Trickster discourse in сurrent religious and сultural context

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

Lebedev V. Yu. Trickster discourse in сurrent religious and сultural context, 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, 2018, vol. 7, pp. 92–107.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2018-00005

Language: Russian

The postsecular culture belongs to the type of transitional cultures that breed the inevitable feeling of transition and stagnation resulting from cultural inertia. At such times individuals and society find themselves at the point of polyfurcation, facing the necessity of choice not only in terms of large-scale social issues, but embracing the entire semiosphere and discourses of culture including the religious ones. These changes reach into the very heart of confessional culture with the greatest changes occuring in the sphere of art. The transitional discourse involves a set of languages and the freedom of choosing them, and defines social and cultural image of the period. The transitional period gives rise to the renewed perception of the world as well as both eternal transcendent systems of concept. It gravitates towards the semiotics of the carnival, of cultural semiotic polystylistics that are often characteristic of the turning-point epochs settling after a short period of laminar culture. Hence — the broad-ranging semiotic experimentations with otherwise rigid existential aspects, including such topics as death and the ensuing afterlife. Trickster discourse comes into a wide demand in the current cultural situation. It turns to the inversion, the carnival and the paradox inevitably attracting those who aren’t interested in religious issues expressed in traditional verbal way. The semiotic sophistication breeds multivariate interpretation admitting concurrent opposing interpretations of the text. The same text can be attributed as «primitive» and «mocking» but also as very intricate, i. e. elitist. Thus, the authors face significantly differ from reference groups of recipients. When the renewed perception becomes settled, the situation enters the stage of stability with its content being defined by the cultural choice made during the transitional period.

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Key words: laminar culture, polyinterpretativity, trickster, discourse, estrangement, postsecularity

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/lebedev-2018-en/

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On cultural typology and peculiarities of religious praxis

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

Lebedev V. J. On cultural typology and peculiarities of religious praxis, 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, 2013, vol. 2, pp. 39–51.

DOI: 10.24411/2308-0698-2013-00012

Language: Russian

The paper examines structural parallelisms between types of socio-cultural patterns and aspects of religious praxis that are integral to the sphere of social practices.

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Key words: socio-cultural type, laminarity, dominance, polarization, amorphousness, religion, praxis

Permanent link: http://rcs-almanac.ru/lebedev-2013-en/

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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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On psychological aspects of bigotry

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 psychological aspects of bigotry, 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, 2017, vol. 6, pp. 92–107.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2017-00005

Language: Russian

The phenomenon of bigotry in its religious subvariety in particular has recently become the object of study with three major aspects been markedout. These apects are quite distinct and differ radically from each other. The clinical aspect of bigotry being historically the oldest and thriving on psychic pathology has come to the foreground due to contemporary lengthy and massive life crises. This type of bigotry has repeatedly come into the focus of researchers regardless personal beliefs of classical (such as V. Gilyarovsky, P. Gannushkin, M. Gurevich, M. Sereyskiy) and modern authors. As a result the pattern of bigotry (with quasi-religious behavior substituting for the auto-bigotry that could be seen as an atheistic cult of personal genius) coincides with patterns of a number of diagnostic units. Psychic problems may give rise to other constituents of bigotry, with spiritual being one of them, rendering the entire to deep spiritual deception. Pertinent case study is hampered by lack of psychopathological competence and obliteration of Russian Orthodox anthropology represented by works of A. Ukhtomskiy and D. Melekhov.
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Key words: bigotry, pathopsychology, disease, disorder, pneumatology, dominant

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/lebedev-2017-en/

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The “New Age”culture in the context of scientific rationality and Christian theological religiosity

Lebedev Vladimir Yur’evich, PhD, professor, the Tver’ State Univerity (Tver’, Russia)
Fedoroff Alexey Vasil’evish, assistant, laboratory multidisciplinary research in biosociology and biophilosophy, Russians Phylosophical society (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Semion.religare@yandex.ru, doctorfedorov100@rambler.ru

Lebedev V. Y., Fedorov A. V. The “New Age”culture in the context of scientific rationality and Christian theological religiosity, 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, 2014, vol. 3, pp. 34–41.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2014-00003

Language: Russian

The emergence of a large number of mythological elements in the cultural system indicates tension within the system; this phenomenon resists traditional science and theistic religion, based on a rational approach (as opposed to mythological irrationality). “New-mythological Renaissance” of the second half of the 20th century was formed due not only to peculiarities of the cultural mentality of this era, but to active penetration of Eastern mythology and esoteric into European culture. The New Age movement is an abundance of different currents of religious-esoteric sense which still has a big impact on European culture, both secular and religious. The article deals with the causes and consequences of this phenomenon and marks out the peculiarities of the interaction of the New Age movement with scientific rationality and Christian theological religiosity. The extensive factual material shows the penetration of elements of the New Age movement in almost all spheres of European culture. Peculiarities of the interaction of religious and esoteric elements with traditional Christian religiosity are also studied. The popularity of the New Age movement is caused by the characteristics of the basic myths that exist in the mass consciousness. Besides, the article examines the major philosophical paradigms generated by the New Age movement as well as nature of its interaction with religious and scientific rationality. The research is performed on the basis of the analysis of literature data and the author’s field research made by interdisciplinary Laboratory of biosociological and biophilosophy research (Russian philosophical society).
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Key words: new-mythological, “new age” culture, new religious movements

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/lebedev-fedoroff-2014-en/

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Modern medical praxis: mythologization, demiraclization, remythologization, or medicine at the crossroads again

Vladimir Yur’evich Lebedev
Alexey Vasil’evich Fedoroff
PhD in philosophy, professor, the Tver’ State University
(ulica Gjelyabova, dom 33, Tver, Russia, 170023)
semion.religare@yandex.ru
assistant, Laboratory multidisciplinary research in biosociology and biophilosophy, Russian Phylosophical society
(ulica Goncharnaya, dom 12, stroenie 1, Moscow, Russia, 119991)
sdoctorfedorov100@rambler.ru

Lebedev V. Y., Fedoroff A. V. Modern medical praxis: mythologization, demiraclization, remythologization, or medicine at the crossroads again, 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, 2015, vol. 4, pp. 70–93.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2015-00005

Language: Russian

The modern sociocultural situation is characterized by the medicalization of number of human life’s areas. Carriers of neomythological consciousness create the world outlook basis of such perception, therefore the institutionalized medicine nowadays is perceived as new quasireligion.
The carriers of neomythological consciousness having scanty conceptions of religion and medicine create a huge number of the syncretic phenomena. These phenomena are analyzed in article from the viewpoint of bio-sociology and bio-semiotics. Such methodological approach is defined by conditions of internal scientific dynamics and necessity of “methodological audit” of number of basic concepts included in both medical and religious praxis.
Results of such theoretical analysis allow finding similarity between a modern religious and medical praxis. In addition, authors speak about the predictive importance of the received conclusions. The transition affecting areas of a medical and religious praxis is a social challenge. The worthy reply to it is the necessity dictated by circumstance of post secular society.
In practical relation authors declare the necessity of exclusion of elements of mythic-magical mentality that can be reached by a support on theological religiosity and scientific rationality.
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Key words: Medical praxis, medicalization of culture, physic, post-secular, neo- mythological renaissance

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/lebedev-fedoroff-2015-en/

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