marxist thinking, such as the liberation theology movements in Latin America, Marxist–Leninist atheism was rejected entirely. Source: Wikipedia (en)