PROBLEM OF INTERCONFESSIONAL INTERACTIONS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF CHRISTIANS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE

Abstract

In the modern post-secular world it is necessary to notice thе role of religion as a basis of European culture (including Russian culture). Secularization itself, according to J. Vattimo, is a product of development of the Christian civilization. Our modern pluralistic world саn’t be any more an object of interpretation seeking to bring it together by all means for the sake of the final truth. In this context secularization is the main event in the history of Europe and of the countries of the European culture (including Russia), it is one more stage of interpretation of the text of the Bible which displaces it in relation to sacral, placing it in other dimension where the profane and the sacral are inseparable from each other. The culture of modern Europe has to be understood as secularized Christianity, because Christianity, according to Vattimo, is the only constituting element of modern European identity. Secularization in this case is a process of change of religious outlook towards release of the individual from any form of public control in religious views that is privatization and the subjectivation of religion. The process of the subjectivation of religion is connected with the European project of Enlightenment. The age of Enlightenment generated anthropocentric thinking. Under the influence of ideas of Enlightenment the system of primary, secondary and higher education was formed in the Russian Empire. At the same time education was initially based on Christian values. The task of our article isn’t consideration of problems and decisions which were caused by this religious and confessional orientation concerning, for example, Judaic, Muslim or Buddhist education. We consider the process of interaction of Christian educational traditions in the system of religious education in the Russian Empire. At the same time it must be kept in mind that primary education was either under patronage of the church, or under strong influence of church structures.

Keywords

• russian empire
• education system
• religion
• christianity
• religious education