Religious Culture: Faith in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia

Authors

Jerry Pankhurst

Editors

Dmitri N. Shalin

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

First page number:

1

Last page number:

32

Abstract

The former Soviet Union is undergoing a religious revival. People inside and outside the Russian Orthodox church are reexamining its ancient ways, rediscovering its long-forgotten saints, searching its institutional memory for answers to urgent questions facing the nation. The Western reaction to this remarkable resurgence of religion in Russia has been mixed. All observers welcome the fact that free inquiry about religion and free religious worship have been restored in the Russian Federation. At the same time, many are concerned about the xenophobic tendencies that have accompanied the religious revival in Russia and that became especially evident after the liberal forces suffered a defeat in the December 1993 parliamentary election. Calls to restore the great Russian empire sounded by the winners brought to mind the old slogan, "Moscow, the Third Rome," that had spurred Muscovy in the 16th-17th centuries to expand its dominion over neighboring countries. The situation is further exacerbated by a few Archbishops and Metropolitans who exhort the Russian people to bring the orthodox, unchanging faith -- Pravoslavie -- to the world.

Keywords

Freedom of religion; Religious awakening; Russia (Federation); Russian Orthodox Eastern Church; Russka︠i︡a pravoslavna︠i︡a ︠t︡serkovʹ

Disciplines

Asian History | European History | History | History of Religion | Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures | Political History | Religion | Slavic Languages and Societies

Language

English

Repository Citation

Pankhurst, J. (2012). Religious Culture: Faith in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia. In Dmitri N. Shalin, 1-32.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/russian_culture/7