Europe and the Muslims: Debating the Foundations of State Policy

This article discusses theoretical issues behind the current shift in the policy of European states towards Islamic communities. The shift is driven by the idea that the values of political Islam are incompatible with Western values; that the main driver behind radicalization is ideology and that even non‑violent Islamists gradually prepare the Muslim youth to embracing violence. Based on current academic discussions as well as the results of the author’s own research, the author concludes that the opponents of these ideas have serious counter‑ arguments. In their views, radicalization can be explained by a wide range of different factors. Violent and non‑violent Islamists compete for the audience, and therefore, not only can non‑violent Islamists embrace jihadist views but also, vice versa, some jihadists can change their position to non‑violence. Moreover, Muslim values, as well as those of the Islamists, are not necessarily antagonistic in all their aspects with the values of Western democracies. Various theoretical approaches form the basis for an alternative program of practical measures that could be implemented in the future.

Post-Christian or Post-Atheistic Society? Some Characteristics of the Russian Regime of Secularity

The authors argue that the specificity of the Russian case of secularity is generally underestimated. This leads to two negative consequences. First, it leads researchers to considering the regimes of secularity in Eastern Europe as variations of the “Soviet model,” which is false. Second, it entails inaccuracies in the analysis of the regime of secularity that has developed in post‑Soviet Russia that the authors propose to describe as “post‑atheistic.” The special Russian case implied the destruction of the very mechanism of religious and cultural transmission during the period of communist rule. This is where other features of the post‑atheistic society stem from: a relatively low relevance of religious symbols and narratives for the social fabric; the involvement of religious agency in the projects of nation‑building and, there‑ fore, a predominantly ideological, rather than religious, motivation of the subjects of such agency; a top‑down, rather than bottom‑up, dynamic of the post‑Soviet return of religion to the public sphere; the lack of a broad public support of the state activities in this field; wide‑ spread polarization of views on the role of public religion in modern society — either linking religion to cultural backwardness, or the total rejection of modernity and secular culture.

Spirits Offering Protection: The Cult of General Đoàn Thượng in Vietnam in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article discusses the changes that have occurred in the ceremonies of the spirits cult in village communities of Vietnam during the COVID‑19 pandemic and offers a case study of General Đoàn Thượng’s (1181–1228) cult. I compare two ceremonies: commemoration of the General’s spirit in the temple in his native village in Hải Dương province on May 1, 2018 (my own fieldwork) and a closed ceremony in the same temple which were broadcasted on the Internet on April 8, 2020. The feast in honor of a rural spirit, previously the most popular village event, was reduced to a ceremony with offerings and prayers in front of the altar which was performed by the representatives of Đoàn clan. On the one hand, this version of the ceremony weakens the integration of the village community and eliminates such an important religious practice as pilgrimage. On the other hand, restrictive measures brought the ceremony closer to its traditional form: ordinary community members, women, tourists were excluded from participation in the rituals, while the Đoàn clan’s members directly communicated with the spirits, the way it is prescribed by tradition.

“COVID Theology”, or the “Significant Storm” of the Coronavirus Pandemic

The article examines various theological aspects of the perception of the coronavirus pandemic in the global Orthodoxy in general and the Russian Orthodox Church in particular. Among other aspects, it touches upon issues pertinent to the practices of celebration and distribution of the Eucharist under the conditions of hygienic restrictions. It also explores Christological arguments in support of each practice. The article proposes some particular interpretations of both phenomenology and etiology of the so‑called Covid dissidence. It argues that artificial polarization on the ideological grounds between the so‑called “liberals” and “conservatives” is one of the reasons why many bishops, priests, and lay people in the Russian Orthodox Church mistrust the quarantine measures.

A Roundtable. France Against “Separatism” and “Parallel Societies”: A New Policy towards the Muslims, Its Possible Consequences, and Alternatives

The roundtable addressed the foreseeable consequences of, and possible alternatives to, the policy towards Muslim communities in France enunciated in a number of documents, including the new legislation that envisages “strengthening republican principles.” The focus of the roundtable was on the following issues: 1) Does the new legislation correctly identify “Islamic separatism” as the main cause of the problems with the integration of migrants in France?; 2) What can be consequences of the practical implementation of the new legislation?; 3) Is there an alternative to the proposed policy and what measures could be more effective? The roundtable participants discussed different approaches referring to the results of their own observations and research. French policy was viewed from the pan‑European perspective as well as in terms of its correlation with the Russian experience.

Resistance and Submission. Pandemic, Late Modern Epistemes, and Russian Orthodox Ethos

The article discusses the reactions within the Russian Orthodox Church to the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Based on materials from the press, religious and secular Internet‑resources and online forums, the article systematizes the variety of responses of Orthodox priests, laity and church leaders to the unprecedented interruption of liturgical cycle and church sociality in the period of sanitary restrictions. The extraordinary challenges of the pandemic period revealed otherwise less obvious trends within the Orthodox milieu, and the nature of its ambivalent correlation with the basic epistemes of the late modern secular society.

The Digitalization of Worship Practices during the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Context of the Mediatization of Orthodoxy

The article describes how the closure of churches during the Easter period due to the COVID‑19 pandemic and the quarantine measures led to the shift of everyday liturgical and communication practices to online forms. The experience of distance church life” in April‑June 2020 has shown that both the mediatization of Orthodoxy and the development of Orthodox segment of the internet reached a fundamentally new stage. The author examines this stage using the concept of participatory culture introduced by Henry Jenkins and the cultural studies approaches based on the categories of interactivity and immersion. The shared experience of online worship over a span of several months and the degree of participants’ co‑presence and emotional involvement point to a new level of mediatization that entailed the production and consumption of textual, audio and video content in the course of vertical and horizontal communication. This experience also showed the active development of participatory practices, including the strengthening of interactivity of worship, the unprecedented intensity of immersion, and the prospects of substantial changes in the liturgical life driven by digitalization.

Torah against the Virus, Rabbis against the Government: Ultra-Orthodoxy Facing the Pandemic

The paper discusses a number of the most remarkable responses to the COVID‑19 pandemic and to the social isolation measures coming from several, mostly ultra‑Orthodox, Jewish communities in Israel, the United States, and Russia. It examines major elements of the crisis discourse, i.e., the hermeneutics of the causes and meanings of the pandemic; the affirmation of group borders and hierarchies as a result of the search for culprits; the relations between the religious community and the state; as well as the possible transformations of social behavior and ritual practices resulting from the crisis.

The Gnostic Trope in Contemporary Media Culture

The article applies the Gnostic trope as the most suitable tool for analyzing religious components of contemporary mass culture. Christopher Partridge’s theory of occulture serves as a methodological framework. The Gnostic trope includes the following elements: the idea that our world is a prison created for the torment of man; that it is controlled by the evil Creator of this world — the demiurge; that some exceptional persons, the Gnostics, are able to unravel the deceptive nature of reality and offer gnosis — a kind of extra‑rational experience. The way this trope functions is illustrated by examples of the writers such as L. Darell, F. Dick, and V. Pelevin; a rapper Oxymiron; the movies such as “The Matrix” or “The Truman Show”. The article offers an explanation of the popularity of the Gnostic trope. Сurrent global trends and the spread of digital culture led to general uncertainty and disorientation, and people feel imprisoned in a sort of panopticon, as described by Michel Foucault. The Gnostic trope means an attempt to personalize this impersonal power by identifying it with the demiurge.