Browse Articles By Category: Theology RSS

Religious culture or invitation to religion - what do the new textbooks teach?

Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:28:00 +0300

School courses in the basics of religious cultures introduced recently into the Russian federal curriculum raise many questions: how and in what way religion can be taught in secular school; whether the course should be monoconfessional or based on comparative religious studies; what its goal should be teaching about religion or an invitation to religion; whether the course should be chosen with respect to ethnic background or whether it can be optional; whether it should be a short course or an extensive one covering the entire educational period; what the content of the textbooks should be; and precisely what values should be discussed and what the results of such an education should be. This article analyzes new textbooks covering the basics of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures. It is shown that in contrast to their declared emphasis on culture, many textbooks invite users into religion. The author argues that the textbooks in "Foundations of Orthodox Culture" are closer to indoctrination than textbooks in other religious cultures. This is a result of stricter control of the ROC over the whole process. Indeed, nowadays the ROC is more interested in a growth in the number of believers than in churches, whereas the Muslims badly need mosques rather than new believers. Keywords: Russia, religion, textbooks, religious culture, religious education, indoctrination. page 89The disappearance of state atheism and the return of Orthodoxy posed a difficult task for the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), as the formal growth of the number of believers was sharply at odds with their poor knowledge of the very subject of faith, the main tenets of teaching 1, as well as with the weak attendance of churches. Unable to ensure a massive influx of Orthodox believers to churches on its own, the church tried to solve this problem with the help of a comprehensive school, where mono-confessional education would be given, and the choice of course would be dictated by the ethno-cultural ... Read more

COPPER CASTING IN EVERYDAY LIFE AND RITUAL PRACTICE OF THE KOMI OLD BELIEVERS

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 12:31:00 +0300

The article attempts to comprehensively describe the ritual and everyday practices associated with the existence of cult casting among the Komi Old Believers. The work is based on the author's field materials (interviews with informants, personal observations, photo and video materials) collected during ethnographic expeditions in 1999-2007 in the Udorsky, Ust-Kulomsky, Troitsko-Pechorsky districts of the Komi Republic, as well as archival data. Being an integral attribute of everyday life and rituals that determine religious affiliation (the sacraments of baptism and funeral requirements), cast images have become one of the symbols of Old Believers in Komi. Keywords: Komi-Old Believers, Old Believers ' copper casting, ethno-confessional symbols, family and festive rituals. Introduction Since the break with the official church, it was important for the Old Believers, based on ideological considerations, to get their own samples of objects accepted for worship. After the prohibitions of the beginning of the XVIII century. Instead of using cast icons in churches and private homes, it was they who continued their production, focused on the ancient pictorial canon [Printseva, 1986; Gnutova and Zotova, 2000]. The works devoted to Old Believer casting are mainly of an art criticism nature. They address issues of attribution, classification, and dating (Printseva, 1986; Vinokurova, 1989; Gnutova, 1993; Berestetskaya, 2003), and characterize individual production centers (Druzhinin, 1993; Vinokurova et al., 1994; Yukhimenko, 2002; Zotova, 2003). Since the mid-1990s, objects of Orthodox worship, including Old Believers 'castings, have been considered as significant and" insufficiently popular " ethnographic material reflecting the religious worldview [Gnutova and Zotova, 2000; Golomyanov and Fursova]. K. V. Tsekhanskaya, who studied the tradition of icon worship in Russian culture, came to the conclusion that the icon is "a distinctive sign of the Orthodox faith", which, in ... Read more

Mapping the Imaginary at the Frontiers of Science: The Search for Universal Unity at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:49:00 +0300

Vladislav Razdyakonov Mapping Imagination on the Borders of Science: Quest for Universal Unity at the Turn of the 19th - 20th Centuries Vladislav Razdyakonov - Associate Professor, Center for the Study of Religion, Russian State University of Humanities (Moscow). razdyakonov.vladislav@gmail.com Drawing upon latest studies in the history of parascience, this review article demonstrates crucial differences between its main branches at the turn of the 19th century. The author calls for a careful approach in using "presentist" historical methodology and highlights the motivations of both scientists and those labeled "stepchildren of science", who tried to find universal principles regulating the processes in the world of nature. The degree in which scientific ideas correlate with personal value biases may be used as a possible criterion for demarcating the boundary between scientific and parascientific discourses. Keywords: parascience, history of science, parapsychology, modern spiritualism, occultism. page 297Book Review: Oppenheim, J. P. (1985) The Other World. Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850 - 1912. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - 503 p. Wolffram, H. (2009) The Stepchildren of Science. Psychical Research and Parapsychology in Germany. Amsterdam - New York: Rodopi. - 342 p. Lachapelle, S. (2011) Investigating Supernatural. From Spiritism and Occultism to Psychical Research and Metaphysics in France, 1853 - 1931. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. -198 p. OVER the past few years, the West has published several academic monographs devoted to the analysis of the cultural context of the late XIX-early XX century and revealing the logic and dynamics of the development of "parascience". The review nature of these works makes it possible to create a map of the main ideas of near-scientific groups, demonstrating the similarities and differences that existed between them, primarily in their attitude to the images of "science" and "sci ... Read more

"The alchemist always felt himself in a state of 'five minutes to eternity'..."

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 00:45:00 +0300

Vadim L. Rabinovich is known to the Russian-speaking audience as the author of "Alchemy as a Phenomenon of Medieval Culture" first published in 1976 and recently appeared in second edition. In his interview to the Journal V. Rabinovich speaks about the hurdles he faced while publishing the first edition, makes explicit his understanding of the meaning of alchemy as cultural phenomenon, and explains the reasons for using a special "literary" style in his writings. He gives some particular details about his scholarly and literary career in the history of science. Keywords: science and religion, science studies, alchemy, hermetical tradition. Good afternoon, Vadim Lvovich. Our issue is dedicated to the topic "Religion and the scientific Revolution". Disputes about the degree of influence of the religious factor on the formation of Western European natural science continue to this day. Is it possible to speak unambiguously about the positive or negative influence of religion on early Modern science? Vadim Rabinovich. In general terms, religion is older than science, it has existed as long as man has existed. The creation of science, that is, the scientific theoretical thinking of the seventeenth century, took religion by surprise: scientific knowledge appears, which says that it can do without religion. The attitude is this: scientific knowledge is designed to discover new truths, on the basis of which there are still new ones to a bad infinity, and religion says that the truth exists from the very beginning, it only needs to be revealed and revealed to the city and the world. This is the fundamental difference between religion and science, and why science and religion cannot be reduced to one another. page 192How did religion help science become a science, you ask? In my opinion, religion has played a very significant role in this process. First, let us take the idea of a dual truth as it has been formed in Christian theology : one truth is given in revelation, the oth ... Read more

Rethinking Secularism. The Post-Secular in Question: Religion in Contemporary Society

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 13:52:00 +0300

Rethinking Secularism/Eds. Craig Calhoun, Mark Juergensmeyer, Jonathan VanAntwerpen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. - 311 p. The Post-Secular in Question: Religion in Contemporary Society/Eds. Philip S. Gorski, David Kyuman Kim, John Torpey, and Jonathan VanAntwerpen. New York & London: New York University Press, 2012. - 375 p. A look at the history of the term "post-secular" reveals an interesting, if not intriguing, dynamic. This word has been rapidly spreading around the world in recent years, and today it is mainly a networked "world": so, in 2004, Google page 301gave several thousand links to Post-Secular; in 2012-almost 7Read more

"Multiple modernities", Russian "cursed questions" and the inviolability of secular Modernity (theoretical essay)

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 12:34:00 +0300

When we talk about the issues that this issue focuses on, the case of Russia is relevant in two ways. On the one hand, Russia, located on the European periphery (and now referred to as "Eurasia" in the geographical and cultural sense), is one of the most characteristic examples of the constant combination of backwardness and desperate attempts to overcome it. In particular, the communist experiment undertaken in Russia in the 20th century was a completely new, unique and globally significant modernization project. Therefore, when discussing the question of "multiple modernities", it is impossible to avoid this Russian case. At the same time, being a country where, on the one hand, historically the overwhelming majority has always been adherents of Orthodoxy, and on the other hand, a complex confessional mosaic has been preserved, Russia provides a wealth of material about the influence of the "religious factor" in national history (especially when tacitly or explicitly compared with the "Latin West"); about the division of the Russian Orthodox Church religious and secular, which culminated in the relentless secularization of the Soviet era; as well as the religious revival after the fall of the Soviet regime. In this respect, the Russian case is also quite appropriate when discussing another major topic that intersects with the topic of "multiple moderns" - the topic of"post-secularity". This article is based on the results of the scientific seminar "Multiple Moderns and a global post - secular society", which was held on May 4-6, 2011 at the University of Tor Vergata (Rome). The English version of this article will appear in the collection: Multiple Modernities and Postsecular Societies / Eds. Massimo Rosati and Kristina Stoeckl. Farnham: Ashgate, 2012 (Forthcoming). The rights to publish the article are provided by Ashgate Publishing house. page 83The "damned questions" of Russian history, at least since the nineteenth century, have been questions about how to"cat ... Read more

THE VEDIC MYTH OF A NATURAL DISASTER

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 18:05:00 +0300

Understanding myths requires special methods of interpreting them, first of all, methods of identifying the content that can be considered as cognitive information, as well as methods of reconstructing the events and phenomena behind mythological images. Thus, the problem of understanding myths is the approach to them as sources of knowledge, the search for real referents represented by esoteric content. The author applies this attitude to one of the central myths of the great monument of world literature of the Rig Veda (hereinafter - RV), created by ancient Indian poets-rishis - to the myth of the demon Vritra, about his evil deeds and about the murder of this demon by the god of thunder and lightning Indra. Keywords: Rig Veda, myth, Vritra, Indra, ancient Indian mythology, mythological perception. CONTENT OF THE MYTH This myth was of such great importance to the Indo-Aryans and occupied such a significant place in their minds that its content is repeatedly reproduced in various variations in the Russian Orthodox Church. Here is the most complete of them, as set forth in Hymn I, 32 1: Indra's heroic deeds now I want to proclaim:The first ones that the thunderer did. He killed the serpent, he drilled the channels of the waters, He cut through the bowels of the mountains. He killed the serpent that rested on the mountain. Tvashtar had carved him a noisy club. Like lowing cows rushing toward their calves, The waters run down directly to the sea. Furious as a bull, he chose soma for himself, He drank soma squeezed in three vessels,and the Generous One grabbed a vajra projectile. He killed him, the firstborn of the serpents. When you, Indra, slew the first-born of the serpents And outwitted the tricks of the sly ones, And gave birth to the sun, the sky, the dawn, You haven't really found an opponent since. 1 Meanings of the names and titles found in the hymn: Tvashtar-God-creator of all forms in the universe, living and inanimate. Soma is an intoxicating ... Read more

G.E. FULLER. A WORLD WITHOUT ISLAM

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 16:47:00 +0300

G.E. FULLER. A WORLD WITHOUT ISLAM. New York-Boston-London: Little Brown and Company, 2010. 328 p.* The book by Graham E. Fuller, a professor at Simon Fraser University (USA), who previously served as Deputy chairman of the National Intelligence Council, attracts attention by its title. His earlier books, including The Future of Political Islam, were more academic in nature. His new work is frankly provocative: the author suggests imagining the development of the world without Islam, stating in advance that the results of world development will be exactly the same as with the presence of this world religion. And even if we assume the disappearance of Islam in the future, there will still be the possibility of civilizational conflicts and terrorist threats, which should not be thrown into "one basket with the inscription "Islam "" (p. 7). Indeed, the approach proposed by the author allows us to more correctly perceive the development of Muslim countries and assess the phenomenon of Islam in modern world development, as well as to protect ourselves from thoughtless and sweeping labeling of many negative or potentially dangerous phenomena, which may be based on a variety of reasons. G. Fuller continues the tradition laid down by E. Said in the famous work "Orientalism": consider the East as an integral part of European civilization and culture, ignoring the fact that the East is only a material part of European civilization. At the same time, it should be noted that the author openly polemics with the ideas of S. Huntington expressed in his sensational article and book "Clash of Civilizations", although he directly objects only to the statement "Islam has bloody borders". Fuller turns to the history of Islam, the emergence of various states in the Middle East region and the interaction of various cultures and peoples, starting with the Prophet E. G. Fuller. A world without Islam. New York-Boston-London: Little Brown & Co., 2010. 328 p. page 211Muhammad and ending w ... Read more

Bury your talent in the ground

Sat, 27 Jul 2024 17:31:00 +0300

The expression originated from the gospel parable about how a rich man, leaving, left money to his slaves: one-five talents (talent is a large monetary unit of that time), another - two talents, the third - one talent. The slaves who received five and two talents lent them at interest, and the one who received one talent buried it in the ground. When the master returned, he demanded a report from the slaves. Those who gave the money at usury returned it to the owner with interest. And the one who received one talent said that he buried it in the ground, which brought upon himself a strong anger of the owner. The word "talent" (Greek: talanton), which originally meant a coin of great value, gradually became synonymous with outstanding abilities in any field, and the expression "bury talent in the ground" began to be used in the meaning: do not care about the development of talent, abilities, let them stall. Moloch. Sacrifice to Moloch In the mythology of the ancient Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Israelites, etc. Moloch is the god of the sun, fire and water, to whom human sacrifices were made. These expressions are used as a symbol of a cruel, inexorable force that requires many human sacrifices.

THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE THROUGH THE EYES OF BURYAT BUDDHISTS OF THE XVIII - EARLY XX CENTURIES. HISTORICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Sat, 20 Jul 2024 12:06:00 +0300

To the one who has managed to completely crush the forces of black and yellow fascism, thanks to the blessing of the venerable lamas, the Three Jewels, the Bhagavans, the sugatas, the truly liberated Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the three times and ten directions, to the essence of the supreme good body, mind and virtuous actions, to the leader who has come for the benefit of the living beings of the six species who are [our] mothers before the great teacher Stalin, we bow down in obeisance, freed from the sorrowful suffering of mental obscuration and enjoying being in the human body, which is the highest stage [on the path to Enlightenment]! From the address of Pandito Hambo Lama Lubsan-Nima Darmain to Buddhists in connection with the opening of the Ivolginsky datsan. 1946 [TSVRK SB RAS, M III-2242, f. 1 r]. The fragment given as an epigraph is part of a document that appeared in a historical period beyond the scope of this article. However, its tone and categories differ little from earlier works addressed to the Russian emperors. The obvious contradiction between the historical role of J. V. Stalin in the fate of Buddhism in Russia, the only world denomination whose institutions, by his will, ceased to exist in the country for several years, and the enthusiastic pathos in which his name is clothed in this fragment, leads us to one important observation. An analysis of Buddhist sources clearly shows that since the beginning of the history of Buddhist contacts with the Russian government, the empire and the emperor have always been described by Buddhist historiographers in the same flattering terms, regardless of all the restrictions, discrimination, and even repressions carried out by this government in relation to Buddhist institutions. What is the reason for this seemingly unprincipled position of subordination and loyalty? Is it part of an overall strategy? In this article, we will attempt to understand the conceptualization of religious identity, which is manif ... Read more