RT Article
T1 Russification as a factor in religious conversion: making Lenin roll over in his grave
JF Culture and religion
VO 16
IS 4
SP 430
OP 444
A1 Hoskins, Daniel G.
LA English
PB Taylor & Francis
YR 2015
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1647310911
AB 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.
DO 10.1080/14755610.2015.1109531