Islam and Traditional Culture in Present-Day Uzbekistan: Relationship and Features

The article discusses the changes that occur in the religious policy of Uzbekistan after gaining state independence (1991), and the impact that they have on various areas of everyday culture — traditional ceremonies, costume, religious and everyday behavior, etc. It is noted that along with justifi ed government measures aimed at preventing religious extremism are strengthening the control of offi cial Muslim organizations and their representatives over everyday life, over the execution of something only religious, but also family and social norms and ritual practices. The policy of religious tolerance and the course towards enlightened Islam, which is currently being conducted in Uzbekistan, imply not only the freedom of Muslims to openly demonstrate their religious affi liation through visits to mosques, the performance of Muslim rites, through special details of a costume, etc., but also the “purifi cation” of Islam from pre- Islamic performances and rituals that traditionally existed in the “everyday” form of its functioning among local Muslims, the modifi cation of ancient rites and rituals and the revaluation of cultural heritage. Modern realities determine the relevance of the ethnographic study of Islam in Central Asia and the need for new approaches to the study of traditional everyday and everyday culture — its consideration in the context of the processes that occur in regional Islam. The article is based on the author’s fi eld materials, mainly collected during trips to Uzbekistan.

Confessional policy of the Bolsheviks in the Сrimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1920-1930s

The article examines confessional politics in one of the most diffi cult periods for religious organizations that are the 20–30s of the XX century. At this time, active anti-religious work was carried out, so there were created some special organizations supposed to get rid of any manifestations of religious consciousness among the Soviet citizens. All the diversity of this policy is discussed on the example of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The policy that revealed the relation to the Orthodox and Muslim populations and took into account the national specifi cs of the region varied from relatively loyal attitude towards religious organizations in the 1920s to the events of the Great Terror of 1937–1938. The Crimean ASSR was multi-confessional. The authorities faced the need to compromise between the fi ght against religion and the desire not to aggravate confl icts with national minorities. The anti-religious policy was not supposed to confl ict with the policy of indigenousization. Throughout the pre-war twenty years, anti-religious work in the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was not fully implemented and was poorly organized. The slowdown in the implementation of the anti-religious line was caused by both unsuccessful selections of the personnel and insuffi cient funding of the anti-religious activities carried out.

Комсомольская организация Калмыкии и ее антирелигиозная деятельность (1921–1941 гг.)

The article aims to examine episodes of anti-religious activity of the Komsomol organization of Kalmykia in 1921–1941. The research is based on archival and published materials. The analysis of archival documents shows that despite the anti-religious policy actively pursued by Soviet authorities, the local party and Komsomol organizations failed to establish a system of effective anti-religious propaganda in Kalmykia. Notably, in their anti-religious activity, the Komsomol members had to deal with the multi-confessional population in Kalmykia. Granted the lack of guidelines for organizing the campaign against Buddhism, they often had to rely on practices used in the anti-religious work against Christianity: e.g., to follow the successful example of ‘Komsomol’ Christmas, the Tsagan Sar and other Kalmyk holidays were also introduced as ‘Komsomol’ events. Also, it was recommended that in their anti-religious work, the Komsomol activists were to take advantage of the split of the Buddhist clergy. After repressions against the clergy of all confessions that took place in the late 1930s, the anti-religious activity of the Komsomol organization in Kalmykia was reduced to formal work.

Adaptation and Sinicization: Contemporary Religious Policy of the CPC Leadership

The article examines the key stages in the evolution of the ideological and political approaches of the CPC leadership to religious activity since the beginning of the 21st century. The main points of the study were the Chinese interpretations of the problems of “adaptation to a socialist society” and “Sinicization.” The author tries to identify the relationship between continuity and innovation in the religious policy of the Chinese authorities, taking into account the historical context of the ongoing changes and responses from religious circles. Based on the methods of discourse analysis, an attempt has been made to demonstrate multi-faceted complexity of the problem of “Sinicization” and to outline the contours of all-embracing balanced approach to the study of this topic. The fi rst part of the article examines the foundations of the policy of directing religion towards “conformity to socialist society” formulated under Jiang Zemin. The second part analyzes the main components of Xi Jinping’s concept of “Sinicization” of religions. Chinese believers are encouraged to interpret religious dogmas in accordance with the requirements of social progress and in the spirit of conformity with the best traditions of Chinese culture. The article examines the main directions of “Sinicization” adopted by offi cially recognized religions, covering the spheres of doctrine and liturgical practice, practical work with believers, and training programs for clergy. It is emphasized that the one-sided reduction of “Sinicization” to the state-sponsored policy of “repression” prevents researchers from looking deeper into historical and cultural aspects of the problem. It is concluded that “Sinicization” of religions will help to prevent socio-political marginalization of religions in the course of deep transformations of modern China.

Religious Policy

A Roman emperor in late antiquity had to deal not only with military, administrative, and communicative matters, but also with the complex religious affairs of the time. Jovian was a Christian, and he made a clean break with Julian’s pro-pagan measures and returned to the religious policy of Constantine and Constantius II. He did not, however, issue anti-pagan measures. Jovian may have been in favor of Nicene Christianity if we can believe Athanasius’s letter addressed to him, as well as the Petitiones Arianorum. This set of four petitions to Jovian have been preserved among the apologetical writings of Athanasius and should therefore be treated with caution. In general, Jovian seems to have taken no sides in the various christological conflicts and debates of his time. He propagated religious tolerance as is evident from Themistius’s consular oration. Whether he issued a law of religious tolerance, as Themistius seems to suggest, remains in doubt. Regulating religion, dealing with dogmatic issues, or taking a position himself in religious conflicts seem not to have been among Jovian’s primary concerns.

Novella XVII in the Light of Lex Iulia de Maiestate: Hilarius of Arles Case Study

The main focus of this paper is an analysis of Novella XVII issued by Valentinian III, with the aim of giving a general idea on the religious policy of the Emperors Theodosius II and Valentinian III. The edict titled De episcoporum ordinatione is a great example of a legislative act falling between ius sacrum and ius publicum. It shows a rather extraordinary imperial intervention provoked by a conflict between Pope Leo and Hilary, bishop of Arles. The latter was accused of various ignoble deeds which corresponded with some of the definitions of crime as described in Lex Iulia de Maiestate from the 1st century BC. Other deeds that Hilary was accused of, however, cannot really be understood as a public offence aimed at the Emperor or the State. Under the influence of Leo, Valentinian officially acknowledged the preeminence of the Church of Rome in the Western Empire, giving grounds for further emanation of the papal power.

Religious policy of Sultan Abdul-Hamid II in the Syrian vilayets of the Ottoman Empire (1876-1909): methods and symbols

The author examines the religious and political course of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1876-1909), aimed at strengthening the unity of the Ottoman state and society based on the principles of Islam, and the implementation of this strategy in the Syrian provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The research is based on reports of contemporaries, as well as research works in Russian and English. Particular attention is paid to the strategic role of Ottoman Syria (including Lebanon and Palestine) in the context of strengthening the religious authority of the Sultan as the caliph of all Muslims and recruiting prominent ideologues and supporters of Islamic traditionalism from the Syrian vilayets to serve the Sultan. The author especially examines the role of wo representatives of the Muslim intellectual elite: the Sufi sheikh Abu-l-Huda al-Sayyadi as a close associate of the Sultan who provided patronage to the conservative ulama, as well as Ahmad Izzet Pasha al-Abid, who became the main inspirer of the Hejaz Railway. The article also reveals the features of the state policy towards religious minorities (both Muslim and non-Muslim) and migration processes in the Syrian provinces. With the weakening of the international positions of the Ottoman Empire and the strengthening of foreign interference, Syria set an example of relatively successful modernization based on Islamic tradition. At the same time, confessional identity continued to dominate over ethnicity, and the emerging feelings of Arab and Syrian patriotism did not conflict with the principle of Islamic unity of the subjects of the Sultan-Caliph.

Mingtang and Tiantang of the Empess Wu Zetian (624–705)

The article examines how the image of the “Bright Hall” ( Mingtang 明堂) was used in the ideological policy of Wu Zetian 武則天 (624–705). The Empress Wu Zetian was the first and only woman in the history of China who received the male title of em peror (Huangdi 皇帝) and founded a new state – Great Zhou (Da Zhou 大 周; 690–705). Traditionally, the history of the "Bright Hall" dates back to the Archaic times. The Ming[1] tang was one of the most important symbols of the Empire and also a political, administrative and religious centre. During the period under review, the Mingtang performed functions of its archaic prototype, which, most likely, should have put the Empress on a par with the semi-legendary rulers from Antiquity. Besides, The Empress was a patron of the Buddhist teachings. This has found its reflection in the type of official ceremonies held there. The “Bright Hall” became the place for holding Buddhist religious events. The “Heavenly Hall” (Tiantang 天堂), which became the seat of the majestic statue of Buddha, was also included in the complex. During the reign of Wu Zetian, the “Bright Hall” had to be built twice after the first Mingtang (constructed in 689) was destroyed by fire. The Empress ordered the complex to be re-built as soon as possible. This fact shows how important was considered the "Bright Hall" for the purpose of modelling the image of an ideal ruler. While observing the events, which took place in Mingtang, one can notice how diverse was the religious policy of Wu Zetian. It is also evident that the Empress tried to make Buddhist ceremonies a part of the state rituals. There is also no doubt that the purpose of holding both traditional and Buddhist ceremonies in the “Bright Hall” was to confirm the legitimacy of Wu Zetian as an Emperor.

Political thought in XVI century France about heterodoxy and religious police of the State

The paper deals with the problem of French political thought in XVI century and focuses on the problem of heterodoxy. The author studies the interpretation of this problem in the context of the problem of civil wars and attempts to analyze the requirements of political theorists to the religious policy of the state.