Russification as a factor in religious conversion: making Lenin roll over in his grave
The Soviet project was as thoroughly atheist as any geopolitical system seen on the world stage. Yet in a way that V.I. Lenin could have never imagined, one of the main objectives of Soviet authorities has now become a significant factor in Central Asian Muslims converting to Christianity. Russifica...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2015]
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| In: |
Culture and religion
Year: 2015, Volume: 16, Issue: 4, Pages: 430-444 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Asia
/ Russification
/ Islam
/ Christianity
/ Conversion (Religion)
/ Cultural identity
/ History 1991-2013
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AX Inter-religious relations BJ Islam CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBK Europe (East) KBM Asia |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The Soviet project was as thoroughly atheist as any geopolitical system seen on the world stage. Yet in a way that V.I. Lenin could have never imagined, one of the main objectives of Soviet authorities has now become a significant factor in Central Asian Muslims converting to Christianity. Russification is the term normally used to describe the social process, whereby non-Russian peoples of the Soviet Union became acculturated into Russian patterns of life, thought and worldview during the Soviet era. The result was that many Muslims inhabited both Soviet/Russian and Muslim cultural space, thus creating a new cultural identity that facilitated religious conversion away from Islam. This field research report uses the lens of personal conversion stories to examine some aspects of this phenomenon. Also, the range of personal experiences points towards the need to understand Russification as a spectrum of acculturation. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-5610 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Culture and religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/14755610.2015.1109531 |