How did Lenin view religious freedom?

Lenin viewed religious freedom as a complex issue, seeing it as both a personal right and a potential tool for social control. He believed that while individuals should be free to practice their religion, institutionalized religion could pose a threat to the socialist state by promoting ideologies that conflicted with communist principles. Consequently, Lenin and the Bolsheviks promoted a secular state and implemented policies to diminish the influence of religion, viewing it as a remnant of bourgeois society. Ultimately, he aimed for a society where religion would eventually wither away as socialism progressed.