On the question of the religious factor in politics

• Main Author: S. V. Perevezentsev
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Publishing House of Lomonosov Moscow State University 2021-05-01
• Series: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta: Seriâ 18, Sociologiâ i Politologiâ
• Subjects: religion; religious factor in world politics; spirituality; spiritual confrontation; spiritual impoverishment; spiritual and political processes
• Online Access: https://vestnik.socio.msu.ru/jour/article/view/853
• ISSN: 1029-3736; 2541-8769

The article examines the phenomenon of the religious factor in modern world politics, suggests taking into account the religious factor along with other factors of historical development (economic, political, social, natural and climatic, etc.). From the traditionalist point of view, the confrontation between the teachings of humanism and traditional religions is shown, as a spiritual confrontation of various religious teachings. The main spiritual and political processes in the modern world are revealed: the process of purposeful destruction of traditional values, religions and cultures and the process of reviving traditional values, religions and cultures in order to preserve the “blooming complexity”, i.e., the civilizational diversity of the world community. In the first process, on the basis of numerous data, shows the struggle of the supporters of the religious-philosophical doctrine of humanism with traditional religious teachings, especially Christianity, and the main task of this struggle provided dechristianization of man and society, because the Christian faith is the basis of the locomotive of world history, European civilization. The main goal of this struggle is to replace Christianity and the traditional world religions with the religion of man-God, i.e., humanism and rationalism. The author reveals the meaning of the concept of transhumanism: the creation of an artificial, unified, fully controlled world populated by biological objects without individuality or any personal characteristics at all. Thus, the ant-human essence of the religion of man-god is revealedthe destruction of the “natural man”. The article presents the main essential features of the second spiritual-political process, which is opposite to the first one. On the basis of numerous sociological studies, it is proved that in general, there is a noticeable increase in traditional religiosity and the importance of traditional religions in the world. The strengthening of the role of traditional religions and religious organizations in the life of society, especially Orthodoxy and the Russian Orthodox Church, is also recorded in Russia. At the same time, the article notes the contradictory nature of both processes, the confrontation of which is still far from complete. As a result of the analysis, three main conclusions are made. First, in the future, those peoples and civilizations whose spiritual roots will be the strongest will remain and will determine world politics, and traditional spiritual meanings and values will continue to be significant for the majority of members of a particular community. Second, those nations and civilizations that will continue to be in a state of spiritual impoverishment and, as a result, will finally lose their own spiritual sovereignty will be the losers, even to the point of complete disappearance. Third, the rejection of traditional religions, meanings and values in favor of the religion of man-god can lead humanity to the physical disappearance and replacement of “natural man” with “artificial intelligence”.