Religion. Spread of religions in the Russian Federation

29.09.2019

The modern Constitution defines Russia as a secular state, however, despite this, religion in Russia plays a very important role. There is no single state religion in Russia, because Russian legislation affirms the human right to freedom of religion, as well as the equality of citizens before the law, regardless of their beliefs and religions.

Religion Surveys modern Russia, showed that 85-90% of the country’s residents consider themselves believers. However, no more than 15% of Russians regularly visit religious buildings.

The most widespread religion in Russia today is Orthodoxy, which is professed by about 75% of the country's residents. In second place in popularity is Islam, widespread among the peoples of the North Caucasus, as well as among visitors from countries Central Asia and Azerbaijan. The share of adherents of this denomination in Russia is about 5%. Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions in the country account for approximately 1% each.

History of religion in Russia: how it all began

The history of religion in Russia goes back centuries and begins approximately at the same time as the history of Russia as a whole. Already in Ancient Rus' Various cults and beliefs played a large role in the life of society. In the Slavic pantheon there were deities of fertility, sun, fire, wind, etc. In a word, everything that surrounded the inhabitants of Ancient Rus' and on which their well-being directly depended.

In 988, under the reign of Prince Vladimir, the baptism of Rus' took place, after which the folk traditional religions of Russia faded into the background. With the support of the authorities, Orthodoxy began to quickly spread throughout the country and gradually became the official religion in Russia.

For many centuries, public and political life countries were inextricably linked with religion. During the Soviet era, Orthodoxy was banned, but it was not possible to replace religiosity with party power. Now religion in Russia is gaining popularity again.

Orthodoxy: the main religion of Russia

So, at present Orthodoxy is the main religion of Russia. Everyone confesses him Slavic peoples, living in the country, as well as part of the large non-Slavic ethnic groups(for example, Chuvash, Mordovians, Komi, Georgians, Ossetians, Armenians, etc.). Other religions of the peoples of Russia include Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, as well as some traditional beliefs that are still common in some ethnic groups.

Despite the fact that the Constitution of the Russian Federation provides for freedom of religion, as well as the equality of all religions, Orthodoxy still occupies a special place in the life of the country and society. Many even call it the national religion of Russia.

Sociological surveys on the topic of religion in Russia show that about 76% of Russians who call themselves Orthodox adhere to church traditions. True, almost every second person admitted that religion for him is more of a tradition of his ancestors than a conscious choice.

According to the Constitution, the Russian Federation is a secular state. However, the paradox is that more than a third of Russians believe that the country has a state religion - Orthodoxy.

Constitution of the Russian Federation on religion

The Constitution states that people have the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, can “profess, individually or in community with others, any religion or not profess any, freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them.”

How many believers are there in Russia?

The majority of believers in Russia are Christians (mostly Orthodox, to a lesser extent Catholics and Protestants), Muslims and Buddhists. It is not possible to determine the exact number of people professing a particular religion, since official statistics are not kept, and all data is based solely on sociological surveys, the results of which depend on who conducts them.

Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church, based on its data, claims that approximately 80-82 percent of the country’s population is in its fold. Muslims believe that about 10-25 percent of Russians belong to their faith.

At the same time, according to a 2010 VTsIOM survey, 75 percent of the Russian Orthodox population is Orthodox (with half of all respondents admitting that they have never read the Holy Scriptures), only 5 percent are Muslims, and 8 percent of people consider themselves atheists.

In 2012, an attempt was made to compile an Atlas of Religions and Nationalities of the Russian Federation. According to basic research For him, only 41 percent were Orthodox believers in Russia, about 6.5 percent professed Islam, less than half a percent were Buddhists, and about 14 percent declared themselves non-believers.

It can be assumed that these figures are the most accurate and the number of believers in Russia is indeed much less than stated by representatives of confessions. for example, since 2013 the program for grades 4–5 high school introduced the course "Fundamentals religious cultures and secular ethics", in which parents of students can choose one of six program options: the fundamentals of Orthodox, Islamic, Buddhist, Jewish, world religious cultures or secular ethics. According to the Ministry of Education, the majority of Russians (43 percent) prefer that their children study secular module, and 31 percent were in favor of the Orthodox one.

A more or less objective idea of the spread of faith is also given by statistics on the number religious organizations. According to the Russian Orthodox Church, there are more than 30 thousand Orthodox parishes in the country, the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia unites more than 2,500 communities (and their number is constantly growing).

Spread of religions in Russia

According to the Atlas of Religions and Nationalities of the Russian Federation, Orthodox believers live throughout the country (the highest percentage is in Middle lane Russia), the majority of Muslims are in the Caucasus, in the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, and Buddhists are concentrated in the republics of Tyva, Kalmykia and Buryatia. In the republics of Sakha, Altai and North Ossetia, pagan cults are still practiced (1.2 percent of the population), and the most atheistic regions of the state were the Primorsky and Altai territories, the Novosibirsk and Amur regions and the same Republic of Sakha.

The influence of the church on life in Russia

Despite the officially proclaimed secular nature of the state, the last VTsIOM poll conducted in 2013 showed that 44 percent of Russians consider Orthodoxy state religion countries, and 56 percent confirmed that Orthodoxy influences various areas of their lives.

At the same time, the question remains controversial of what people mean when they recognize themselves as believers. For example, only 4 percent admitted that they fully comply with all the rules of fasting, 16 percent observe fasting fully or partially, and in different ways 83 percent of respondents planned to celebrate Easter. Many religious people are not able to name the day of their name day (and even fewer are those who actually celebrate it).

Superstitions

Although traditional religions are the most widespread and approximately 1.2 percent of people officially recognize themselves as pagans, superstitions are still strong in Russia: people do not like it when a black cat crosses their path when important events fall on the 13th day of the month, they try not to spill salt (it is believed that this will lead to a quarrel) and not to whistle in the room (there will be no money), and many do not celebrate their 40th birthday.

There are many representatives of other faiths on the territory of Russia. Of course, the number of religious associations is not proportional to the number of adherents of a particular faith.

Spread of Christianity. Of the five directions of modern Christianity (Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism, Nestorianism and Monophysitism), the vast majority of Russian Christians profess Orthodoxy). Which became the state religion from the end of the 10th century, after the baptism of Rus'.

Of the indigenous Russians in the North of the European part and the Northern Urals, the bulk of the believing Karelians, Vepsians, Komi, Komi-Permyaks, and Udmurts adhere to Orthodoxy; in the Volga basin - the majority of believers are Mari, Mordovians and Chuvash; in Siberia - most of the believing Khakass, Shors and Yakuts; in the North Caucasus - more than half of the Ossetian believers. In addition, Orthodoxy is practiced by some Altaians, Buryats, Nenets, Khanty, Mansi, Evenks, Evens, Chukchi, Koryaks and other believers from among the small peoples of the European North, Siberia and the Far East.

Mixed in with adherents of various forms of Orthodoxy live followers of various sects of spiritual Christians.

Catholicism is practiced by Poles, Lithuanians, Hungarians and some Germans living in Russia. The majority of German believers are Protestants. Lutheranism is also practiced by some of the Latvians, Estonians and Finns living in Russia.

Spread of Islam. The process of religious and cultural revival is also taking place in Muslim Russia. Originating in the 7th century AD. in Arabia (youngest world religion), Islam has spread widely throughout the world.

Adherents of Islam in the Russian Federation are believing Tatars (Volga region, Western Siberia and other regions), Bashkirs (Ural), Kabardians, Adygeis, Circassians, Abazas, Balkars, Karachais, part of the Ossetians ( North Caucasus), as well as a few Udmurts, Maris and Chuvashs. Some of the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Turkmens, Uighurs, Dungans, Abkhazians, Adjarians, etc., who live in the Russian Federation are also Sunni-Hanifi.

In 1991, an Islamic center was opened in Moscow on the basis of the cathedral mosque, which operates a madrasah (IMC). In Dagestan there is an Islamic Institute named after Imam Al-Shafii.

Inclusion in due course Russian Empire Muslim peoples were never accompanied by the eradication of Islam and the introduction of Orthodoxy. “Conqueror of the Caucasus” General Ermolov built a mosque with his personal money. Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Buddhists sometimes lived side by side in peace and good neighborliness for centuries.

Spread of Buddhism. In comparison with adherents of Christianity and Islam, there are fewer supporters of Buddhism - the earliest of the world's religions (VI-V centuries BC) - in the Russian Federation.

Buddhism appeared in our country in the 16th century, and the first lamas were from Mongolia and Tibet. Officially, Buddhism is recognized by the corresponding decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. In the Russian Federation, believers predominantly profess Lamaism. In Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuva, also in the Irkutsk and Chita regions and in a number major cities(St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Kemerovo, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, etc.) there are Buddhist communities. The Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists of the Russian Federation is located in Ulan-Ude.

Other religions. Orthodox Judaism, which is not a world religion, has become well known in Russia. It is professed only by representatives of one nation. Since 1990, the All-Russian Council of Jewish Religious Communities has existed in Russia, which carries out coordinating and representative functions. Synagogues are located in many major cities. In Moscow there is a choral synagogue, which has a cultural center, a charity service, and a matzo bakery.

There are not many early forms of religion left on the territory of modern Russia. In the Far North, in Tyva, in Altai you can meet representatives of animism, totemism, the cult of ancestors, and shamanism. People here have been spiritualizing nature for centuries. They believed that every natural phenomenon was alive, they believed that the whole world was inhabited by good and evil spirits.

3.6. The movement of nations towards self-determination and the desire to form supernations.

In the Soviet scientific literature the meaning of the concepts “national interest” and “state interest” usually coincided. By drawing an analogy, they tried to show the internal unity of the population of the state, the homogeneity of its living conditions and interests. However, as we have already seen, the identity of the concepts “nation” and “state” is far from indisputable.

The difference between these concepts is especially acute when it comes to foreign policy interests and motives. Often the idea of a “national” tendency is referred to as the desire of a state to expand its spheres of influence or the intention to include related population groups living in the territory of other states. Which is often a pretext for expanding influence, territory, i.e. in reality, we are talking about expansionist efforts under nationalist slogans.

It is obvious that the mechanical transfer of the concepts of “national interest”, “state interest” to the phrase “state borders” - “national borders” can only lead to interethnic conflicts. Not all representatives of each ethnic group live within the same state, and not every state is mono-ethnic.

There are now about 5,000 peoples around the world, and more than 90% of them are part of multinational states. On territory 32 European countries more than 100 national minorities. Moreover, many of them are dispersed “sprayed”. Thus, Germans outside Germany live in Belgium, Denmark, France, Poland, Russia, Romania, Italy, the Czech Republic, Serbia, etc. Bulgarians live in Yugoslavia, Romania, Greece, and Ukraine; Greeks - in Cyprus, Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, Russia, Ukraine; every sixth Pole lives outside of Poland, etc.

A similar picture is observed within the Russian Federation. About 143 million people live in Russia. Of these, 80 percent are Russians, almost 4 percent are Tatars, and more than 2 percent are Ukrainians. In total, in Russia there are representatives of about 160 peoples and nationalities. Sometimes their settlement is quite compact, and sometimes they are dispersed throughout the territory of the Russian Federation, living among representatives of other ethnic groups.

It is impossible to imagine what tragic consequences an attempt by individual peoples to implement in practice the principle of identity of national and state borders would lead to. Meanwhile this is happening in real life. For example, the collapse of the former Yugoslavia and the bloody conflict in Bosnia clearly illustrate the implementation of the principle of identity of state and national borders and the emergence of interethnic conflicts.

The national question arises in the confrontation between two general trends. First, the movement of nations towards self-determination. Secondly, the desire to form large multi-ethnic communities, to form powerful supernations, where ethnic groups, different traditions and cultures would be organically united. Both of these trends have the same goal: overcoming all forms of national-ethnic inequality and democratization of interethnic relations.

On the other hand, neither the independent development of ethnic groups nor their cooperation within the framework of “super-ethnic groups” in themselves does not ensure success. In any case, the triumph of one people can turn into the humiliation of another, the infringement of the rights of national and ethnic minorities. Long time The image of the United States was compared to a giant cauldron, where representatives of hundreds of nations were “melted” into Americans. However, the process of “remelting” means the loss of peoples’ specific features. Therefore, the image of a “cauldron” in the United States has given way to the image of a huge “patchwork quilt.” The mechanism of neither one nor the other option provides sufficient guarantees for either the democratic or economic development of society.

The implementation of the right to self-determination in any conditions should not affect the same rights to sovereignty of other peoples of the state. Strictly speaking, the right of nations to self-determination contradicts another principle of international law - the right to the territorial integrity of a state. Therefore, the principle of the right of peoples to self-determination has never been implemented anywhere as a purely legal principle, but has always been oriented towards political and economic expediency.

There are two complex processes in Europe at the same time - economic and political rapprochement in Western Europe and the sovereignization of the East. However, these processes are by no means absolute. At the same time, there is a rise national movements in France, attempts to separate the French-speaking province of Quebec from Canada, and the north of Italy from other territories, etc.

Thus, it can be noted that ethnic processes They are often of an opposite nature: dividing processes through national development and demarcation are combined with unification processes, in which there is a consolidation or even merging of ethnic groups that are close in language and culture into one.

In any case, the national question is a continuation of the social conditions for the development of an ethnic group. It is closely related to interaction and the conditions for their free development in a multinational state. Therefore, the state must create maximum conditions for the free development of ethnic groups and the formation of national tolerance, using systems of influence by means mass media, legislative acts, etc.

State-legal forms of resolving the national issue exist and are widely used (Spain, Great Britain, Denmark) - the creation of autonomies, etc.

Established in Europe in the XYIII-XIX centuries. states acted primarily as factors of nation-building. The state created an external framework in which the processes of cultural, linguistic and economic integration proceeded much faster and more efficiently. It contributed to the emergence of a common historical destinies, in particular in relations with other peoples and common ideology, reflecting national problems. Contributing to the creation of a superethnos (nation), and in many cases it initiated the separation of a national religion.

Options for uniting different ethnic groups within one state without infringing on the interests of individual ethnic groups exist and are quite well implemented within the framework of a federal or confederal state - an association of independent states that have their own constitution, supreme authorities, legislation and citizenship. Moreover, all these signs are transferred to the federal level. Given the existence of a single territory, monetary unit, and armed forces, the powers of the federation and its subjects are strictly delimited. The powers of federal bodies include defense, border protection, formation higher authorities power and resolution of controversial issues between members of the federation, as well as between them and the center.

Russia is a federal state – the Russian Federation. In accordance with the new Constitution of the Russian Federation, the territories and regions received as many new rights and powers as the republics did not receive during the 70 years of Soviet power.

However, it is far from ideal. It is necessary to strengthen the form of national-cultural autonomy. This is especially true for peoples living within the indigenous population (the creation of national schools, theaters, cultural centers). The future of Russia can only be connected with the voluntary unification of these ethnic groups, but not into a single homogeneous ethnic group, but a superethnic group with the preservation and development of the culture of individual subethnic groups.

Attempts to ignore national entities in general, as well as attempts to assert the concepts of “indigenous nation” and subordinate all interests to national interest in its narrow sense, can lead to disaster for both the country and the nation.

A noticeable influence on the formation of language, culture and ethnic identity Russians were influenced by Christianity (Orthodoxy). It is not for nothing that the word “peasant” comes from “Christian.” Mass Christianization Old Russian population began in 988 and continued until the 12th, and in some areas until the 13th century. However, some pre-Christian beliefs still exist today.

Christianity created the ideological prerequisites for the unification of all Russian (East Slavic) lands, which was ultimately realized in the creation of the Moscow state, contributed to the transition of communal land ownership to the class of feudal landowners, strengthened cultural contacts between Russia and Europe, and contributed to the perception of many elements of both spiritual and material culture , on initial stages became the core of the formation of all-Russian culture and self-awareness.

Church Slavonic has long been the language of official documents and literature.

The church played decisive role in the unification of the lands of North-Eastern Rus' around Moscow. Many events of Russian history of the XI-XV centuries. were associated with continuous strife between secular and spiritual feudal lords over land ownership, as well as over political power. The Church had judicial power; precisely on church lands in the 15th century. was first introduced serfdom, 200 years earlier than its state legalization. The most important factor in the economic well-being of the Church were the so-called “white settlements” - urban lands that belonged to the Church and were exempt from taxes.

The power and independence of the Russian Orthodox Church continuously increased. In 1589, the Moscow Patriarchate was established, after which the Russian Orthodox Church became the de facto leader of Orthodoxy. The period of greatest power of the Church was the first decades of the 17th century. The subsequent centuries of Russian history were a process of continuous decline in the economic and political independence of the church and its subordination to the state.

The Church Council of 1654 excommunicated all those who disagreed with the reforms from the church. The persecution of schismatics began, their mass migration to the outskirts of the state, in particular to the Cossacks that were being formed in these years. During the 18th century. The church loses its independence and turns into a state institution. The reforms of Peter I, Peter III and Catherine II deprived it of economic independence, political and judicial power.

Currently, the role of the Orthodox Church in the life of society is increasing every year. Thus, if, according to surveys of the 70-80s of the twentieth century, 10-12% of Russians considered themselves believers, then surveys recent years give the figure 40-50% of the adult population. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish faith from churching, that is, knowledge and observance of the basic religious canons. This figure is significantly lower.

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 eastern and southern regions countries 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.

So, total number Believers in our country, not counting atheists, are 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 from Holy 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 everything best qualities man - 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 using 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 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, immortality human soul the same 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 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 related to traditional rituals. 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 buildings that are completely unsuitable for worship, because, according to the conviction of believers, it should not be focused on contemplation 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 was fragmented 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 whips still visited orthodox churches, then 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 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.

TO end of the 19th century centuries, the Molokans were divided into permanent and “jumpers”. Last title reflects a feature 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. Large quantity Doukhobors now live in the Caucasus and Canada.

Islam

According to Muslim theologians, Islam arose around 662. New era. It absorbed much of the dogma of Judaism and Christianity, including their mythology. This allowed Islam to quite short time to become a full-fledged religion with its own Bible, which here is called the Koran, and the sayings of God (Allah) are called 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 to their faith 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 the path of 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 denomination 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 world around us, allows us to comprehend ourselves in it, and contribute to the unification of society.