Conservative Christian Politics in Russia and the United States: Dreaming of Christian Nations by John Anderson

Author:John Anderson [Anderson, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317606635
Google: PISQBAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 28024048
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2014-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

Believing, belonging, behaving

In Russia today, the vast majority of the population claims to have some form of religious belief, but the content and nature of this faith is less clear. Most surveys following the collapse of communism suggested an increasing proportion of people claiming belief in God or gods, and claiming adherence to Orthodoxy, but often alongside some very unorthodox practices and beliefs. Broadly speaking there has been a rise in belief in God to over 75 per cent today, with some figures reaching as high as 84 per cent. Yet these figures often disguised a more complex reality, as in the 2001 poll which suggested that of the three quarters of the population describing themselves as Orthodox only 51.3 per cent believed in the existence of God and 5.2 per cent did not, whilst 27 per cent of those defining themselves as atheists still simultaneously claimed to believe in God or some higher power.45 A commentary on a 2011 poll carried out by the Public Opinion Fund made the unlikely claim that, with 82 per cent claiming belief in a deity, Russians were the most religious people in Europe.46

All of these reports suggest rather vague beliefs when it comes to detail and, as in the US, seemingly incompatible beliefs happily sit side by side. When people were asked about what religion stands for, one 2008 survey suggested that for most it functioned as a national tradition and the faith of one’s ancestors (39 per cent), as a source of ethical norms (26 per cent), part of culture and world history (21 per cent), the observance of religious rites and participation in church life (10 per cent) and superstition (7 per cent).47 Other surveys demonstrated high levels of belief in magic, transmigration of souls, astrology and extra-terrestrial beings,48 More generally, surveys and ethnographic work demonstrated considerable ignorance of the most basic teachings of the Church, something that is less surprising in Russia after a period of 70 years when religious teaching was not generally available. Responding to such data, Orthodox leaders acknowledge that years of enforced atheism have meant a considerable ignorance of religious teaching and practice that accounts for much of the discrepancy between religious identification, religious beliefs, and actual engagement with the life of the church. Filatov and Lunkin noted similar trends amongst Russia Muslims, where ethnically based identification as a Muslim bears no relation to basic understanding of the faith, with fairly widespread ignorance about the five pillars of Islam found in a number of surveys.49

Looking at this question in terms of church attendance and participation in religious rituals adds another dimension to the discussion. In July 2006, Fr Vsevolod Chaplin, the ever enthusiastic and often controversial spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate, said that virtually a quarter of the population attended church at least once a week, and that 80 per cent were baptized.50 He provided no evidence for these claims and the former suggestion appears to be contradicted by every reputable survey, and also contradicts the

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