The article presents the cultural foundations informing the pedagogical theorization of social education in Russian pedagogy. It demonstrates the trends within the theory of social education while taking into account changes in sociocultural conditions in the XX century. [This article was translated by Kenneth Cargill.]

In geographical areas bordering those of other states, the function of educational systems, as the means for states to foster their citizens, is challenged by ambiguities and tensions connected to intercultural experiences. In this article, I illustrate some of the findings from a project that studies religious education in four border areas…

Despite the increased trend towards secularisation in state schooling, issues of religion and spirituality have remained important. Increased pluralism within societies through expanding migration patterns is changing the religious and cultural contours of many countries in Europe and North America, and is creating a need for a deeper…

The article compares the data from a survey reflecting college students' perception of the social and political role of the Russian Orthodox Church with the results of nationwide Russian surveys for the purpose of determining the degree to which the basic conclusions coincide or differ. [This article was translated by Kim Braithwaite.]

This article is based on the data cultivated from a teaching experiment carried out in one of the institutions in the city of Tyumen. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the necessity for education of religious and national tolerance through the study of special disciplines of the confessional and ethno-cultural content, for removing…

Using a socio-psychological approach, the essay explores Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. The exploration highlights Dostoyevsky's heavy reliance on the use of psychological realism, showing in the process the intricate interplay between psychology, sociology and literature. In the novel, the reader comes across the merging of the…

This is a case study of the historical development of a private Christian faith-based school of higher education in post-Soviet Russia from its conception in 1990 until 2010. This binational school was founded as Russian-American Christian University (RACU) in 1996. In 2003, business and economics as well as social work undergraduate academic…

This long-awaited synthesis approaches the past three centuries with an eye to highlighting the importance of significant schools, as well as important women educators in the emergence of secondary education for girls. At the same time, each contributor pays careful attention to the specific political, cultural, and socio-economic factors that…

The focus of this dissertation is the highly specialized and stylized liturgical language of Russian Church Slavonic (RCS). Historically, RCS has been strictly controlled by authorities and has conformed to established norms, but innovations have nevertheless arisen in response to various conditions. One major wave of innovations was a long,…

The activities of religious organizations have been the cause of numerous disputes first and foremost because it was only relatively recently that these organizations came to be involved as active agents in antinarcotics policy, and there is little if any unanimity of opinion as regards how "useful" or "harmful" they are in…

The term "first contact" usually conjures up an image of a group of European soldiers landing on a beach in the New World, their ship anchored just offshore, while a large group of Natives approaches the soldiers. On both sides there is caution but also curiosity. Beyond the physical collision of two different peoples there is also a…

In spite of the renaissance of the religious worldview, practical experience provides evidence that the level of morality and spiritual life in society is not rising. Quite the contrary, in fact: people are witnessing the extensive spread of various forms of deviant behavior, especially among young people. In the sociology of religion a great deal…

The question of religious education is one of the most controversial questions in the current discussions on religion and politics in Russia. Most notably a new subject, Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture (FOC), is of interest because it differs markedly from Western European approaches to religious education. Referring to "Culturology"…

The problem of the study of religion in the system of secular education hinges on the "reproduction of religiousness" in the secular school and, more broadly, in Russian society space, via the process of mass education. It is the prospect of expanded reproduction of religious consciousness, of religious psychology and practices as a…

Although the history of Christianity in Russia dates back to the tenth century, the history of private Christian higher education in Russia is no more than a decade. This paper first explains the historical reasons for this fact and then describes the contemporary development of faith-based private education in Russia over the past decade. When…