State atheism was an official policy of anti-clericalism in the Soviet Union and other Marxist–Leninist states.[1] The Soviet Union used the term gosateizm, a syllabic abbreviation of “state” (gosudarstvo) and “atheism” (ateizm), to refer to a policy of expropriation of religious property, publication of information against religion and the official promotion of anti-religious materials in the education system. Governments that have implemented official policies of anti-clericalism oppose religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen.