What kind of religion do Russians have? Religions in Russia
“The attitude of society towards religion is one of the key characteristics of the national self-identification of every people. With the advent of Orthodoxy to the Eastern Slavs, the Spirit of the Russian World, its spiritual basis (“soul of the soul”) was born and refined. Orthodoxy for a Russian person is not one of many religions, but a system of the very spiritual life of our people,” says the article of the famous politician, Doctor of Law Sergei Baburin, published by the newspaper “Rus Derzhavnaya” (the text of the article is provided by the portal “Interfax-Religion”) .
In this regard, the politician believes, “the main obstacle to ridding our Fatherland of spiritual and social defilement, of the new great Troubles, is a number of norms of the constitutions in force in the post-Soviet space, they are the ones that hinder the real return of Orthodoxy.”
Therefore, S. Baburin suggests that it is necessary to fundamentally correct Articles 13 and 14 of the Russian Constitution, as well as the corresponding articles of the Constitutions of Belarus and Ukraine. “Remember the formula of Art. 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: “Ideological diversity is recognized in the Russian Federation. No ideology can be established as state and mandatory.” In the Ukrainian Constitution this is Part 2 of Art. 15: “No ideology can be recognized by the state as mandatory.” Of course, this is a belated fear of Marxism-Leninism. But if someone says that this norm is a triumph of pluralism, then he is seriously mistaken. Nihilism was proclaimed as a constitutional principle; good and evil were equalized in constitutions. Hypocrisy and sincerity, the ideology of labor and the ideology of fraud are declared equal. Ideological diversity, like the denial of ideology, is also an ideology that denies spiritual and moral values with unconditional commitment and state coercion,” the publication says.
Further, Baburin notes, according to Art. 14 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: “No religion can be established as state or compulsory. Religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law,” however, he is sure that the identification of religion and religious association is unlawful, and this wording of the Constitution “was inherited from the Bolshevik revolutionaries.”
As an example, the politician cites articles of the Soviet Constitution. Art. 13 of the first Soviet Constitution - the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918, adopted “at the moment of the decisive struggle of the proletariat against its exploiters”, established the norm: “In order to ensure real freedom of conscience for the working people, the church is separated from the state, and the school from the church.” This “separation” was repeated by the USSR constitutions of 1936 and 1977, corresponding to the constitutions of the union republics. “The current Russian “liberals” in the main ideological issues remain remarkably faithful to the most rigid secular Bolshevism. Just like the Ukrainian pseudo-liberals, because in Part 3 of Art. 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates: “The church and religious organizations in Ukraine are separated from the state, and the school is separated from the church. No religion can be recognized by the state as compulsory,” states S. Baburin.
Meanwhile, it is said further, the modern approaches of many countries assume a completely different attitude to religion and believers, to ideological principles and historical traditions, to the national characteristics of each people than in the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
“Orthodoxy came to Rus' from Byzantium - the Eastern Roman Empire. The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, having absorbed over centuries the traditions and way of life of the Eastern Slavs, the Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes that reunited with them, and created the Russian nation, its national identity, its civilizational values and the Russian Spirit itself, which embraced both Great Russians and Belarusians, and Ukrainians. There is no reason, other than nihilistic and cosmopolitan malice, to talk about the equality of religions on the territory of the three East Slavic states. Although Article 16 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus says, unfortunately: “Religions and faiths are equal before the law.” Equal, but not religions and creeds, but religious associations,” emphasizes S. Baburin.
In this regard, the politician calls for a distinction between Orthodoxy as a religion and the Russian Orthodox Church as a religious association. “But we should also speak specially about the Orthodox religious association on the territory of historical Russia,” he writes. “This is written most accurately in the post-Soviet space in the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus: “The relationship between the state and religious organizations is regulated by law, taking into account their influence on the formation of spiritual, cultural and state traditions of the Belarusian people” (Article 16).”
Therefore, S. Baburin emphasizes, “for us, the experience of the Greeks as a people, where the foundation of the entire Orthodox tradition is preserved, is especially significant. And not even that the Greek Constitution even regulates the status of Holy Mount Athos (Article 105 of the Constitution). The main thing is what is the general attitude of society and the state towards Orthodoxy.” Thus, the politician notes, in the Greek Constitution, Art. 3 begins with the words: “The dominant religion in Greece is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ.” According to the Constitution, the oath in the name of the Holy, Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity is included in the oath of both the president and the deputies of the Greek Parliament. And this despite the fact that in Greece there are many citizens of other religions.
“I am convinced that similar norms are necessary for the constitutions of Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine. Orthodoxy for us is an indispensable condition for national self-identification. All other religions are equally worthy, but historically for our peoples they are secondary. (...) It’s time to get rid of the nihilistic Bolshevism of constitutions, calls Sergei Baburin. - For the sake of preserving Russian civilization, Orthodoxy in Russia needs constitutional rehabilitation. In the Preamble, or in the 1st or 2nd article of the Constitution, it should be proclaimed: “The dominant religion in the Russian Federation is Orthodoxy - the religion of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ.”
According to the politician, “all world religions are interested in Russia in the constitutional rehabilitation of Orthodoxy, because this means the return of the state to God, and God is one.” “If we do not free ourselves from nihilism and Russophobia in the constitutions of our own states, then all talk about the return of spirituality, morality and their basis - Orthodoxy - to our lives will remain self-deception or deceit. For modern Russia it should become obvious: having freed itself from the poisonous influence of nihilistic delusions, having restored its integrity, Russian society will be able not only to revive the legitimacy of power, not only to strengthen the Russian Federation, but also to regain its civilizational attractiveness, and therefore once again become a reliable anchor of the Russian world ", concludes Sergei Baburin.
1. The Russian Federation is a secular state. No religion can be established as state or compulsory.
2. Religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law.
Commentary on Article 14 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation
1. A state is considered secular in which there is no official, state religion and no creed is recognized as mandatory or preferable. In such a state, religion, its canons and dogmas, as well as religious associations operating in it, do not have the right to influence the state system, the activities of state bodies and their officials, the public education system and other areas of state activity. The secular nature of the state is ensured, as a rule, by the separation of the church (religious associations) from the state and the secular nature of public education (separation of the school from the church). This form of relationship between the state and the church has been established with varying degrees of consistency in a number of countries (USA, France, Poland, etc.).
In the modern world, there are states where an official religion is legalized, called the state, dominant or national. For example, in England such a religion is one of the main directions of Christianity - Protestantism (Anglican Church), in Israel - Judaism. There are states where the equality of all religions is proclaimed (Germany, Italy, Japan, etc.). However, in such a state, one of the most traditional religions, as a rule, enjoys certain privileges and has a certain influence on its life.
The opposite of a secular state is a theocratic state, in which state power belongs to the church hierarchy. Such a state today is the Vatican.
There are also a number of clerical states in the world. The clerical state is not merged with the church. However, the church, through the institutions established by law, has a decisive influence on public policy, and school education compulsorily includes the study of church dogmas. Such a state is, for example, Iran.
2. As a secular state, the Russian Federation is characterized by the fact that in it religious associations are separated from the state and no religion can be established as state or compulsory. The content of this provision is revealed by Art. 4 of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations, which states that religious associations are equal before the law.
The separation of religious associations from the state means that the state does not interfere in a citizen’s determination of his attitude to religion and religious affiliation, in the upbringing of children by parents or persons replacing them, in accordance with their convictions and taking into account the child’s right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. The state does not assign to religious associations the performance of functions of state authorities, other state bodies, state institutions and local government bodies; does not interfere with the activities of religious associations unless they contradict the law; ensures the secular nature of education in state and municipal educational institutions. The activities of state authorities and local governments cannot be accompanied by public religious rites and ceremonies. Officials of state authorities, other state bodies and local self-government bodies, as well as military personnel, do not have the right to use their official position to form one or another attitude towards religion.
At the same time, the state protects the legal activities of religious associations. It regulates the provision of tax and other benefits to religious organizations, provides financial, material and other assistance to religious organizations in the restoration, maintenance and protection of buildings and objects that are monuments of cultural history, as well as in ensuring the teaching of general education disciplines in educational institutions created by religious organizations in accordance with with the legislation of the Russian Federation on education.
In accordance with the constitutional principle of the separation of religious associations from the state, a religious association is established and operates in accordance with its own hierarchical and institutional structure, selecting, appointing and replacing its personnel according to its own regulations. It does not perform the functions of state authorities, other state bodies, state institutions and local self-government bodies, does not participate in elections to state authorities and local self-government bodies, does not participate in the activities of political parties and political movements, and does not provide them with material or other assistance. In the Russian Federation, as a democratic and secular state, a religious association cannot replace a political party; it is supra-party and non-political. But this does not mean that the clergy cannot be elected to state authorities and local governments at all. However, clergy are elected to these bodies not from religious associations and not as representatives of the respective church.
The principle of a secular state, as understood in countries with a mono-confessional and mono-national structure of society and with developed traditions of religious tolerance and pluralism, allows political parties based on the ideology of Christian democracy to be allowed in some countries, since the concept of “Christian” in this case goes beyond confessional boundaries and denotes belonging to the European system of values and culture.
In multinational and multi-confessional Russia, such concepts as “Orthodox”, “Muslim”, “Russian”, “Bashkir”, etc., are associated in the public consciousness with specific faiths and individual nations rather than with the system of values of the Russian people as a whole. . Therefore, the constitutional principle of a democratic and secular state in relation to the constitutional and historical realities that have developed in Russia does not allow the creation of political parties based on national or religious affiliation. Such a prohibition corresponds to the authentic meaning of Art. 13 and 14 of the Constitution in conjunction with its art. 19 (parts 1 and 2), 28 and 29 (see comments to Articles 13, 14, 19, 28 and 29) and is a specification of the provisions contained therein (see Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of December 15, 2004 N 18-P ).
The separation of religious associations from the state does not entail a restriction of the rights of members of these associations to participate on an equal basis with other citizens in the management of state affairs, in elections to state authorities and local governments, in the activities of political parties, political movements and other public associations.
Religious associations in the Russian Federation operate on the basis of their own rules, subject to compliance with the law. Such a law regulating these issues is the aforementioned Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations. According to this Law, a religious association in the Russian Federation is recognized as a voluntary association of citizens of the Russian Federation, other persons permanently and legally residing in the territory of the Russian Federation, formed for the purpose of joint worship and dissemination of faith and having the following characteristics corresponding to this purpose: religion; performance of divine services, other religious rites and ceremonies; teaching religion and religious education of its followers. Religious associations can be created in the form of religious groups and religious organizations.
A religious group is a voluntary association of citizens formed for the purpose of jointly professing and spreading faith, carrying out activities without state registration and acquiring the legal capacity of a legal entity. The premises and property necessary for the activities of a religious group are provided for the use of the group by its members. Religious groups have the right to perform worship services, other religious rites and ceremonies, as well as provide religious instruction and religious education to their followers.
A religious organization is recognized as a voluntary association of citizens of the Russian Federation or other persons permanently and legally residing in the territory of the Russian Federation, formed for the purpose of joint confession and dissemination of faith, registered as a legal entity in the manner prescribed by law.
Religious organizations, depending on the territorial scope of their activities, are divided into local and centralized. A local religious organization is a religious organization consisting of at least 10 participants who have reached the age of 18 and permanently reside in the same locality or in the same urban or rural settlement. A centralized religious organization is a religious organization consisting, in accordance with its charter, of at least three local religious organizations.
State registration of religious organizations is carried out by the federal justice body or its territorial body in the manner established by current legislation. Re-registration of religious organizations cannot be carried out contrary to the conditions that, by virtue of clause 1 of Art. 9 and paragraph 5 of Art. 11 of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations are necessary and sufficient for the establishment and registration of religious organizations. It follows from these norms that for the re-registration of religious organizations established before the entry into force of this Law, as well as local religious organizations that are part of the structure of a centralized religious organization, a document confirming their existence in the relevant territory for at least 15 years is not required; such religious organizations are not subject to the requirement for annual re-registration before the specified 15-year period; they cannot be limited in legal capacity on the basis of paragraph. 3 and 4 paragraphs 3 art. 27 (see Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of November 23, 1999 N 16-P).
Religious organizations have the right to establish and maintain religious buildings and structures, other places and objects specifically intended for worship, prayer and religious meetings, religious veneration (pilgrimage). Divine services, other religious rites and ceremonies are freely performed in religious buildings and structures and on the territories related to them, in other places provided to religious organizations for these purposes, in places of pilgrimage, in institutions and enterprises of religious organizations, in cemeteries and crematoriums, as well as in residential areas.
Religious organizations have the right to conduct religious ceremonies in medical and preventive institutions and hospitals, orphanages for the elderly and disabled, in institutions executing criminal penalties in the form of imprisonment, at the request of citizens in them, in premises specially allocated by the administration for these purposes . The command of military units, taking into account the requirements of military regulations, has no right to prevent the participation of military personnel in worship services and other religious rites and ceremonies. In other cases, public worship, other religious rites and ceremonies are carried out in the manner established for holding rallies, processions and demonstrations.
At the request of religious organizations, the relevant government authorities in Russia have the right to declare religious holidays as non-working (holiday) days in the relevant territories. Such holidays are declared, for example, Christmas Day and a number of Muslim religious holidays.
Religious organizations have the right to: produce, acquire, operate, replicate and distribute religious literature, printed, audio and video materials and other religious items; carry out charitable, cultural and educational activities; create institutions of professional religious education (spiritual educational institutions) to train students and religious personnel; carry out entrepreneurial activities and create their own enterprises in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Russian Federation; establish and maintain international connections and contacts, including for the purposes of pilgrimage, participation in meetings and other events, to receive religious education, as well as invite foreign citizens for these purposes.
Religious organizations may own buildings, land plots, industrial, social, charitable, cultural, educational and other purposes, religious items, funds and other property necessary to support their activities, including those classified as historical and cultural monuments . Religious organizations may own property abroad.
The creation of religious associations in government bodies, other government bodies, state institutions and local self-government bodies, military units, state and municipal organizations, as well as religious associations whose goals and actions contradict the law is prohibited.
Religious organizations can be liquidated by decision of their founders or a body authorized to do so by the charter of the religious organization, as well as by a court decision in the event of repeated or gross violations of the Constitution, federal laws, or in the case of systematic implementation by a religious organization of activities that contradict the goals of its creation (statutory goals).
It must be said that certain provisions of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations have repeatedly been the subject of consideration by the Constitutional Court. However, each time the Court found them not to contradict the Constitution.
Thus, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation adopted Determination No. 46-O dated April 13, 2000 on the complaint of the regional association “Independent Russian Region of the Society of Jesus” regarding violations of constitutional rights and freedoms, paragraphs 3-5 of Art. 8, art. 9 and 13, paragraphs 3 and 4 art. 27 of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations * (77).
The court came to the conclusion that the contested provisions of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations in relation to their actions in relation to religious organizations established before the entry into force of this Law did not violate the constitutional rights and freedoms of the applicant.
The religious composition of the population of Russia is the composition of the population of the Russian Federation by religion, confessional affiliation.
In Russia, as in all democratic countries whose citizens enjoy the right to freedom of conscience and religion, religious affiliation is considered a personal matter. There is no official record of believers, so statistics on the religious composition of the population are fragmentary and approximate.
The most common religions in Russia: Christianity (Orthodoxy), Islam, Buddhism. A significant part of the country's population are non-believers.
Legal foundations of religious life in Russia
The Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines the following legal principles regarding religion and the religious life of citizens:
the creation and activities of public associations whose goals or actions are aimed at inciting national and religious hatred are prohibited (Chapter 1, Article 13);
The Russian Federation is a secular state; no religion can be established as state or compulsory (Chapter 1, Article 14);
religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law (Chapter 1, Article 14);
the state guarantees equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen, regardless of nationality, attitude to religion, beliefs; any form of restriction of the rights of citizens on grounds of religious affiliation is prohibited (Chapter 2, Article 19);
everyone is guaranteed freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including the right to profess individually or together with others any religion or not to profess any, to freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them (Chapter 2, Article 28);
Propaganda or agitation that incite religious hatred and enmity are not permitted; Propaganda of religious superiority is prohibited (Chapter 2, Article 29);
a citizen of the Russian Federation, if his convictions or religion is contrary to military service, as well as in other cases established by federal law, has the right to replace it with alternative civil service (Chapter 2, Article 59).
According to the Federal Law of September 26, 1997 N 125-FZ “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations”:
in the Russian Federation, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are guaranteed, including the right to profess, individually or jointly with others, any religion or not to profess any, to freely choose and change, to have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and to act in accordance with them;
no one is obliged to report their attitude to religion and cannot be subjected to coercion when determining their attitude to religion, to profess or refuse to profess religion, to participate or not to participate in worship services, other religious rites and ceremonies, in the activities of religious associations, in teaching religion .
Thus, the law establishes the right of citizens not to answer questions about religious affiliation. This makes it difficult to collect statistics on the religious composition of the Russian population.
By securing the equality of different religions, the law takes into account the special role of Orthodoxy in the history of Russia, in the formation and development of Russian culture. At the same time, the law indicates that other religions widespread in Russia (Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, etc.) form an integral part of the historical heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation.
Religious composition of the Russian population: 2012 survey
There are no official statistics regarding the religious affiliation of Russians. All data on the religious composition of the Russian population was collected during various sociological surveys. The number of followers of a particular denomination is estimated differently, depending on the methods and scale of research.
In 2012, an All-Russian Representative Survey of the Population was conducted to create a picture of religions and nationalities in Russia. The questionnaires took into account the number, geographical and administrative distribution, adherence to religious practices, ideological and socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents.
The survey was conducted among Russians living in cities and rural areas. The sample consisted of 56,900 respondents aged 18 years and over from 79 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Religious affiliation |
Number of followers |
Orthodox (churched) |
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Believers (without specific religious affiliation) |
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Muslims |
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Christians |
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Sunni Muslims |
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Orthodox outside the Church |
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Pagans |
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Buddhists |
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Old Believers |
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Protestants |
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Shia Muslims |
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Catholics |
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Judaists |
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Hindus |
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Pentecostals |
According to the survey, the largest number of Orthodox Christians are in the Tambov, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kursk, Ryazan, Penza and Tula regions, as well as in Mordovia. The fewest Orthodox Christians are found in the republics of Tyva and Dagestan.
The highest percentage of Muslim population is in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Bashkiria, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Dagestan and Tatarstan. The fewest Muslims (about 0.1%) live in the Oryol, Smolensk, Tambov, Nizhny Novgorod, Vologda, Kursk regions and the Trans-Baikal Territory.
Buddhists live mainly in Tyva, Kalmykia, Buryatia, and also in the Trans-Baikal Territory. The fewest Buddhists are in the Kaliningrad, Tyumen, Murmansk regions, the Republic of Bashkortostan, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The highest rates of atheism are among the population of the Primorsky Territory, Altai Territory, Yakutia, Amur Region, Khabarovsk Territory, Kaliningrad Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region. The fewest atheists are in Dagestan and North Ossetia.
Changes in the religious composition of the Russian population: 1991 - 2011
In August 2011, the Levada Center conducted a survey on a representative all-Russian sample of the urban and rural population. The respondents included 1,624 people over the age of 18 living in 130 settlements in 45 regions of the country. The results were compared with data from previous surveys and expressed as percentages.
Orthodoxy |
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Catholicism |
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Protestantism |
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Other religion |
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I don't consider myself a believer |
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Difficult to answer |
Christians in modern Russia
According to a 2010 VTsIOM survey, two-thirds of Russians observe religious rituals, but not systematically, but only occasionally (mainly on holidays).
According to the survey, 75% of the Russian population are Christians. Of the Christians, 84% were baptized (in 1989 - 89%). About 50% of Christians have read the Holy Scriptures (in 1989, only 38% had read them).
Among Orthodox Christians, 94% of respondents were baptized, and among followers of other Christian religions - 58%. The fewest baptized believers are in the Far East (66%). Among women professing the Christian religion, 88% were baptized, among men - 79%.
Last Friday, November 22, a proposal to constitutionally give Orthodoxy a special status was introduced by the notorious deputy Mizulina.
What could this lead to?
There are many opinions, here are some:
Mikhail Leontyev: "In fact, this is all correct. Undoubtedly, this is historically, politically, and ethically justified. I would ultimately baptize everyone, perhaps practically by force. Because you cannot leave people without grace. Children are baptized without asking, Why should we ask the rest? Vladimir the Holy did not ask when he drove people into the Dnieper. As a result, we have Russian statehood."
Nikolai Svanidze: “Clumsy attempts to increase such an official status of religion can only turn people away from it. As history shows, in particular the history of the Russian Empire, when the Bolsheviks after the revolution began to simply trample the church in the literal sense of the word, kill priests, destroy church buildings, rob churches, there was resistance, I would say, not very serious on the part of the public. Not very serious. And in many ways I attribute this to the fact that Orthodoxy was the official religion. They got enough of it. People don’t like it when they get picked on in the liver."
Now Orthodoxy is considered equal to all religions in Russia, but nevertheless...
- Although in de jure Russia is a secular state in which religion is separated from the state, and all religions are equal in their rights, de facto the authorities officially finance the Russian Orthodox Church MP so that it is engaged in “strengthening the unity of the Russian nation and cultural development peoples of Russia".
- the basics of Orthodox culture are introduced in schools, Orthodox departments in universities
- Soviet holidays are replaced by Orthodox ones and the turnout for these holidays is the same as in the past.
- the institute of regimental priests is being introduced in the army
- in addition to the fact that on TV there is an official Orthodox channel; on all channels, among the main news, events that take place in the Russian Orthodox Church MP are covered, although
There are many religious movements in our country. Freedom of conscience and religion, as well as the right to individually or collectively practice any non-aggressive religion and to publicly disseminate its beliefs and actions are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Religion in Russia is represented by the main world faiths and their ideological branches. The main one is Christianity; it is professed by the largest part of believers. Many citizens, especially in the eastern and southern regions of the country, prefer Islam. In Khakassia, Buryatia and some regions of Altai, the population leans toward Buddhism. In Jewish diasporas throughout the country, Judaism predominates.
Since the time of the baptism of Rus' by the Grand Duke Vladimir the Red Sun, Orthodoxy, borrowed from Ancient Byzantium, has become the dominant trend in Russian Christianity. And only in the western regions of the Russian Federation, adjacent to Belarus and the Baltic states, is Catholic Christianity and Protestantism professed.
So how many religions are there in our state, and what is the number of their adherents? According to RAS data from 2013:
- Orthodox Christianity in Russia is professed by 79 percent of the country's residents;
- spiritual Christianity, which has nothing to do with religion, is represented by 9 percent;
- Muslims make up 4 percent;
- About 1 percent belong to other faiths;
- About 7 percent of Russian people consider themselves atheists.
Thus, the total number of believers in our country, not counting atheists, is close to 93%. Let us consider the features of each religion in Russia separately. All of them have certain historical and national prerequisites and are the spiritual basis for uniting the peoples of the country into one state.
Orthodoxy
The main symbol of Orthodoxy as one of the branches of Christianity is faith in Jesus Christ - the viceroy on earth of the true God and Savior of mankind. According to several versions set forth in the canonical and apocryphal Gospels, God the Father sent his son into our sinful world to correct the vices of people and make them worthy of God’s attention. Jesus showed people an example of piety and asceticism, and it cost him his life. He was crucified on the cross next to ordinary robbers, but on the third day after death, the resurrection occurred, and he showed people that he really knew how to perform miracles.
The main concept of Christianity is that God is one, but he can exist in three persons at once: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is where the very origin of the word “Trinity” comes from, the doctrine of which was introduced into Christianity by Theophilus of Antilochus at the time of the birth of this religion in the 2nd century AD.
Being born of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit, Jesus appeared on Earth to deliver humanity from Satan, who imposed curses, sinfulness and death on people. Having redeemed these misfortunes by the very fact of his death, the Son of Man rose again and thereby showed others the possibility of atonement for sins before the gates of Paradise, gave faith in the resurrection of everyone and eternal life for all the righteous.
Christianity is personified by the name of the founder - Christ, because he is directly related to the formation of this religion. This man deliberately sacrificed himself for the sake of his other contemporaries and predecessors, who suffered as a result of the excommunication of Adam and Eve from God. Christ again turned the face of God to them and through himself atoned for part of their sin.
Faith in Christ
Why did belief in Christ become one of the world's largest religions? The reason is a holistic worldview, which includes three principles, without which no traditional religion is possible:
- Belief in the existence of God.
- Recognition of the ideology of a given religion.
- Following its canons.
Otherwise, we can only talk about some kind of shamanism, fetishism, magic or something similar, which is an unconventional religious movement, or a pseudo-religion.
An important feature of Orthodoxy is the reliance of God on man. Only man, according to Christ, is the measure of everything in the world. This wisdom came from the philosophers of Ancient Greece. Christianity brought into it only a close connection between man and God. The Almighty corrects a person’s behavior and puts his thoughts in order.
The declaration of Christ's teaching is demonstrated by his "Sermon on the Mount", in which he shows his disciples and followers the true path to the Heavenly Kingdom. This is a kind of moral code of Christianity.
The modern world is multifaceted. This also applies to religious movements, as well as their preachers. They impose certain ideals on believers, sometimes at odds with their own standards of life. Orthodoxy in this sense does not impose anything on anyone, but simply calls to believe in God as the highest personification of world justice, which does not conflict with national interests and is an official religion in Russia, the same as Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.
In Orthodoxy, God personifies all the best qualities of a person - truth, wisdom, love, bliss, goodness, beauty, power, eternal life. All of them are in harmonious relationship with each other.
Catholicism
The term “Catholicism,” which means “universal” in Greek, was first introduced by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, a follower of John the Theologian, in 110 AD. It was later formalized by the Council of Nicaea. This term indicated the beginning of a schism between the Byzantine and Roman Christian churches, which concerned mainly some basic church rituals.
This doctrine, just like Orthodoxy, is focused on the Holy Scriptures, the Bible and the Catechism, which sets out the sacraments of the Catholic Church. There are seven of them:
- baptism, the procedure of which is described in the canonical gospels;
- sacrament of marriage;
- confirmation, or anointing;
- Eucharist;
- sacrament of confession;
- consecration with oil;
- sacrament of the priesthood.
In addition, the Catholic faith takes into account doctrinal provisions that distinguish it from other faiths that make up Christianity:
- For Catholics, the Holy Spirit comes equally from the Father and the Son, and not from one of them (this is expressed by the term “filioque”);
- The Virgin Mary conceived immaculately, only then did her pregnancy with Christ turn into bodily form;
- Sinners who deviate from the teachings of the Catholic Church end up in Purgatory;
- Repentant sinners receive indulgences that forgive their sins;
- Cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
- Exaltation of saints, martyrs, blessed ones with honors equal to God;
- Assertion of the dominion of the Roman Church over all the Catholic Churches of the world as the direct successor of St. Peter the Apostle;
- Strict subordination of all branches of the Catholic Church (compare: the Orthodox Church is autocephalous, that is, independent of any other church);
- The infallibility of the Pope in all matters relating to faith in God and morality.
- The sanctity of marriage. It cannot be terminated only at the wishes of the parties, only with the permission of the church.
The difference between the Orthodox and Catholic churches
The difference between the Orthodox and Catholic churches also concerns rituals. Latin rituals have their own characteristics:
- the name of the Son is always added to the creed of God in the filioque;
- in any church parish there must be a priest;
- Baptism among Catholics is carried out not by immersion in water, as in Orthodoxy, but by sprinkling the head with water;
- Confirmation can only be carried out by a bishop; a simple priest has the right to do this only if the death of the person being confessed is approaching;
- at the Eucharist, not leavened bread is used, like the Orthodox, but unleavened bread;
- laity receive communion with the Body or Blood of Christ, priests receive communion only with the Body and Blood, that is, full communion;
- The sign of the cross among Catholics is made from left to right and with all fingers of the hand, since they symbolize precisely the five wounds of Christ during the crucifixion.
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the directions of Christianity, as important as Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It is a religious association of Protestant churches, ideologically originating from the era of the Reformation and opposing classical Catholicism in Europe, making it either more liberal or more conservative.
Protestant theology was formed in the 16th-17th centuries. The main ideologists of Protestant teaching during the Reformation were John Calvin, Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and Ulrich Zwingli. Later it was developed by A. Harnack, F. Schleiermacher, E. Troeltsch and others. A new trend in Protestant theology marks the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The basis of Protestantism is the same beliefs in God, in his trinity, heaven and hell, the immortality of the human soul, as Christians. But unlike Catholics, Protestants reject the image of Purgatory, believing that only faith in Christ - his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection from the dead - can give final forgiveness to sinners.
Protestants believe that the only source of Christian teaching is the Bible. Studying its canons and applying them in one’s own practice is the most important task of true believers. At the same time, Protestant missionaries are trying to make the Bible accessible to all believers, translating it into all their national languages. This book, which is essentially the history of the ordeals of the Jewish people, has become an indisputable authority for Protestants. With its help, all other religious teachings, actions and opinions are evaluated. Anything that is not confirmed in the Bible is not subject to the fulfillment of believers.
- The indisputability of Holy Scripture.
- The priesthood is for all believers without exception.
- Salvation through personal faith.
Protestant theology in its classical form is very strict about faith, the doctrine of salvation, the church and the sacraments. The external, ritual side of church life becomes less significant for Protestants. Hence the wide variety of formalities while simultaneously observing the basic tenets of the doctrine.
Teachings in Protestantism
Time has formed many of its own teachings in Protestantism. Some of them began to go beyond classical doctrines. For example, convincing adherents of certain teachings that they possess a prophetic gift. This is how the Seventh-day Adventist sect and some other movements were formed, based on the revelations and visions of their founders.
Of all the sacraments that Protestants adhere to, only two are supported by all teachings - communion and the sacrament of baptism. All others are considered conditional. In this case, baptism can be performed at any age, while in order to receive the sacrament the candidate must undergo confirmation - a special preparatory ritual.
Confession and marriage, as well as other similar sacraments among Protestants, are simply considered traditional rites. They also welcome prayers in honor of the dead and saints, although they treat them with respect. They do not worship the relics of the dead, considering this ritual to be inconsistent with the Holy Scriptures and reminiscent of ordinary idolatry.
In the houses of worship, adherents of this faith do not have any of the decorations common to most churches. Prayers can be performed in any building that is completely unsuitable for worship, because, according to believers, it should be focused not on contemplating a beautiful interior, but on prayers, singing psalms, church sermons and singing hymns in the language of the flock.
Spiritual Christianity
Spiritual Christianity includes several movements that appeared in Russia at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. The most famous of them:
- Doukhobors;
- Molokans;
- eunuchs;
- Khlysty, or believers of Christ.
All these, as they called themselves, people of God lacked any Orthodox orthodoxy in their worship services. This can most likely be explained simply by the poverty of the flock, which came from runaway serfs. That is why they were persecuted in Russia during both the imperial and Soviet periods.
Whips
The Khlysty are the oldest non-traditional movement in the spiritual Orthodox Christianity of Rus'. According to one version, it developed from the Old Believers during the persecution of them by the official Orthodox Church under Patriarch Nikon and Emperor Alexei Mikhailovich. Later, the Khlysty sect split into several communities that were completely independent of each other, so their cult became different in many ways.
The Bible is interpreted by Christian believers as an allegory that allows the believer to communicate with God, the Son and the Holy Spirit directly without intermediaries in the form of the Orthodox Church. According to their belief, God is incarnated in a righteous person, and then he becomes a kind of image of Christ - a whip, a prophet or the Mother of God.
The religious tradition of the Christian believers was very ascetic. Basically, it consisted of so-called zeal - prayer rituals that brought believers to ecstasy and even clouding of consciousness. For some time, the Khlysts still attended Orthodox churches, then they formed their own communities, which they called “ships.” After the abolition of Serfdom, these ships acquired their own symbolic names, such as Old or New Israel and Postniks.
The Soviet government, not inclined to recognize religion in general, also persecuted the Khlys. The number of their communities decreased significantly and by about the mid-70s of the last century there was no longer any information about the activities of the Khlys in Russia.
Skoptsy
They are the radical wing of opposition Orthodox Christianity. Etymologically it goes back to whips. Kondraty Selivanov, its founder, declared himself the son of God and began to preach the physical blindness of his flock (skopchestvo) as the only remedy for worldly temptation, leading to the salvation of the soul.
In contrast to Christianity, which affected mainly the peasantry, skopchestvo gained popularity among the merchants, even among the nobles. The latter circumstance gave their communities significant wealth. During the period of collectivization, this played a cruel joke on them. The Skoptsi communities were destroyed as kulaks.
Molokans
These are one of the later branches of Russian spiritual Christianity, essentially classical Protestantism. The Bible here acts as the basic law of behavior for believers. At their prayer meetings, the Molokans read texts from the Holy Scriptures. The Molokans do not welcome any religious rites, not even baptism with water. They are baptized with the Holy Spirit, that is, with constant faith in God. Piety is paramount to them, just as it is to Protestants.
By the end of the 19th century, the Molokans were divided into regulars and “jumpers”. The last name reflects the peculiarity of the prayer ritual: they raise their arms and jump during ecstasy. Because of their eccentricity, many Molokans were exiled to the Caucasus or emigrated to America.
Currently, Molokan centers operate in all major cities of the country. Basically they represent permanent Molokans, close to Protestants, but Russian.
Dukhobretsy
Russian Doukhobors are also close to Protestantism. They reject all attributes of external religiosity; there are no icons in houses of worship, there is no priesthood and no respect for the sacraments. They see God in all natural phenomena and objects and extol personal communication with God. They do not see the holy book in the Bible and prefer the Doukhobor psalms in their original presentation. A large number of Doukhobors now live in the Caucasus and Canada.
Islam
According to Muslim theologians, Islam arose around 662 AD. It absorbed much of the dogma of Judaism and Christianity, including their mythology. This allowed Islam to become a full-fledged religion in a fairly short time with its own Bible, which is here called the Koran, and the sayings of God (Allah) - the sunnah.
The main canons of Islam are set out in the “Pillars of Faith”:
- Allah is the only creator of everything that exists in the world, faith in him is immutable;
- Polytheism is a sin worse than which there is no sin;
- Angels are Allah’s closest helpers, faith in them should be as strong as in God himself;
- All scriptures that were sent down to earth by Allah are sacred and are accepted blindly, on faith;
- Prophets are considered messengers of Allah and should be received with the highest honors;
- Judgment Day is inevitable, the world is facing a universal catastrophe. But he will perish and rise again;
- Hell and heaven exist;
- Man's destiny is predetermined. Everything happens only by the will of Allah.
The religious pillars of Islam practiced in the Muslim tradition include:
- Shahad - rituals for confessing faith;
- namaz - communication with God through prayer;
- zakat is a type of tax on the congregation for the needs of poor Muslims;
- saum - observance of religious fasting in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar (Ramadan);
- Jihad is the fight for the purity of faith.
Judaism
Judaism does not have any specific creed in the form of a briefly formulated doctrine. Jewish theologians are guided mainly by the commandments of Moses, bequeathed to the people along the way from Egyptian slavery. There are 613 of them in total, only 10 are better known. But, according to theologians and philosophers, this is simply the subjective point of view of some theologians.
The following principles are the foundation of Judaism:
- faith in Yahweh, the one and undeniable God;
- the belief that the Jewish people are God's chosen people;
- faith in the appearance of the Messiah on earth;
- belief in an immortal soul;
- belief in the afterlife and eternal life.
Judaism is a monotheic religion. Its God is eternal, immaterial, omnipresent and incorporeal. Worshiping anyone other than Yahweh is a great sin: neither the stars, nor the angels, nor the saints.
The world was created by God simply by looking in just seven days. Man is the pinnacle of this world. Man is both material and spiritual. Due to the fact of his creation by God, he cannot be inherently sinful in principle. All human sins are the result of insufficient faith in the Almighty.
Only Yahweh is the only true God, which means that only Yahweh, or Jehovah, must be worshiped. Betrayal of your God is the most serious sin. Jehovah specifically gave freedom to the Jews, elevated them so that they could adequately communicate with God. Only in this way do Jews become a truly free people. If a person from another religion converts to Judaism, he is recognized as having the right to make this choice. Refusal from Judaism is prohibited.
The Jews descended from Abraham by the will of God. The Lord entered into an eternal covenant with him and his descendants. The symbol of this union was the rite of circumcision. Followers of Judaism are prone to messianism. But they strive to convert others and punish their enemies.
Revelation is the core concept of Judaism. People in it are in second place after God and become the most perfect creation on Earth. Once upon a time, man foolishly turned away from God, hid from him, and went through numerous mistakes associated with suffering and crimes. Only loyalty to God and love for him can return people to a happy life.
Buddhism
Buddhism is one of the oldest world religions, originating in Ancient India and is still the leading faith there. On the map of the Russian state it is practiced in Buryatia and some regions of Altai. The main difference between Buddhism and other religions is the desire of believers not for God, but for nirvana.
One comes to it through self-denial from the temptations of external life, focusing on the main thing, that is, on the eternal good. Nirvana is achieved through meditation. Whoever completes this path to the end and with success can count on the laurels of Buddha. In other words, everyone will become God if they strive for this.
The diversity of the religious picture that exists in Russia makes it possible not only to realize the greatness and versatility of culture, but also to take advantage of its fruits to achieve the common good of the peoples of the country. Each of our religions creates a special fragment in the picture of the surrounding world, allows us to comprehend ourselves in it, and contribute to the unification of society.
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