Orthodoxy, Islam, and the Desecularization of Russia's State Schools

Abstract

This article explores the social origins and consequences of Orthodox-Muslim tensions surrounding the attempts to find a place for religion in Russia's state schools. It demonstrates that the Orthodox-Muslim tensions are an inevitable outcome of what we define as Russia's pattern of “desecularization from above.” The attempts to restore religious education are carried out by alliances of top religious and political elites, which almost by default focus on the state-run schools. These attempts run into serious social and institutional constraints, and generate considerable Orthodox-Muslim tensions and controversies spilling over to public opinion. On the surface, the Orthodox-Muslim tensions often appear in the form ironically resembling “culture wars” between religious traditionalists and secularists in the West. Our survey data indicate that public support for religious instruction in state-run schools has reached high levels and is infused with a noticeable element of religious intolerance. We predict that further attempts to desecularize Russia's state schools “from above” may have destabilizing effects in society and fuel ethno-religious tensions.

Religious Education in Russia: Inter-Faith Harmony or Neo-Imperial Toleration?

“…First, there was vociferous and energetic resistance from secular intellectuals, educators, opposition politicians, and human rights activists. The second type of serious resistance came from Muslim leaders (see Lisovskaya & Karpov, 2010) and other minority religious groups who feared the new arrangements would further disadvantage them by privileging Orthodoxy. Remarkably, since the criticisms came from very different angles, both sides' arguments against bringing religion into schools emphasized the constitutionally secular nature of the Russian state and Russian education, as well as the need to protect religious freedom and human rights.…”

“…Russification of the republics potentially involved their Orthodoxization, further reinforcing the minority status of non-Orthodox ethnic groups. Moreover, this mixing of cultures and ethnicities within regions prepared the ground for future tensions and conflicts, including ones that surrounded religious education in public schools after the collapse of communism (Lisovskaya & Karpov, 2010).…”

Introduction: the image of Islam in Russia

“…These tensions often coincide with events, such as acts of terrorism, occurring in the Russian Federation. The efforts to find a place for religion in Russian schools through alliances between political and religious elites fuelled Orthodox-Muslim tensions during attempts to de-secularise state schools from above (Lisovskaya 2010). There are also security concerns.…”

"Spiritual and Moral Education" in Russian Public Schools: Constructing a Neo-traditionalist Identity

“…The ideology of teaching religion in the post-Soviet Russian public schools have been already examined by a number of researchers (Mitrokhin, 2000(Mitrokhin, , 2004(Mitrokhin, , 2005Glanzer, 2005;Halstead, 1994;Willems, 2007;Lisovskaya and Karpov, 2010;Shnirelman, 2011Shnirelman, , 2012Shnirelman, , 2017Köllner, 2016;Lisovskaya, 2016;Lisovskaya, 2017). It was shown that the introduction of religion-related courses is considered a visible embodiment of church-state relations, when the attempt to implement a model of church-state separation ultimately failed and "the regime increasingly drew upon the country's traditional religion not only as a source of legitimacy, but also for political support" (Marsh 2013: 20).…”