Religious and Political Attitudes in the Mass Consciousness of Dagestan Youth
Abstract
The study of religious and political attitudes of young people at the all-Russian and regional levels is always of great interest for the research community. The paper is based on the results of a mass political and sociological survey of 1 220 young people (aged from 18 to 25 years old) of the Republic of Dagestan in 2017. The sociological survey was conducted throughout Dagestan, among young men and women living in cities and rural areas. The study touches upon the assessment of religious revival, the characteristics of the religious situation in Dagestan, the aggravation of the religious situation in the republic, the youth’s preferences for social and State organization, the orientation of contacts with Islamic states, the attitudes of youth to ISIS and the likelihood of their participation in the ranks of ISIS and other religion-based terrorist organizations, the attitude of youth towards the military actions of Russia against ISIS in Syria, the sources of religious information, reflecting the religious component on interethnic relations. The study shows that the level of religiosity among Dagestan youth is at a high level, which is especially evident in some issues, and this causes some concern. However, this phenomenon is not critical. Young people remain oriented towards secularism in the State system. For young people, the economic and political factor is more important than the religious one, which has more spiritual and moral significance. The youth is aware of and supports the foreign policy course of the country’s leadership and approves the military-political policy in Syria.
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