Religion and Politics in Russia: A Reader

ISBN-13: 9780765624147 / Angielski / Twarda / 2009 / 416 str.

Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer

Opis

Russia is not only vast, it is also culturally diverse, the core of an empire that spanned Eurasia. In addition to the majority Russian Orthodox and various other Christian groups, the Russian Federation today includes large communities of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and followers of many new and traditional religious identities. All are in a state of ferment; only four are legally recognized: Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. This collection provides entry into the diversity of Russia's religious communities. Marjorie Balzer's introduction illuminates the political, social, and cultural-anthropological dimensions of the subject. The book is then organized by religious tradition with an introduction to each group of readings, all of which were originally translated from Russian for special issues of the noted journal Anthropology and Archaeology of Eurasia. The authors include ethnologists, sociologists, political analysts, and religious leaders from many regions of the Federation. They analyze the changing dynamics of religion and politics within each community, and in the context of the current drive to recentralize both political and religious authority in Moscow. The coverage extends from the reassertions of Russian Orthodoxy to the influence of Christian missionaries to stirrings in Russia's many non-Christian communities, both old and new.

Spis treści

List of Figures and Tables; Introduction; Part I. Christianity: Orthodoxy and Others; 1. Russia: Trends in Orthodox Religiosity in the Twentieth Century (Statistics and Reality) Kira V. Tsekhanskaia; 2. Icon in the Home Kira V. Tsekhanskaia; 3. People of the Schism (1667-2007) Oleg L. Shakhnazarov; 4. Russian Lutheranism: Between Protestantism, Catholicism, and Russian Orthodoxy Sergei Filatov and Aleksandra Stiopina; 5. Religious Searching and New Religious Organizations G. V. Eremicheva; 6. The Catholic Community of St. Petersburg: The Phenomenon of Conversion and the Transformation of Power Relations la. B. Moravitskii; Part II. Islam: Sunnis and Shi'ites in Cultural Perspective; 7. "Folk Islam" and Muslim Youth of the Central and Northwest Caucasus Akhmet A. Yalykapov; 8. For Us, Religion Is Life Tamara Sivertseva; 9. Anyone for Polygamy? A Marriage Boom in Ingushetia Is Not Expected Abu Gadaborshev; 10. Islam and Muslims in Contemporary Tatarstan Roza M. Musina; Part III. Judaism: From Persecution to Revival; 11. Who Are Those Mountain Jews? Mikhail Chlenov; 12. Russian Jews: The Confessional Situation in Late Twentieth Century Semen la. Kozlov; 13. Judaism Throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States? Semen Charnyi; Part IV. Buddhism: Cultural Variations; 14. Lamaism Natalia L.Zhukovskaia; 15. The Revival of Buddhism in Buryatia: Problems and Prospects Natalia L. Zhukovskaia; 16. Buddhists of Russia at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century Natalia L. Zhukovskaia; 17. Lamaism in Kalmykia Elza P. Bakaeva; Part V. Old and New Religious Movements: Burkhanism and Falun Gong; 18. Burkhanism in Gorny Altai Liudmilla I. Sherstova; 19. The Phenomenon of "White Faith" in Southern Siberia Andrei Vinogradov; 20. Activity of the Chinese Religious Movement Falun Gong in Russia Liudmilla A. Kravchuk; Part VI. Shamanism: Syncretism and Revival of Traditional Worldviews; 21. Traditional Religious Beliefs of the Peoples of Sayano-Altai and Problems of Religious Syncretism Olga M. Khomushku; 22. The Teleut Ritual Chymyr: Exorcism and Explanation Dmitri A. Funk; Recommended Readings; Index; About the Editor.

O autorze

Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer