"Did you know that till very recently in England you were counted as Christian unless you stated otherwise?"
In England not too long ago, if you gave your religion in hospital "none" it was invariably entered as "Church of England" - presumably the lady behind the desk didn't count C of E a 'real' religion.
"Stalin was an avowed atheist"
Maybe arising out of his experiences in the seminary while training to be a priest!
Stalin had as much to do with "Marxism" as Hitler, Pinochet, Batista, Mussolini - or even Pope Pius XII... and all the other monsters had to do with capitalism or Christianity.
The Jesuit boast - 'Give me the child for his first seven years, and I'll give you the man'
Such stuff was The Manchurian Candidate made of.
Jim Carroll