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Philosophical Thought
Reference:

Implementation of the principle of religious tolerance in the Russian State: past and present (geosocial approach)

Zhukova Evgeniia Mikhaylovna

Lecturer; Faculty of Humanities Education; Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas

65 Leninsky Ave., office 2, Moscow, 119991, Russia

ev7zhukova@gmail.com
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8728.2024.8.71301

EDN:

LGHVXK

Received:

20-07-2024


Published:

06-10-2024


Abstract: The article examines the question of the origins of religious tolerance in the Russian state, its traditional forms and spheres of manifestation over many centuries. The emphasis is made on its actualization in the life of modern Russia. Today, in an era of social instability, uncontrolled migration flows, and the erasure of value orientations, the experience that contributes to the harmonization of various processes is becoming especially relevant. The subject of this study is the principle of religious tolerance in the Russian state. The purpose of the study is to analyze the specifics of religious tolerance in Russia using a geosocial approach. This approach explains the steady trend of manifestation of the principle of religious tolerance in Russian historical realities and the current moment, seeing it as a consequence of the peculiarities of the mentality of Russian population formed by its nature (geographical breadth, etc.). The novelty of the research lies in the fact that various views of researchers on the problem of the origins of religious tolerance have been identified and systematized; a geosocial approach has been used in the study of religious tolerance; the specifics of the manifestation of religious tolerance from the time of pre-Petrine Russia to the present day are traced. An attempt is made to look at religious tolerance as an integral part of the planetary thinking transmitted by the Russian society. The results of the research can be used in theoretical (within the framework of philosophical, political science, religious studies) and practical (in domestic and foreign policy of the country) aspects. The result of the study is to identify the specifics of religious tolerance, which can be traced in Russian history for a number of centuries. The conclusion is that the experience of implementing the principle of religious tolerance in the Russian state is important for stability within modern and future Russia. The principle of religious tolerance is the foundation for the harmonization of interfaith and state-confessional interactions, which in turn are related to the national issue.


Keywords:

religious tolerance, geosocial approach, the origins of religious tolerance, globalization, mentality, state-confessional relations, internationalism, interfaith relations, tradition, planetary thinking

This article is automatically translated.

Introduction

Today, a number of countries are faced with the need for a thorough reformatting of many processes taking place in the cultural, educational, military, space, etc. spheres. This is partly due to the growing opposition to globalization trends (in their negative aspect), which, on the one hand, under the slogans of supporting "weak links" and the need to "integrate them into the global system", increase the degree of dependence of local economies on stronger geopolitical players, and on the other hand, "dissolve", level out the original culture. The latter circumstance becomes a trigger for a kind of "return to the roots" – an intensification of interest in the culture and history of the native country, a reassessment of the events of the past, the study and emphasis on the positive experience of domestic and foreign policy activities. The desire to be successful and developed in a new reality gives rise to a desire among peoples to discard inveterate prejudices, the desire to return to all the most valuable and unshakable things contained in the experience of the past. And these aspirations, in turn, turn out to be the starting point for the development of new lines of behavior at the micro (individual) and macro levels (state, society).

Russia is no exception in this sense. Her centuries-old experience is an important determining factor in choosing the vector of further development. This paper considers only one aspect of this experience – the principle of religious tolerance, which has been manifested for centuries both at the grassroots (everyday communication) and at the highest (state policy) levels in building relationships between the peoples inhabiting the territory of the Russian state. We will touch on the origins of religious tolerance in Russia, on the traditional forms of its manifestation over a number of centuries and in modern times.

In this article, we will focus on the manifestation of the principle of religious tolerance on the scale of the entire state.: both in domestic and foreign policy, and in society. Of course, it is impossible to deny the existence of facts of the opposite nature, which also took place at all stages of the history of Russia and in modern times. However, in our opinion, each of these two antagonistic trends requires independent research.

We use the methods of humanitarian research: the method of socio-cultural analysis, which involves the study of culture in relation to social space, which is considered in the broadest sense of the word as an extra-natural reality associated with human activity; diachronic method and synchronistic methods that help to organize the material presented according to the chronological principle; elements of the comparative (comparative) method, which help to make more vivid and The emphasis is on the phenomenon of Russian religious tolerance.

The origins of religious tolerance

First of all, it is necessary to highlight the question of the origins of religious tolerance in Russia, both in public consciousness and in political practice. There are many points of view on which of the factors had the most significant impact on the processes, events and traditions that took place in the history of the Russian state, in which the manifestation of the principle of religious tolerance is seen. These factors can be divided into two groups: A) religious and ethical; B) political and economic.

In the first case (point A), the researchers point out that polytheism, which existed before the adoption of Christianity, was a favorable ground for the emergence of religious tolerance (see, for example: [14, pp. 384-385]). It is assumed that the worldview of the Slavs allowed for the possibility of the existence of not one, but a whole multitude of gods (or higher principles). In addition, researchers trace the roots of this phenomenon to the adoption of Christianity (see, for example: [48, p. 52]), believing that thanks to the Christian doctrine, the consciousness of the people absorbed the idea of a person as a brother, an understanding of the importance of love, community, tolerant attitude, peacemaking. A logical question may arise: but after all, the peoples living in the territories of modern Western Europe also adopted Christianity at one time, is it possible to attach this thesis to them? Apparently, this is not possible in full, and the reason for this circumstance, presumably, lies in the differences between the Western (Catholicism) and Eastern (Orthodoxy) branches of Christianity. In any case, historically, Catholicism, according to scientists, was more characterized by acts of intolerance (crusades, mass persecution of heretics, St. Bartholomew's Night, etc.) [48, pp. 52-53].

A number of researchers pay attention to differences in mentality. In their opinion, the East Slavic peoples had a pronounced humanistic "component" (see, for example: [11, pp. 193-194; 12; 28, p. 67]), which had a corresponding impact on the formation of patterns of interfaith and state-confessional interaction. This issue was discussed in detail in our other article [23, pp. 33-56].

This feature of the peoples of the Slavic group is seen in comparative historical analysis: the nature of the foreign policy of a number of Western European countries that preferred to colonize states is well known, while aggressive colonization policy was uncharacteristic for the Slavic peoples. The consequence of such a policy in Europe was its fragmentation into many relatively small states [29, p. 23], each of which is "fixated" on its own interests.

In the second case (point B), researchers tend to believe that the emergence of religious tolerance was influenced by processes in the field of international relations and trade. In particular, it is pointed out the period of dependence of the Russian principalities on the Mongol Empire and then the Golden Horde (mid–XIII - late XV centuries), from which the subsequently unified Russian state adopted a loyal attitude towards various religions (see, for example: [44, p. 23]). The experience of a number of empires (the Eastern Roman Empire, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, etc.) shows that religious tolerance is one of the important principles strengthening the state. Its serious violations have devastating consequences.

A significant role is also assigned to the broad international relations of Russia (and later the Russian state), the building of diplomatic relations (see, for example: [6, p. 29]). It is believed that they predetermined the influx of representatives of various cultures and religions and naturally formed the idea of the need and importance of a tolerant attitude towards other religious traditions. Political decisions also concerned the intensive growth of the country's territory, especially since the XVI century (see, for example: [56, p. 37]). The emergence of new regions set the authorities the task of uniting peoples into a single state, in particular, creating a national ideology that would allow the most diverse peoples and ethnic groups to exist in a single geographical space.

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The subject of the research in the presented article is the implementation of the principle of religious tolerance in the Russian state, its past and present within the framework of a geosocial approach. The descriptive method, the historical method, the method of categorization, as well as the method of socio-cultural analysis, the diachronic method, the synchronistic method, and the elements of the comparative (comparative) method were used as the methodology of the subject area of research in this article. The relevance of the article is beyond doubt, since the processes of globalization in the modern world have become an objective reality and have determined many social changes that have affected almost all fundamental spheres of society, including the religious sphere and issues of religious tolerance. In Russia, these processes have their own specifics, therefore, the study of the past and present implementation of the principle of religious tolerance in the Russian state within the framework of a geosocial approach is of scientific interest. The scientific novelty of the research lies in a deep and comprehensive study using the author's methodology of the peculiarities of the implementation of the principle of religious tolerance in the Russian state within the framework of the geosocial approach. The article is written in the language of scientific style with the competent use in the text of the study of the presentation of various positions of scientists to the problem under study and the application of scientific terminology and definitions. The structure is designed taking into account the basic requirements for writing scientific articles, the structure of this study includes an introduction, the main part, conclusion and bibliography. The content of the article reflects its structure. In particular, it is of particular value that the study presents the author's view on the periodization of the implementation of the principle of religious tolerance in Russia with a description of the characteristics of each period, as well as the author's emphasis on the fact that "the principle of religious tolerance is an integral part of modern Russian legislation that provides immunity to various manifestations of intolerance and plays the role of a preventive measure preventing undesirable trends". The bibliography contains 74 sources, including domestic and foreign periodical and non-periodical publications, as well as electronic resources. The article describes various positions and points of view of scientists characterizing approaches to understanding the principle of religious tolerance and the specifics of its implementation in Russia. The article contains an appeal to various scientific works and sources devoted to this topic, which is included in the circle of scientific interests of researchers dealing with this issue. The presented study contains conclusions concerning the subject area of the study. In particular, it is noted, "religious tolerance, without any doubt, can be attributed to the factors consolidating the peoples living in the country and strengthening Russia's position in the world. Various forms of actualization of this principle have ensured the steady progressive development of the huge state for many centuries. Misunderstanding of the role of religious tolerance in society will inevitably lead to the loss of Russian geosociality, a unique supranational and supra-confessional unity that has developed over many centuries, and small nations professing different religions, captured by centrifugal ideological and political trends, will find themselves in a dependent position." The materials of this study are intended for a wide range of readers, they can be interesting and used by scientists for scientific purposes, teaching staff in the educational process, employees of ministries, departments and organizations responsible for religious issues, cultural scientists, religious scholars, sociologists, analysts and experts. As disadvantages of this study, it should be noted that, nevertheless, the structural elements of the article as a scientific study should be highlighted separately, in particular, such as relevance, novelty, methodology, results and discussion, although they are undoubtedly presented in the text of the article, but are not indicated by the appropriate headings. It would be advisable to title the introduction as "introduction". When making a bibliography, it is necessary to pay attention to the requirements of the current GOST, especially to sources that are electronic resources. The bibliography for such a type of research work as an article might be worth reviewing in the direction of reduction. These disadvantages do not reduce the high scientific and practical significance of the research itself, but rather relate to the design of the text of the article. It is recommended to publish the article.