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Church and State Policy in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Period: Comparative Analysis
The article concerns the research of the extent to which the specifics of the political system of a society infl uences its religiosity. The problem is considered on the basis of a comparison of church-state relations in the totalitarian Soviet society and in the modern Russian society, in which the sprouts of democracy are inconsistently combined with elements of authoritarianism.
The specifi cs of church-state relations in the totalitarian Soviet state are manifested in the complete control of the state over the activities of the ROC and other religious organizations, the marginalization of religious organizations (including the ROC) from public life, and the complete loyalty of the ROC to the state.
In post-Soviet Russia, the religious situation looks more complex and contradictory. First, this refl ects itself in the fact that the Russian state is abandoning the policy of militant atheism and is building church-state relations based on an ever-stronger alliance with the ROC, seeking to return it to the public space to a considerable degree. However, the rapprochement of the ROC and the state largely creates its dependence on secular power. The inconsistency of religious processes in post-Soviet Russia also lies in the fact that, on the one hand, the principle of freedom of conscience is implemented to a certain extent in the Russian Federation, which is expressed in the pluralism of religious organizations operating in our country, but, on the other hand, the state increasingly seeks to control the religious sphere.
The specifi cs of church-state relations in the totalitarian Soviet state are manifested in the complete control of the state over the activities of the ROC and other religious organizations, the marginalization of religious organizations (including the ROC) from public life, and the complete loyalty of the ROC to the state.
In post-Soviet Russia, the religious situation looks more complex and contradictory. First, this refl ects itself in the fact that the Russian state is abandoning the policy of militant atheism and is building church-state relations based on an ever-stronger alliance with the ROC, seeking to return it to the public space to a considerable degree. However, the rapprochement of the ROC and the state largely creates its dependence on secular power. The inconsistency of religious processes in post-Soviet Russia also lies in the fact that, on the one hand, the principle of freedom of conscience is implemented to a certain extent in the Russian Federation, which is expressed in the pluralism of religious organizations operating in our country, but, on the other hand, the state increasingly seeks to control the religious sphere.
state, church organizations, non-traditional religious movements, ROC, totalitarianism, authoritarianism, democracy