Critique of Church and State

Tolstoy condemns both organized Christianity and state institutions for distorting Christ's teachings, using violence, and creating a hypocritical system that justifies oppression, war, and social injustice.

Tolstoy criticizes church and state authorities for distorting Christ's teaching to justify violence and maintain power.

Tolstoy directly attacks churches as institutions that are 'not only foreign, but even directly hostile, to Christ’s teaching,' and criticizes their alliance with state power to suppress true Christianity.

Tolstoy criticizes both the state for enforcing military service and the church for failing to preach against war, thus complicity in the contradiction.

Tolstoy criticizes the defenders of the state who argue that violence is necessary to prevent the bad from ruling the good, pointing out that state violence itself is the very evil it claims to prevent.