Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия (Dec 2020)
Dialectics of the secular and the sacred in soviet reality
Abstract
This article off ers theoretical approaches to the analysis of the phenomenon of Soviet ideology and specifi es the relationship between the processes of secularisation and sacralisation in Soviet society. The historical process of the 20th century led to a complex transformation of the worldview of the Soviet man. At the beginning of the Soviet period, there was a replacement of the Orthodox faith, the bearer of which was the peasant majority of the population of the USSR, with a Soviet ideological construction. In many ways, this construction falls under the concept of quasireligion; it has its own doctrine, ideological narrative, proletarian morality, specifi c civil rites, party structure similar to the Church. A special Soviet culture was created, guided by the principles of socialist realism and having its own specifi c symbolism. A significant place in the Soviet quasi-religion was occupied by the cult of the leader. The main diff erence between Soviet ideology and traditional religion was a complete absence of a transcendental component which was replaced by the eschatologism of the beginning of a new historical aeon, the building of paradise on Earth. At the same time, there was a process of secularisation in consciousness of the Soviet people through an educational system in which they acquired a positivist picture of the world deprived of sacred features. This rationalisation of consciousness, as well as the political events of the 50s, led to a gradual loss of attractiveness of Soviet ideology for a large part of the population, but, on the other hand, intensifi ed the spiritual quest of Soviet people in the post-war period of Soviet history. These quests were directed towards traditional Orthodoxy, towads various forms of esotericism, towards increased interest in paranormal phenomena. Following this, in the late Soviet period there appeared a worldview that can be characterised as inclined to all mysterious, unusual, miraculous. One can regard this as a manisfestation of the innate fondness for the transcendental, generally typical of people. It is possible to agree with N. Demerath who argued that secularisation and sacralisation are symbiotic processes. The rejection of a traditional religion (secularisation) led to uncritical acceptance of the Communist quasi-religious ideology (sacralisation), disappointment in it and acquisition of the positivist worldview (secularisation); this leads to a crisis and again pushes the person to religion in its more traditional understanding (sacralisation). Therefore, the current religious situation in Russia can be described as post-secular.
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