Paganism is the oldest religion on Earth. It has absorbed thousands of years of wisdom, knowledge, history, and culture. In our time, pagans are those who profess the old faith that existed before the advent of Christianity.
And, for example, among the ancient Jews all beliefs that did not recognize Yahweh or refused to follow his law were considered pagan religions. The ancient Roman legions conquered the peoples of the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. At the same time, these were victories over local beliefs.
These religions of other peoples, “languages” were called pagan. They were given the right to exist in accordance with the interests of the Roman state. But with the emergence of Christianity, religion itself Ancient Rome with the cult of Jupiter was recognized as pagan...
As for ancient Russian polytheism, the attitude towards it after the adoption of Christianity was militant. The new religion was contrasted with the old one as true - untrue, as useful - harmful. This attitude excluded tolerance and assumed the eradication of pre-Christian traditions, customs, and rituals. Christians did not want their descendants to remain signs of the “delusion” to which they had hitherto indulged. Everything that was in one way or another connected with Russian beliefs was persecuted: “demonic games”, “evil spirits”, sorcery. Even the image of an ascetic arose. “a non-fighter” who devoted his life not to military feats on the battlefield, but to persecution and destruction “ dark forces" New Christians in all countries were distinguished by such zeal. But if in Greece or Italy time saved at least a small number of ancient marble sculptures, then Ancient Rus' stood among forests. And the Tsar Fire, raging, did not spare anything: neither human dwellings, nor temples, nor wooden images of gods, nor information about them written in Slavic carvings on wooden tablets.
And only quiet echoes have reached our days from the depths of the pagan world. And it is beautiful, this world! Among the amazing deities that our ancestors worshiped, there are no repulsive, ugly, disgusting ones. There are evil, scary, incomprehensible ones, but there are much more beautiful, mysterious, kind ones. The Slavic gods were formidable, but fair and kind. Perun struck villains with lightning. Lada patronized lovers. Chur protected the boundaries of his possessions. Veles was the personification of the master's wisdom, and was also the patron of hunting prey.
The religion of the ancient Slavs was the deification of the forces of nature. The pantheon of gods was associated with the performance of certain economic functions: agriculture, cattle breeding, beekeeping, crafts, trade, hunting, etc.
And one should not assume that paganism is just idol worship. After all, even Muslims continue to bow to the black stone of the Kaaba - the shrine of Islam. For Christians, this is represented by countless crosses, icons and relics of saints. And who counted how much blood was shed and lives given for the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher in crusades? Here is a real Christian idol, along with bloody sacrifices. And burning incense and lighting a candle is the same sacrifice, only taking on a beautiful appearance.
The popular idea of the extremely low level of cultural development of “barbarians” is not confirmed by historical facts. The products of ancient Russian stone and wood carvers, tools, jewelry, epics and songs could only appear on the basis of a highly developed cultural tradition. The beliefs of the ancient Slavs were not a “delusion” of our ancestors, reflecting the “primitivism” of their thinking. Polytheism is the religious belief of not only the Slavs, but also of most peoples. It was typical for Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, whose culture cannot be called barbaric. The beliefs of the ancient Slavs were not much different from the beliefs of other peoples, and these differences were determined by the specifics of their way of life and economic activity.
In the late 80s of the last century, living its last days Soviet authority decided to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus'. How many shouts of welcome were heard: “1000th anniversary of Russian writing!”, “1000th anniversary of Russian culture!”, “1000th anniversary of Russian statehood!” But Russian state existed even before the adoption of Christianity! It is not for nothing that the Scandinavian name of Rus' sounds like Gardarika - the country of cities. Arab historians also write about the same thing, numbering Russian cities in the hundreds. At the same time, claiming that in Byzantium itself there are only five cities, the rest are “fortified fortresses.” And the Arab chronicles called the Russian princes Khakans, “Khakan-Rus”. Hakan is an imperial title! “Ar-Rus is the name of a state, not a people or a city,” writes the Arabic author. Western chroniclers called the Russian princes “kings of the people of Ros.” Only the arrogant Byzantium did not recognize the royal dignity of the rulers of Rus', but it did not recognize it either for the Orthodox kings of Bulgaria, or for the Christian emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, Otto, or for the emir of Muslim Egypt. The inhabitants of Eastern Rome knew only one king - their emperor. But even the Russian squads nailed a shield to the gates of Constantinople. And, by the way, Persian and Arab chronicles testify that the Rus make “excellent swords” and import them into the lands of the caliphs.
That is, the Rus sold not only furs, honey, wax, but also the products of their artisans. And they found demand even in the land of damask blades. Another export item was chain mail. They were called “wonderful” and “excellent.” Technology, therefore, in pagan Rus' was no lower than the world level. Some blades from that era have survived to this day. They bear the names of Russian blacksmiths - “Lyudota” and “Slavimir”. And this is worth paying attention to. This means that the pagan blacksmiths were literate! This is the level of culture.
Next point. The calculation of the formula for the world's rotation (Kolo) allowed the pagans to build ring-shaped metal sanctuaries, where they created the most ancient astronomical calendars. The Slavs determined the length of the year at 365, 242, 197 days. The accuracy is unique! And in the commentary to the Vedas, the location of the constellations is mentioned, attributed by modern astronomy to 10,000 years BC. According to biblical chronology, even Adam was not created at this time. The cosmic knowledge of the pagans has advanced quite far. Evidence of this is the myth of the cosmic vortex Stribog. And this is consistent with the theory of the origin of life on Earth - the panspermia hypothesis. Its essence boils down to the fact that life did not arise on Earth on its own, but was brought in by a purposeful stream with spores, from which the diversity of the living world later developed.
It is these facts that are the indicators by which the level of culture and education of the pagan Slavs should be judged. And no matter what the adherents of Orthodoxy claim, Christianity is an alien, foreign religion that paved its way in Rus' with fire and sword. Much has been written about the violent nature of the baptism of Rus', not by militant atheists, but by church historians.
And one should not assume that the population of Russian lands resignedly accepted the command of Vladimir the apostate. People refused to come to the river bank, left the cities, and started uprisings. And the pagans were by no means hiding in distant forests - a century after the baptism, the Magi appeared in major cities. But the population did not experience any hostility towards them, and either listened to them with interest (Kyiv), or completely willingly followed them (Novgorod and the Upper Volga region).
Christianity was never able to completely eradicate paganism. People did not accept alien faith and performed pagan rituals. They made sacrifices to the waterman - they drowned a horse, or a beehive, or a black rooster; to the devil - they left a horse or at least a buttered pancake or egg in the forest; to the brownie - they set out a bowl of milk and swept the corners with a broom soaked in rooster's blood. And they believed that if the sign of the cross or prayer did not help against annoying evil spirits, then swearing, which originated from pagan spells, would help. By the way, two birch bark letters were found in Novgorod. They contain, at least, a single swear verb and an “affectionate” definition addressed to a certain Novgorod woman who owed money to the writer of the letter, and was designated for this by feminine nature.
There is no doubt - over ten centuries, Orthodoxy has had a huge influence on the history, culture, art of Russia, on its very existence Russian state. But Vladimir the Baptist would have accepted the Catholic faith or Islam, and the current apostles of the “Russian primordial faith” would have shouted about the “revival of Russian Catholicism...”, or “... Russia is the stronghold of world Islam!..” It’s good that they didn’t send ambassadors to the priests Voodoo cult.
But the old faith of the ancient Russians will still remain the Russian faith.
What religion is Russian? Generalizing religions is a mistake of simplification, just like proclaiming universal human values, as ecumenism-equality of religions. Religion: in lat. re-ligare - restoration of connections and spiritual unification with God, the Creator of all things; being in His image, righteous, moral efforts, labors to become like Him. This is the main human goal setting. For a Russian person, only one religion restores a spiritual connection with God, this is Orthodoxy - faith in Christ. And for a Christian - the free will of man, his development, creativity, science, self-determination, are deeds pleasing to God. Other methods of worship, from this point of view, are erroneous and sinful; they establish a connection with demons. Denial of God is also a sinful faith, but more sinful than others, because it is insane. Even according to the laws of thinking, you cannot deny what you don’t know.
Moral values have one source (God) and three paths to man. One way is through religion, the second is biological, through DNA, the third is social, from others. Animals have no morality, but only the expediency of adaptation for survival. That is, the biological purpose to live. A person can also degrade to an animal state under the influence of external causes. This requires the influence of one or many pseudo-religions and their derivative ideologies, DNA disruption by mutations, a society of competition between everyone and everyone, the priority of personal or tribal benefit.
In a modern, global society, formed under the influence of thousands of years of efforts of destructive sects that have gained real power over the last hundred years: there is degradation, a falling away from divine morality (love, the desire to share); acquiring animal qualities, the main of which are aggression and dominance as a benefit from violence. The idea of power as a mission, anointed by God, to organize the development of society in harmony and love, has been replaced by the idea of power for the sake of power, arbitrariness, and the accumulation of status symbols. The idea of life as a responsible part of the general organism (conscience, duty, sacrifice) is replaced by the idea of personal satisfaction of the infinity of new (instilled) needs and pleasures. False knowledge is instilled through the media, neo-paganism, sectarianism, and militant atheism.
The Russian people are distinguished by both the large mass of the brain and the presence of many of its specialized fields, primarily humanizing a person, designed to restrain thinking in the direction of aggression and profit. This is due to the difficult conditions of survival on the Russian plain, which required a complex social organization, long-term planning, and coherence of actions. Naturally established requirements for the conditions for social selection of the best: conscience, truth, non-acquisitiveness, priority of the general over the personal, social justice, adaptability to intermittent seasonal activity. That is, the biological path: DNA, brain, physiology, and the path of social structure, traditions - led the Russians along a moral path. Therefore, Orthodoxy, which unites many Russian tribes in the belief in one God, who is morality and love, was to my liking; naturally clung to the Russian people, was generally accepted, agreed with tradition, and became the Russian goal setting, way of life, spirit of the Russian people, national religion.
RUSSIANS,East Slavic people, majority of the population Russian Federation .
According to the 2002 Population Census, 116 million Russians live in Russia. According to the 2010 Census - 111 million. Russians also make up a significant proportion of the population of Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania and Uzbekistan.
The term "Russian language" is used in four meanings:
The totality of all languages of the East Slavic branch before the addition of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian languages
A written language developed on the basis of Old Russian dialects under the strong influence of Common Slavic literary language(the so-called Old Church Slavonic) and performed literary functions in Kievan and Moscow Rus'
The totality of all dialects and dialects that the Russian people used and use
All-Russian (all-Russian) language, language of the press, schools; official language.
The writing is a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet.
The basis of the traditional spiritual culture of Russians is Orthodoxy. Since the time of Kievan Rus, the adoption of Christianity, Russian self-awareness has taken on a predominantly confessional character, which was expressed in the ideal of Holy Rus'. The Orthodox cult of saints gradually replaced the worship of pagan deities. Prominent figures of Russian history - political and church figures, zealots of piety - also became objects of popular veneration.
In the traditional popular consciousness special place allocated to royal service. In accordance with Byzantine canons, it was given a theocratic meaning. The king was perceived as God's chosen one. At the same time, the attitude towards the king as the highest government official- a guardian of the people's interests - is connected with the hopes for a fair structure of society constantly reproduced by the peasant consciousness.
Public and private life was also associated with Orthodox ideas about the world order. it fit into the system of the church calendar; it had a great place for religious holidays, church sacraments, rites and customs related to faith.
Currently, the majority of Russian believers are Orthodox. Protestantism, Catholicism, neo-Hindu religious movements, Buddhism, neo-paganism, etc. are less common.
From time immemorial, the basis of the Russian economy was agriculture, which developed as different territories were settled in different areas and depending on natural conditions acquired its own characteristics. Success in agriculture was accompanied by the employment of crafts, trades, mining and the creation of large-scale industry. In the industrial era high level Scientific research is being published, a system of general and vocational education is being formed.
Russian folk art is based on the artistic tradition that was formed in Ancient Rus'. The structure of the Russian artistic tradition arose as a result of complex mutual influences of ancient Russian art over the centuries and the art of Byzantium, the West and the East, and then developed in mutual influence with the artistic cultures of many peoples of Europe and Asia. In pre-Petrine Russia, the ancient artistic tradition was common to all social strata; from the beginning of the 18th century it became the property of mainly peasant art.
Artistic weaving, embroidery, including gold and face embroidery, lace weaving, and, to a much lesser extent, carpet weaving were widespread. The art of artistic metal processing was expressed in the casting of bells, cannons, decorated with ornaments, engraving of bladed weapons and firearms, forging grilles, doors, crosses, etc. Jewelry production was also developed, including the use of blackening silver (Veliky Ustyug), enamel ( Rostov-Yaroslavsky), work on silver (Krasnoye Selo, Kostroma province), etc. Since the times of Kievan Rus, the production of artistic ceramic products (Gzhel, Skopin) has been known - both utensils, dishes, and all kinds of toys, whistles. Carved bone products in Western Europe were called “Russian carvings”. This art was especially developed until the beginning of the 19th century in the Russian North (Kholmogory bone carvers). Since the 18th century, stone carving has developed, used to decorate interiors and cladding buildings.
In Russia, rich in forests, it was common to make carved and painted dishes, toys, furniture by turning, as well as decorating homes, tools and means of transportation. Since the 17th century, centers of tableware craft and the manufacture of household items arose in Khokhloma, Gorodets, Sergshiev Posad... In the Vologda and Arkhangelsk provinces, in the Urals, carving and painting on birch bark, weaving from it into tues, boxes, stands, etc., developed. Decorating a home with carvings is still preserved - these are window frames, end boards, balusters and other elements of a rural dwelling. The art of woodworking is especially clearly manifested in wooden church architecture.
Surely you have heard the words - church, mosque, Judaism, Buddha, Muslim, Orthodoxy? All these words are closely related to faith in God. In our diverse and multi-ethnic country, there are four main religions. They are different, but they all talk about the need to love people, live in peace, respect elders, do good deeds for the benefit of people, and defend your homeland.
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This is the most widespread religion in our country, which has a long history (more than a thousand years). For a long time, Orthodoxy was the only religion professed by the Russian people. And up to today Most of the Russian people profess the Orthodox Faith.
The basis of Orthodoxy is faith in God the Trinity, in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In 1988, the Orthodox peoples of Russia celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity. This date marked the anniversary of its approval as the official religion of the ancient Russian state - Kievan Rus, which, according to the chronicles, occurred under the holy prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich.
First Christian temple, erected in the capital of Kievan Rus, became the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Every Orthodox Christian must follow the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses and the people of Israel. They were written on stone tablets (tablets). The first four talk about love for God, the last six talk about love for one’s neighbor, that is, for all people.
The Bible, as the holy book of Christianity, is a collection of books that in Christianity are considered Holy Scripture, for everything that is written in the biblical books is dictated to people by God himself. In terms of its composition, the Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
1st commandment.
I am the Lord your God; Let you have no other gods besides Me. - With this commandment, God says that you need to know and honor Him alone, commands you to believe in Him, hope in Him, love Him.
2nd commandment.
You shall not make for yourself an idol (statue) or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the waters under the earth; do not worship or serve them. – God forbids worshiping idols or any material images of an invented deity. It is not a sin to bow to icons or images, because when we pray in front of them, we bow not to wood or paints, but to God depicted on the icon or to His saints, imagining them in front of you in your mind.
3rd commandment.
Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. God forbids using the name of God when it should not, for example, in jokes, in empty conversations. The same commandment prohibits: cursing God, swearing by God if you are telling a lie. The name of God can be pronounced when we pray and have pious conversations.
4th commandment.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Work six days and do all your work in them, and the seventh day (the day of rest) is the Sabbath (shall be dedicated) to the Lord your God. He commands us to work six days of the week, and devote the seventh day to good deeds: pray to God in church, read spiritual books at home, give alms, etc.
5th commandment.
Honor your father and your mother, (so that it may go well with you and) that your days on earth may be long. - With this commandment, God commands us to honor our parents, obey them, and help them in their labors and needs.
6th commandment.
Dont kill. God forbids killing, that is, taking the life of a person.
7th commandment.
Don't commit adultery. This commandment prohibits adultery, excess in food, and drunkenness.
8th commandment.
Don't steal. You cannot take someone else's for yourself in any illegal way.
9th commandment.
Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. God forbids deception, lying, and sneaking.
10th commandment.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, you shall not covet your neighbor's house, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. This commandment prohibits not only doing something bad to your neighbor, but also wishing bad things on him.
Defense of the Fatherland, defense of the Motherland is one of the greatest services Orthodox Christian. The Orthodox Church teaches that any war is evil because it is associated with hatred, strife, violence and even murder, which is a terrible mortal sin. However, war in defense of one's Fatherland is blessed by the Church and military service is revered as the highest service.
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“Heart of Chechnya”, Photo: Timur Agirov
Islam is the youngest of the world's religions.
The term "Islam" means "submission" to the will of God, and one who submits is called a "Muslim" (therefore "Muslim"). The number of Muslim citizens of the Russian Federation today is estimated at approximately 20 million people.
Allah is the name of the God of Muslims. To avoid the righteous wrath of Allah and to achieve eternal life it is necessary to follow his will in everything and keep his commandments.
Islam is not only a religion, but also a way of life. Two angels are assigned to each person: one records his good deeds, the other records his bad ones. At the bottom of this hierarchy are the jinn. Muslims believe that a line of jinn were created from fire, and they are usually evil.
God has declared that the day will come when all will stand before His judgment. On that day, every person's deeds will be weighed in the balance. Those whose good deeds outweigh the bad will be rewarded with heaven; those whose evil deeds turn out to be more severe will be condemned to hell. But what deeds in our lives are greater, good or bad, is known only to God. Therefore, no Muslim knows for sure whether God will accept him into heaven.
Islam teaches us to love people. Help those in need. Respect elders. Honor your parents.
Pray (salat). A Muslim must say seventeen prayers every day - rakats. Prayers are performed five times a day - at sunrise, at noon, at 3-4 pm, at sunset and 2 hours after sunset.
Giving alms (zakat). Muslims are required to give one fortieth of their income to the poor and needy;
Make a pilgrimage (Hajj). Every Muslim is obliged to travel to Mecca at least once in his life, if only his health and means allow him.
Muslim temples are called Mosques; the roof of the mosque is crowned with a minaret. A minaret is a tower about 30 meters high from which the muezzin calls believers to prayer.
Muezzin, muezzin, azanchi - in Islam, a mosque minister who calls Muslims to prayer.
The main book of Muslims: the Koran - in Arabic this means “what is read, pronounced.”
The oldest copies of the Koran that have reached us date back to the 7th – 8th centuries. One of them is kept in Mecca, in the Kaaba, next to the black stone. Another one is located in Medina in special room, located in the courtyard of the Prophet's Mosque. Eat ancient list Qur'an in the National Library of Egypt in Cairo. One of the lists, called the “Othman Koran,” is kept in Uzbekistan. This text received its name because, according to tradition, it was covered in the blood of Caliph Osman, who was killed in 656. There are indeed traces of blood on the pages of this list.
The Koran consists of 114 chapters. They are called "suras". Each sura consists of verses (“ayat” - from the Arabic word meaning “miracle, sign”).
Later, hadiths appeared in the Koran - stories about the actions and sayings of Muhammad and his companions. They were combined into collections called “Sunnah”. Based on the Koran and Hadith, Muslim theologians developed “Sharia” - the “right path” - a set of principles and rules of behavior obligatory for every Muslim.
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Buddhism is a complex religious and philosophical movement, consisting of many branches. Disputes regarding the canon of sacred texts have been going on between various faiths for many hundreds of years. Therefore, today it is almost impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of which texts make up the holy book of Buddhism. There is no trace of such certainty as with the Holy Scriptures among Christians.
It should be understood that Buddhism is not a religion, and therefore does not imply reckless worship of some divine being. Buddha is not a god, but a man who has achieved absolute enlightenment. Almost any person who has properly changed his consciousness can become a Buddha. Consequently, almost any guide to action from someone who has achieved some success on the path of enlightenment, and not any specific book, can be considered sacred.
In Tibetan, the word “BUDDHA” means “one who got rid of all bad qualities and developed all the good qualities in myself.”
Buddhism began to spread in Russia about 400 years ago.
The first lama monks came from Mongolia and Tibet.
In 1741, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna officially recognized the Buddhist religion by decree.
First truth says that existence is suffering that every living being experiences.
Second truth claims that the cause of suffering is “disturbing emotions” - our desires, hatred, envy and other human vices. Actions form a person’s karma and in the next life he receives what he deserved in the previous one. For example, if a person has done bad things in this life, in the next life he may be born as a worm. Even gods are subject to the law of karma.
The Third Noble Truth says that suppressing disturbing emotions leads to the cessation of suffering, that is, if a person extinguishes hatred, anger, envy and other emotions within himself, then his suffering can stop.
The fourth truth indicates the middle path, according to which the meaning of life is to obtain pleasure.This “middle path” is called the “eightfold path” because it consists of eight stages or steps: understanding, thought, speech, action, lifestyle, intention, effort and concentration.Following this path leads to the achievement of inner peace, as a person pacifies his thoughts and feelings, develops friendliness and compassion for people.
Buddhism, like Christianity, has its own commandments, the fundamentals of teaching on which the entire structure of belief is based. The 10 commandments of Buddhism are very similar to Christian ones. Despite all the external similarities of the commandments in Buddhism and Christianity, their deep essence is different. Besides the fact that Buddhism is not actually a faith, it does not in any way call for belief in a god or deity of any kind; its goal is spiritual purification and self-improvement. In this regard, the commandments are just a guide to action, following which you can become better and purer, which means getting at least one step closer to the state of nirvana, absolute enlightenment, moral and spiritual purity.
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Judaism is one of the ancient religions, which has survived to this day and has a significant number of adherents mainly among the Jewish population in different countries peace.
Judaism is actually the state religion of Israel.
This is the religion of a small but very talented people who have made a huge contribution to the development of humanity.
Judaism preaches that the human soul does not depend on the body, it can exist separately, because God created the soul and it is immortal, and during sleep God takes all souls to heaven. In the morning, God returns the souls of some people, but not others. Those to whom He does not return their souls die in their sleep, and the Jews who wake up in the morning thank God for returning their souls.
A believing Jew is required to have a beard, to grow long hair on the temples (sidelocks), wear a small round cap (kippah), undergo the rite of circumcision.
In ancient times, the center of Jewish cult was the Temple of Jerusalem, where daily sacrifices were performed. When the Temple was destroyed, prayer took the place of sacrifices, for which Jews began to gather around individual teachers - rabbis.
Torah - main book all Jews. It is always and at all times written by hand, the Torah is kept in synagogues (the place where Jews pray). Jews believe that it was God who gave the Torah to people.
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Now many beautiful temples are being built so that people can come and communicate with God. And it doesn’t matter what religion you are if you live in Russia. Our countryWhat makes it so beautiful is that in it people of different faiths and nationalities live in peace and harmony. One is a Muslim, another is Orthodox, another is a Buddhist - we all must respect each other’s faith.
Because we are all RUSSIANS, citizens of one huge and great country in the world!
Religion in Russia The current (1993) Constitution of Russia defines the Russian Federation as a secular state. The Constitution guarantees “freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including the right to profess, individually or in community with others, any religion or not to profess any, to freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and to act in accordance with them.” Federal Law of September 26, 1997 No. 125-FZ “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” confirms “equality before the law regardless of attitude to religion and beliefs.”
Religious and national restrictions that were legally enshrined in laws Russian Empire, were canceled by the Provisional Government on March 20, 1917.
In Russia there is no special federal government body designed to monitor compliance with legislation by religious associations (which in the USSR was the Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the USSR); but, according to experts, amendments made in July 2008 to the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” dated September 26, 1997, may indicate the impending creation of a corresponding “authorized executive body.” On August 26, 2008, it was reported that by decree of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan M. Shaimiev, the Council for Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Tatarstan was transformed into the Directorate for Religious Affairs, thus regaining the powers of a state body.
The main religions represented in Russia are Christianity (mainly Orthodoxy, there are also Catholics and Protestants), as well as Islam and Buddhism.
In Russia today there are no official statistics on membership in religious organizations: the law prohibits requiring citizens to declare their religious affiliation. Thus, the religiosity of Russians and their religious self-identification can only be judged by sociological surveys of the population. The results of such surveys are very contradictory.
According to the Russian Independent Institute of Social and National Problems (2007), 47% of respondents call themselves believers in God. Of these, almost half have never opened the Bible, only 10% regularly attend church, observe all rites and rituals, and 43% go to church only on holidays.
According to an all-Russian survey conducted by VTsIOM in March 2010, the country's population considers itself to be among the following denominations:
In addition, 3% of respondents expressed the opinion that they are believers, but do not identify themselves with any specific denomination. At the same time, only 66% of Russians observe religious rituals, and then only on holidays or occasionally. For comparison: according to a 2006 survey, all rituals of their religion were observed by 22% of all believers (regardless of denominational affiliation).
All three main directions of Christianity are represented in Russia - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. In addition, there are followers of various new Christian movements, cults and sects.
Federal Law of September 26, 1997 No. 125-FZ “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations,” which replaced the RSFSR Law of October 25, 1990 No. 267-I “On Freedom of Religion,” contains in the preamble recognition of “the special role of Orthodoxy in history Russia."
Orthodoxy (as the term is understood by government agencies and religious scholars) in the Russian Federation is represented by the Russian Orthodox Church, Old Believer associations, as well as a number of non-canonical (alternative) Orthodox organizations of the Russian tradition.
The Russian Orthodox Church is the largest religious association in Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church considers itself historically the first Christian community in Russia: the official state foundation was laid by the holy Prince Vladimir in 988, according to traditional historiography.
According to the head of Russian Social Movement" by political scientist Pavel Svyatenkov (January 2009), the Russian Orthodox Church de facto occupies a special position in modern Russian society and political life:
Researcher Nikolai Mitrokhin wrote (2006):
According to an all-Russian survey conducted by VTsIOM in March 2010, 75% of Russians consider themselves Orthodox Christians, while only 54% of them are familiar with the contents of the Bible. About 73% of Orthodox respondents observe religious customs and holidays.
Head of the Sociological Department of the Institute public design Mikhail Askoldovich Tarusin commented on these data:
This number doesn't show much.<...>If these data can be considered an indicator of anything, it is only modern Russian national identity. But not real religious affiliation.<...>If we consider those who participate in the Sacraments of Confession and Communion at least once or twice a year as Orthodox “church” people, then the number of Orthodox is 18-20%.<...>Thus, about 60% of VTsIOM respondents are not Orthodox people. Even if they go to church, it is several times a year, as if to some kind of domestic service - to bless a cake, to take baptismal water... And some of them don’t even go then, moreover, many may not believe in God, but This is why they call themselves Orthodox. |
According to analysts, sociological survey data indicate that the majority identifies themselves with Orthodoxy on the basis of national identity.
According to a survey conducted by VTsIOM in 2006, only 9% of respondents who called themselves Orthodox noted that they observed all religious rituals and participated in church life. At the same time, 36% noted that Orthodoxy is a tradition of their ancestors for them. According to a survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation in January-February 2010, only 4% of Orthodox Russians regularly attend church and receive communion.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, people attending religious services make up less than 2% of the population. Thus, on Easter 2003, in the period from 20:00 Holy Saturday to 6 am of Easter Sunday, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 63 thousand people entered Moscow churches (compared to 180 thousand in 1992-1994), that is, about half of one percentage of the city's actual population. IN Easter services on the night of April 19, 2009, 4.5 million Russians took part. At the same time, 5.1 million people visited cemeteries on Easter. About 2.3 million Russians took part in Christmas services from January 6 to 7, 2008.
On January 10, 2008, the head of the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate, priest Vladimir Vigilyansky, expressed his disagreement with the statistics of attendance at the capital’s churches for Christmas, which were previously cited by law enforcement agencies, saying: “The official figures are very underestimated. It always amazes me where these numbers come from and what the purpose of this approach is. I think we can safely say that about a million believers visited Moscow churches for Christmas this year.” A similar opinion was expressed in April 2008 by DECR employee priest Mikhail Prokopenko.
Percentage of Russians attending church services
According to Andrei Kuraev, the problem is related to the acute shortage of churches in Moscow. He claims that, according to sociological estimates, about 5% of Muscovites are actively involved in the church, and churches can accommodate only a fifth.
Decline of practical religiosity in Russian Orthodox Church compared to the 90s of the 20th century, Patriarch Alexy II noted in 2003: “Temples are emptying. And they are emptying not only because the number of churches is increasing.”.
According to a 2008 VTsIOM survey, 27% of respondents who called themselves Orthodox do not know any of the Ten Commandments. Only 56% of survey participants were able to remember the commandment “thou shalt not kill.”
Archpriest Alexander Kuzin, commenting on the results of a VTsIOM survey, according to which the majority of Russians call on the church to reconsider moral standards, noted:
Historical presence of Latin Christianity in the lands Eastern Slavs dates back to the early times of Kievan Rus. At different times, the attitude of the rulers of the Russian state towards Catholics changed from complete rejection to benevolence. Currently, the Catholic community in Russia numbers several hundred thousand people.
After the October Revolution of 1917 Catholic Church continued her free activity in Russia for some time, but from the beginning of the 20s, the Soviet government began a policy of eradicating Catholicism in Russia. In the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, many Catholic priests were arrested and shot, almost all churches were closed and looted. Almost all active parishioners were repressed and exiled. In the period after the Great Patriotic War in the RSFSR there are only two active ones left catholic church, church of St. Louis in Moscow and the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Leningrad.
Since the early 1990s, the Catholic Church has been able to function freely in Russia. Two Apostolic Administrations were created for Latin Rite Catholics, which were later transformed into dioceses; as well as the College of Catholic Theology and the Higher Theological Seminary.
According to the Federal Registration Service for December 2006, there are about 230 parishes operating in Russia, a quarter of which do not have church buildings. Organizationally, the parishes are united into four dioceses, which together make up the metropolis:
The estimate of the number of Catholics in Russia is approximate. In 1996-1997 there were from 200 to 500 thousand people.
Protestantism is represented in Russia by the following denominations:
Number Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as of March 2010 it is 162,182 people. In 2010, about 6,600 people in Russia were baptized as Jehovah's Witnesses. Despite the constant growth of the organization's membership, they still remain a religious minority in Russia, making up about 0.2% of the country's population.
According to experts (during the last census the question about religious affiliation was not asked), there are about 8 million Muslims in Russia. According to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European Part of the Russian Federation, about 20 million Muslims live in Russia. According to VTsIOM data based on the results of an all-Russian survey (January 2010), the share of those calling themselves followers of Islam (as a worldview or religion) in Russia in 2009 decreased from 7% to 5% of respondents.
Among them, the majority are so-called “ethnic” Muslims who do not comply with the requirements of the Muslim faith and consider themselves to be Islam due to tradition or place of residence (there are especially many of these in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan). The communities in the Caucasus (excluding the Christian region of North Ossetia) are stronger.
The majority of Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region, as well as in the North Caucasus, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Western Siberia.
In a number of lands that are now part of Russia, Islam existed for centuries as the state religion. During the Islamic period of the Golden Horde (1312-1480), Christian principalities were vassals of Muslim uluses and khanates. After the unification of the Russian lands by Ivan III and his successors, some of the Muslim khanates began to be dependent on the Orthodox monarchy, and some were annexed by the Russian state.
Islam was first adopted as a state religion in Volga Bulgaria in 922 (modern Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Ulyanovsk and Samara regions). Competition between Volga Bulgaria and Kievan Rus ended in the middle of the 13th century, when both states were conquered by the Tatar-Mongols. In 1312 in Ulus Jochi(Golden Horde) adopted Islam as the state religion. State power placed princes subordinate to emirs, baskaks and other representatives Tatar-Mongol khans. The civil law in the Ulus of Jochi was the Great Yasa, whose authority went back to Genghis Khan. The most important decisions were made jointly by the nobility at kurultai. On the territory of Ulus Jochi, the practice of the Christian faith was allowed, although the Orthodox metropolitan and clergy, under pain of death, were charged with the duty of “praying to God for the khan, his family and his army.”
The successors of Ulus Jochi were the Great Horde ( Ulug Ulus, 1433-1502), Nogai Horde (XIV-XVIII centuries), as well as a number of khanates, some of which survived on the territory of Russia until the end of the 18th century. For example, until 1783, part of the Crimean Khanate was located on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory.
In 1552, Ivan IV the Terrible, through conquest, annexed the Kazan khanate, and in 1556 the Astrakhan khanate. Gradually, other Islamic states were annexed to Tsarist Rus' and Russia by military means.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the North Caucasus territories, populated predominantly by Muslims, were included in the Russian Empire.
According to the 2002 All-Russian Census, the Tatars occupy the second largest place among the peoples inhabiting modern Russia (more than 5.5 million people). Tatars make up the vast majority of Muslims in Russia and are the northernmost Muslim people in the world. Traditionally, Tatar Islam has always been distinguished by moderation and the absence of fanaticism. Tatar women often played an important role in the social life of the Tatars. One of the very first Muslim women to become heads of state was Syuyumbike, the queen of the Kazan Khanate in the 16th century.
Simultaneously with the collapse of the USSR, the collapse of the united spiritual administrations began in the country. The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the North Caucasus split into 7 directorates, after which two more were formed. Then the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European Part of the USSR and Siberia, with its center in Ufa, collapsed. The first to emerge from its composition was the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, then Bashkortostan, followed by the formation of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Siberia.
Only in 1993 did the reverse process begin and a decision was made to create the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European part of Russia. In July 1996, the heads of the most authoritative spiritual departments decided to create the Council of Muftis of Russia. The Council meets at least twice a year for extended meetings with the participation of heads of Islamic educational institutions. The Chairman of the Council is elected for 5 years.
Muslims of the North Caucasus created their own coordination center. At the same time, the spiritual administrations of Muslims of the Chechen Republic, the Republic of North Ossetia, the Republic of Adygea, and the Republic of Ingushetia are also included in the Council of Muftis of Russia.
The number of Jews is about 1.5 million. Of these, according to the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR), about 500 thousand live in Moscow, and about 170 thousand live in St. Petersburg. There are about 70 synagogues in Russia.
Along with FEOR, another large association of religious Jewish communities is the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia.
According to the 2002 census, the official number of Jews in Russia is 233,439 people.
Buddhism is traditional in three regions of the Russian Federation: Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia. According to the Buddhist Association of Russia, the number of people professing Buddhism is 1.5-2 million.
The number of “ethnic Buddhists” in Russia, in accordance with the data of the All-Russian Population Census held in 2002, was: Buryats - 445 thousand people, Kalmyks - 174 thousand and Tuvans - 243 thousand people; total - no more than 900 thousand people.
In the 90s of the 20th century, through the efforts of foreign missionaries and domestic devotees, Buddhist communities began to appear in large cities, usually belonging to the Far Eastern school of Zen or the Tibetan direction.
The world's northernmost Datsan "Gunzechoiney", built before the Revolution in Petrograd, now serves as a tourist and religious center of Buddhist culture. Preparations are underway to build a Buddhist temple in Moscow, which could unite Buddhists around it in joint practice.
The indigenous inhabitants of the Siberian and Far Eastern regions, as well as part of the Finno-Ugric peoples (Mari, Udmurts, etc.) and Chuvash, along with the officially professed Orthodoxy, more or less retain elements of traditional beliefs. Depending on the state of preservation traditional element their beliefs can be described as shamanism or folk orthodoxy. The term “folk Orthodoxy” (Christianity that has absorbed many pagan elements) can also be applied to the majority of Russians, especially those living in rural areas.
Many peoples of Russia are attempting to revive traditional beliefs. All resulting religious movements are designated by the general term “neopaganism.”
In the urban environment, in addition to traditional religions, new religious movements of the occult, oriental (Tantrism, etc.) and neo-pagan (the so-called “Rodnoverie”, etc.) are common.
Russia, according to the Constitution, is a secular state in which no religion can be established as state or compulsory. The dominant trend in modern Russia is the clericalization of the country - the gradual implementation of a model with a dominant (some argue - state) religion. In practice, in Russia there is no clear demarcation line between the state and religion, beyond which state life ends and confessional life begins. Some supporters of Orthodoxy believe that the separation of religious associations from the state proclaimed by the Constitution is a consequence of communist stereotypes in public opinion. Member of the RAS Commission on Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification scientific research V. Kuvakin considers the desire to turn Orthodoxy into a state religion, that is, into a state ideology, a big historical mistake of the current leadership of Russia, which directly contradicts the Constitution.
Religion penetrates into almost all spheres of public life, including those areas that, according to the Constitution, are separated from religion: government bodies, school, army, science and education. So, The State Duma agreed with the Moscow Patriarchate to conduct preliminary consultations on all issues that raise doubts. IN Russian schools The study subjects “fundamentals of religious cultures” appeared; in some state universities there is a specialty in theology. A new position has appeared in the staffing table of the Russian Armed Forces - a military priest (chaplain). A number of ministries, departments, government agencies has its own religious temples, often in these ministries and departments there are public councils on covering religious topics. January 7 (Orthodox Christmas) is an official non-working holiday in Russia.
Introduction to the general education program public schools course "Fundamentals Orthodox culture» on an optional basis began in certain regions of the country in the late 1990s. Since 2006, the course has become mandatory in four regions: Belgorod, Kaluga, Bryansk and Smolensk. Since 2007, it was planned to add several more regions to them. The experience of introducing the course in the Belgorod region was criticized and supported. Supporters of the subject and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church argued that “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” is a cultural course that does not aim to introduce students to religious life. They emphasized that acquaintance with Orthodox culture can also be useful for representatives of other faiths. Opponents of the course pointed out that, in accordance with the law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations,” the state must ensure the secular nature of education, that according to the Constitution, all religions are equal before the law and none of them can be established as state religions, and also that compulsory study such a subject violates the rights of schoolchildren belonging to other religions and atheists.
Since April 1, 2010, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation has included the subject “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” in the school curriculum as a federal component, first experimentally in 19 regions of Russia, and if the experiment is successful, in all regions since 2012. The subject includes 6 modules, from which students, at their choice or the choice of their parents (legal representatives), can choose one to study:
The experts made an unequivocal conclusion that the use of textbooks on modules on the foundations of religious cultures, published in 2010, is inadmissible in Russian schools. The textbooks contain numerous signs of a gross violation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and aggressively impose on students a certain religious ideology that is openly hostile to the secular state. Textbooks are inconsistent scientifically, they do not define the concept of “religious culture” and instead introduce a flatly presented religious doctrine, leading to the replacement of culture with creed. No scientific discussion of these textbooks was intended; the process of creating the textbook in terms of modules on the foundations of religious cultures was deliberately planned in such a way as to completely transfer it to the confessions, removing scientists from any participation.
In August 2007, the so-called “letter from academicians” caused a resonance in society and the media. Ten academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, including two Nobel laureates V.L. Ginzburg and Zh.I. Alferov, addressed open letter to the president of the country, in which they expressed serious concern about the “increasing clericalization of Russian society” and the active penetration of the church into all spheres of public life, including the system public education. The letter expressed concern that in schools, instead of a cultural studies subject about religions, they are trying to introduce compulsory teaching of religious doctrine, that the inclusion of the specialty “theology” in the list scientific specialties The Higher Attestation Commission would be contrary to the Constitution of Russia. The letter was supported by many public figures, including member of the Public Chamber V.L. Glazychev. The letter and its support by members of the Public Chamber caused sharp criticism from representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, in particular, Archpriest V. Chaplin and the head of the press service of the Russian Orthodox Church MP V. Vigilyansky. The letter served as an information source for a wide discussion of issues related to the relationship between the church and society.
In 1998, the Interreligious Council of Russia (IRC) was created, which unites spiritual leaders and representatives of four traditional faiths of Russia: Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. Interreligious relations in Russia are complicated by armed conflicts in the North Caucasus / The interethnic contradictions that exist in Russia between the Slavs and representatives of peoples who traditionally profess Islam (Chechens, Azerbaijanis,...) are complicated by interreligious contradictions. On March 11, 2006, the Council of Muftis of Russia opposed the introduction of Armed Forces Russian Federation Institute of full-time regimental priests and the introduction of the subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” into the curriculum of secondary schools in the country. A number of muftis expressed disagreement with such statements, noting that they undermine the foundations of interreligious dialogue.
In 1996, 11 criminal cases were initiated in Russia under Article 239 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Organization of an association that encroaches on the personality and rights of citizens”; in 1997 and 1998 - 2 and 5 cases, respectively.
Since 2002, the legal status of religious organizations has been regulated by the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” No. 125-FZ. According to Article 14 of this Law, a religious organization can be liquidated and its activities prohibited by court order. The basis for this is, in particular, extremist activity (extremism) of a religious organization as defined in Article 1 Federal Law“On counteracting extremist activities” dated July 25, 2002 No. 114-FZ.
According to the Russian Ministry of Justice, during 2003, 31 local religious organizations were liquidated for gross violations of the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal legislation. Repeated violations of constitutional norms and legislation were identified in 1 centralized and 8 local religious organizations, which were also liquidated. In addition, for the systematic implementation of activities contrary to the statutory goals, 1 centralized and 12 local religious organizations were liquidated by court decisions. In total, in 2003, 225 religious organizations were liquidated by decisions of the judiciary, including those related to the Russian Orthodox Church - 71, Islam - 42, evangelicalism - 14, Baptists - 13, Pentecostalism - 12, Buddhism - 11.
To date, on the basis of the Federal Law “On Combating Extremist Activities,” court decisions to liquidate or ban the activities of 9 religious organizations have entered into legal force. In particular, such decisions were made in 2004 in relation to 3 religious organizations of the Old Russian Inglistic Church of the Orthodox Old Believers-Inglings, in 2009 - in relation to 1 local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses "Taganrog" (as of January 1, 2008, registered in Russia 398 local organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses). There are currently no religious organizations whose activities have been suspended due to their carrying out extremist activities.
The list of religious organizations in respect of which the court has made a final decision to liquidate or prohibit their activities on the grounds provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as the list of religious organizations whose activities have been suspended in connection with their carrying out extremist activities, is maintained and published by the Ministry of Justice Russian Federation.
At the beginning of 2010, 23,494 religious organizations were registered in Russia.
