On the problem of cultural religiosity as phenomen of contemporary Russian religious culture

Vladimir Yur’evich Lebedev, Doctor in philosophy, professor, the Tver’ State University (ulitsa Ghjelyabova, 33, Tver’, Russia, 170023)
semion.religare@yandex.ru

Lebedev V. Yu. On the problem of cultural religiosity as phenomen of contemporary Russian religious culture, Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 22–34.

DOI: 10.24411/2308-0698-2012-00012

Language: Russian

Culture and religion are correlated in theory and in socio-religious practices. As referred to Christian history, the reality of the 4th century and that of S. Kierkegaard’s time are similar. The philosopher opposed the so-called Dutch «synthesis of religion and culture.» In this article the author defines the phenomenon of cultural religiosity and stresses secondary role of religion in the pattern. There are different cultural religiosity types in Russian society – indifferent, archaizing, modernistic, eclectic, selective, and inverting. The article explores how cultural religiosity is included into the processes of differentiation and institutionalization. One’s attitude to a theological tradition can be characteristic to the phenomenon concerned. The author examines some kinds of parareligious creative work and folklore of the groups of people prone to cultural religiosity.

Cultural religiosity is specific to many mainstream confessions and less connected with any marginal groups on account of their noncultural preferences as a matter of principle and reluctance to suppress spreading as it happens among «ethnic Christians.»

Cultural religiosity bearers frequently take religion easy. They are guided by momentary situations and follow religious principles solely in cases out of danger for their prestige and

wellbeing. They speak eclectic language («social newspeak») and have quite naturalistic eschatological expectations still paradoxically admitting peculiar views on existence of a transcendental being, up to atheism.

The article pays attention to the reasons of appearance of such strata as «mass/popular Christianity» within the religious community, which is different from mainstream one. Some aspects of struggle for being called a church are considered, as well as problems of ecclesiological reductionism and threats to lose the church’s authenticity.

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Keywords: cultural religiosity, S. Kierkegaard, subculture, marginality, syncretism, ecclesiology, semantics

Permanent link: http://rcs-almanac.ru/lebedev-v-yu-2012-en/

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