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Contemporary College Students’ Belief Crisis and Reconstruction on
Ideological and Political Education Perspective
YAN Huihui
Marxism Department of Shandong University, Weihai, P.R.China, 264209
[email protected]
Abstract: How to recognize the college students‟ belief under the backgrounds of cultural diversity?
There is the long decline of the traditional Confucian beliefs, communist belief ‟s downturn of the last
century resulted in the people‟s doubts on the communist movement, and the establishment of market
economy exacerbated the demand for college students‟ faith. Reconstruction of Marxist beliefs becomes
a critical task, being a guiding spirit pointer and inner driving force in the practice of college behavior to
build a socialist harmonious society.
Keywords: Ideological and political education, College students, A crisis of faith, Belief reconstruction
1 Introduction
With the time changes, the problems of belief crisis begin to appear. Some people lost their life direction;
some people only pursuit money; some people turn to seek religious asylum; even some communists
had doubts on the communism. On the view of current problems, the real crisis of faith is not that people
have no faith to pursuit, but there lacks a clear, stable and proper pursuit of the scientific beliefs. As a
whole society is concerned, the mainstream beliefs of society is threatened by non-mainstream beliefs,
its dominance is gradually being eroded.
Although belief is a spiritual phenomenon and spiritual activities, but it is not the product of spiritual
meditation. Belief is the final analysis of the complicated social life in the spiritual world, it has a rich
social and cultural connotations. As the foundation works of social construction, cultural construction is
necessary to adhere to the orientation of China‟s advanced culture, but also to promote the national
cultural tradition, providing the support for the construction of a harmonious society: (1) Spiritual
beliefs construct psychological harmony for civilians, so as to create a psychological basis of social
harmony; (2) Spiritual beliefs established provide moral point to customs and tidy for the community;
(3) The universal celebration ceremony has become an important social and cultural integration of
cultural ties and nourishes the spiritual harmony of civil society and daily life.
2 The Meaning and Importance of Belief
Belief is that people strive for the state mind of a certain basic ideas; it reflects people‟s world outlook
and outlook on life with taking the form of concentrated reflection from the perspective of a particular
subject. Belief is the unity of confident and credibility. The so-called credibility is the object of faith can
be deeply understood and accepted in theory by the main body. This requires the main body to use
knowledge, analyze a certain degree of logical argument to the object of belief. Confidence is the belief
in the rational factors. People just know and do not further increases to the theoretical object of belief,
faith cannot be established. The so-called confident is the emotional enhancement. It is an ideologically
belief that development in the mental state actors with irresistibly manifested main mental state.
Confident is the irrational factors in the belief. Although there is a certain inevitable link between
credibility and confident, but the credibility is not the key and signs of belief formation, but credible.
Belief as a psychosis to strive for some basic concepts sincerely is bound to combine this basic concept
and the main body‟s actual situation, then concrete to specific purpose and methods in practice, thereby
transforming to the objects practice itself. But the result of religious beliefs and scientific beliefs
generated by the practice is not the same. Religion is essentially irrational, which has blindness. Thus,
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the practice driven by religious beliefs guidance is contrary to the laws of the objective world in essence.
Scientific belief is rational in nature, which has consciousness. Thus, practice driven by the scientific
belief is in essence consistent with the laws of the objective world, which in general is a positive force
for social development and progress [1].
Countless facts have proven that faith will have a huge role in society. A belief in the body once
established, it will have a strong practical sense, which will work tirelessly without any hesitation.
This illustrates the importance of establishing a scientific belief.
3 The Crisis of College Students’ Belief in Transition
3.1 The crisis of traditional beliefs
People are coming from tradition, everyone‟s thinking; behavior will be influenced and restricted by
their national culture, morality and tradition. Chinese traditional society is commanded by Confucian
morality, legislating and judging are both by morality. Political system and social order are only
commenced by morality in the social practice, ethical standards is the best part of the truth. Moral belief
main with Confucian ethics is the most important belief in Chinese traditional society. Generally
speaking, during two thousand years‟ feudal society of China, belief is complementary with the social
situation. It provides a solid spiritual support to live in a feudal society in China, but also played a good
role in the integration of Chinese feudal society and social development. However, before the “May
Fourth” movement, Chinese society got into a comprehensive crisis of faith. Chinese people retreated in
the face of foreign invaders‟ gunboats, Chinese society were getting into the abyss of colonial and
semi-colonial society. Chinese people began to realize that China beaten is not only about the social
system and material technology, but also because of Chinese traditional culture decadent. Thus, in
“Down with Confucianism” ethnic roar, traditional feudal culture gradually declined, Confucian culture
is no longer a people‟s belief resources. Variety of new cultural trends swarmed provides the Chinese
people with a variety of different and even conflicting beliefs to select. Since then, after a fierce conflict
and struggle, with the October Revolution, Chinese people finally chose Marxist beliefs; Confucian
moral beliefs lose their dominant position. However, the Confucian culture has become part of the
Chinese cultural psychology. So, even after the establishment of the new faith, new and old cultures still
have a process communication, collision and struggle; Confucian moral belief will take root after
meeting the right environment and the soil [2].
3.2 The crisis of communist beliefs
“Cultural Revolution” caused the belief crisis of the communist. After a hundred years of social unrest,
anxiety and uneasiness of the spiritual life, Chinese people finally found his soul attribution. Under
Marxism and communism faith inspiring and leading, they embarked on a broad road leading to the
ideal society. However, people didn‟t hold scientific Marxism; they soon fell into fanatical belief in the
personality cult of the leader. Fanatical faith is an irrational blind faith. Fanatical belief is based on the
wrong concept and is produced in the imagination and with the imagination exaggerated. Although it
may temporarily shield people‟s eyes and ears, but it will eventually show his true colors in the face of
relentless reality. True belief is dead, and there is just morbid passion, enthusiasm abused. Such fanatical
faith not only gave the social and personal consequences, and that would make people go to the opposite
easily—people‟s belief is confused after cooling fanaticism. So, when the end of the Cultural Revolution,
many people turned from fanatical political confusion to doubt and think everything should be
re-thought and estimated. Leaders‟ myths were broken, however, more and more serious things are that
communist belief is suspected, these led to an unprecedented crisis of communism belief seriously.
3.3 The belief crisis after market economy established
Under the traditional planned economy, production, sales, distribution and other economic activity
totally depended on the government and grass-roots organizations instruction, unified planning and
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management. Economic activity has simple, clear, predictable characteristics. In a market economy,
economic activity largely in depended on autonomy. Production and sales entirely depended on the
markets. Production operators carry out forecasts and decisions independently of their economic activity.
Due to the complexity of the process of commodity exchange in the economy, the isolated individual
cannot control the economic process. Competitive economic activities are complex, varied and ruthless
activity produces individuals‟ lonely, helpless feeling. Then people will want to seek an omnipotent
God‟s help, to make them to succeed in the competition. Secondly, the structure, relationships and
changes make people become “lonely individual.” Under the planned economy, social structure is in
order; people‟s production and life are orientation freeze. Production activities, public service
organizations and even daily life affairs are under the unified planning and management at all levels
organizations. Everything completely depended on the masses of people collectively and parent
organizations. Person is not need to choose future transaction or to take responsibility. Farmers
generations lived in the same geographical area, co-produced, lived together, and thus had a deep
affection. Family relationships and neighbor relations are very cordial, farmers help each other. Today,
under the market economy, production is the individual thing. Functions of grassroots leadership and
utilities are greatly weakened. Contacts between grassroots organizations and the farmers are greatly
reduced. Production collective collapsed, people are under the state of disorder. In recent years, farmers
scattered in various economic activities, and stepped out of the home, went throughout the country to
make a living. The traditional link between people is interrupted, simple friendship of families and
neighbors are severed. The market economy is based on “object dependencies”; traditional ethics of
human relations between people is exchanged by the market exchange and money. Market economy has
brought many people drown in icy water of egoism. Collective collapsing, grassroots organizations
function weakening, family and neighbors‟ relationships destroyed make people roam the “homeless
ocean”.
4 Strengthen the Established the Marxist Beliefs During the Ideological and
Political Education Process
4.1 Ensure the core of “Marxist belief education”
Currently, the members of the society, especially college students are facing multiple choices of beliefs.
Although in the ideological and cultural fields, we respect differences, inclusive and diverse, but this
respect and tolerance must be under a precondition to adhere to the basic principles and policies to the
basic system of the party and the country. Universities should strengthen the Marxist belief from the
height of the development of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics; take it as a top priority to
carry out the Marxist faith education effectively.
Education is purposeful social activities, social nature decides educational content. Education of Marxist
belief is an important part of the socialist education. As a socialist country, Chinese policy is to develop
a better construction and development of socialism. Therefore, adherence to the socialist direction of
school orientation, serving the socialist modernization, and training qualified personnel for socialist
become the main content of the higher education. Strengthening the Marxist faith education, training
personnel with the firm conviction in socialism and high ideological and political quality are both the
task of ideological and political education and the core of the higher education related to the
development of China‟s socialist construction. Marxist belief education is essential to ensure that a crisis
of faith digested. The current impact of our society is facing a crisis of faith. On the one hand, the rapid
development of the socialist market economy improves people‟s living standards and strengthens the
birth of modern values; on the other hand, evident with secularization becoming increasingly apparent
makes people‟s spiritual world have nothing to rely on, nihilism, money worship, extreme individualism
and other erroneous ideas could fill the void. Even anti-scientific social thought and feudal superstitious
activities are constantly bred and spread. “Chinese contemporary crisis of faith is not to say that
Marxism, communism and other faiths are „no longer credible‟, or „not worth believing‟, but the main
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body is not able to faith them correctly” [3]. College students are the main force in the future of socialist
construction, to strengthen the faith of young students Marxist education arm their minds with scientific
theory, are not only to overcome the crisis of faith, an effective way of ideological and political
education but also the event is relevant to the country‟s future fate. In summing up the historical
experience, Deng Xiaoping had said: “belief in Marxism is a spiritual power of the Chinese revolution
to victory.”
Why we can achieve the revolution‟s victory in very difficult circumstances is to have Marxism faith.
Today, Marxism belief is still our strong spiritual pillar in building Chinese socialism remains to
overcome non-scientific beliefs for us including superstition and powerful spiritual weapon idolatrous.
As a contemporary theme of ideological and political education work, the Marxist faith education is
bound to become the ideological and political education adhered to the central task.
4.2 Focus on two areas: the promotion of “teachers” and “students” positive interaction
Marxist faith formation needs to go through “from the outside” to “inside-out” process, the overall
quality of teachers and subjective consciousness of students are key factors for the Marxist belief
education achieved by the “externalization guide” to “Internalized practice” target.
Belief educational effect depends largely on whether the students have “conscious” faith needs.
Therefore, whether the student has the wishes and needs of an active identity and Marxist influence the
success or failure is faith education. Some colleges and universities are more emphasis on the main role
of the “educators”, and less concerned about “acceptance” process and the results educated. In the
process of interaction with teachers, the faith educational effect is often less than expectation. Therefore,
strengthening the Marxist belief education should respect the students, play their main role and combine
the Marxist belief education with practical needs. During the education process, a variety of
communication activities can be active based on different ages of students thinking and behavior
characteristics, students can make choosing, independent thinking, self-management and self-evaluation,
those enhance students‟ independence and sovereignty.
4.3 The formation of the external “convergence” and “internal expansion” teaching mode through
a variety of ways
Marxism faith education is a complicated system engineering, which is from deep argumentation
theoretically, inseparable practice reality testing, and more from sincere emotional identity. In order to
achieve the education purpose, in addition to the basic teaching means, teachers should also take the
student emotion recognition as the starting point, actively use some recessive education teaching factors.
Firstly, play the main role of the ideological and political theory courses effectively. As the main channel
for Marxist belief education, ideological and political theory courses have the most direct and effective
impact for college acceptance and the formation of Marxist theory. To play positions fortress role of the
ideological and political theory courses, in addition to the need to ensure the ideological and political
theory teaching hours, and improving the comprehensive quality of teachers constantly, the more urgent
task is to achieve the textbook system to the teaching system, teaching system of knowledge to students
and belief system transformation.
Secondly, build a multi-campus practice platform. A diverse campus practice platform should be created
actively. Currently, college campus cultural activities organized by the university and school committees
are mainly in sports and cultural activities, the activities with the ideological and political education and
practice as the main content are less. So, how to integrate the internal hardware and software resources
effectively, open the first position of college students‟ faith education should be the primary focus of the
practice of ideological and political theory course teaching. In addition, university should expand the
campus practice base actively. University can choose industries or regions reflecting the achievements
or the problems as a base to guide students toward society and the community, to businesses, to the rural
areas, combining the social practice, professional learning, life experiences and ideological and political
education.
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5 Conclusion
Students‟ crisis of belief and values built has become a critical task and an important factor affecting the
college students‟ behavior during the practice of building a harmonious society. Mere preaching is not
only monotonous and boring, but also brings people frustration and depression psychology. Therefore,
ideological and political teaching process should adhere to the principles of truth; take account of fun,
informative and interesting to follow the principle of unity of college students to help them rebuild
beliefs. To this, we must take a responsible attitude facing the difficult trip.
Foundation:
This article is the achievement of “Research Funded Projects of Shandong University at Weihai”.
Item Number: B201324.
References
[1]. Li Chunyong. As a Rational Science and Religious Faith. Social Sciences. 2006, 10: 162-168 (in
Chinese)
[2]. Hu Kaiyu. Causes and Reconstruction of the Chinese Faith Crisis. Be Realistic. 2012 (12): 59-61
(in Chinese)
[3]. Jin Xueming. Faith Restored During the Contemporary Chinese Transition. Teaching and Research.
1998 (12): 23-27 (in Chinese)
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