How and why did the attitude of the Soviet state towards the Orthodox Church change during the Second World War?

The Soviet government from the very beginning proclaimed freedom from religious values. Until the beginning of the Second World War, the church and all manifestations of religiosity were banned. But at the beginning of the war, the leadership concluded that without religion it would not be possible to unite and inspire the population. During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet government eased the persecution of the church and even allowed priests to publicly escort soldiers into battle, as well as to be at the front. It was necessary to revive the spiritual values, originality in people, to return the former conditions in order to raise the people.