Does Russia need to strengthen role of religion in society?

In 2015 Russia is celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the death of Duke Vladimir, whose activities are equated to the acts of the apostles of Christ by the Church. At the end of XIII - the beginning of XIV centuries, Duke Vladimir was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as equal-to-the-apostles and the day of his veneration is now celebrated as the Day of the Christianization of Russia. At a reception which brought together representatives of government, civil associations, the Russian Orthodox Church and all traditional religions of Russia, Vladimir Putin emphasized the fact that "Duke Vladimir initiated the formation of a unified Russian nation, stopping civil strife and crushing external enemies, actually paved the way for the construction of a strong, centralized Russian state. Russia strengthened, increased its power and authority in the eyes of close and distant neighbors, had an equal conversation with the peoples of the West and the East ... We are faithful to the choice of Duke Vladimir. We cherish the peace and accord in our multinational country."

Looking at the president, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said: "I would like to say special words of congratulations to those who bear the name of Saint equal-to-the-apostles Duke, including to our president. You have a double celebration today, on your name and patronymic day. It is certainly an honor and a responsibility to be named in honor of the Baptist of Russia. I wish you, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, and all those who are celebrating his name day today, to always see his patron as a high, great example. And, for my part, I believe that the Holy Duke Vladimir extends his protection over all who bear his name and who continue his work."

According to the Patriarch, "against the background of the tragic events in the world, we especially acutely feel the need for the strengthening of  Orthodox unity, solidarity and mutual support .... Although today there are independent states on the territory of historical Russia, I believe those peoples have a desire to be united spiritually. Because there is a belief at the core of our life , elected by Holy Duke Vladimir, the man who shaped the contours of the great Eurasian state, on which territory there are independent countries now. Especially clearly we need to know this, referring to the spiritual unity of the fraternal peoples that came from a baptismal font - the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus."

Meanwhile, according to VCIOM, today Russians evaluate the strengthening the role of religion in the society more negatively than a quarter of century ago. However, in this case the majority recognizes that religion helps them to cope with various difficulties in life.

So, if in 1990 the majority of respondents (61%) agreed with the assertion that growth of religious belief would benefit the community, now it is only a third (36%). On the contrary, today they speak more often about the danger of the spread of religious belief in society – 5% in 1990 and 23% in 2015.

The VCIOM Head of Communications, Alexei Firsov, commenting on the poll, said that "it was fashionable to be a neophyte 25 years ago: religion was not only a personal belief, but also a wide social fashion, coupled with the lifting of political restrictions. However, a few significant changes have taken place in the last quarter of a century, which have weakened this trend."

Among those changes Firsov named:

First, a large detachment of the concept of "church" from the concept of "faith", which almost didn't occur in the early 1990s. The Church as an institution has met with public criticism on a number of points of the internal life of a Church.

Secondly, the psychological structure of society has changed, because the consumer society does not imply the development of religious feelings.

Thirdly, after an outburst of enthusiasm, a natural period of emotional alignment began. Firsov positively assessed the fact that the share of those who recognize that religion helps them in their personal lives grew five-fold: "This means that religion, losing its institutional position, is increasingly becoming a matter of private order, of daily attention."

According to sociological research, the Russian population wants to live in a secular state, but they are not against the participation of churches in the moral and spiritual life of society.

Every tenth person believes that the country needs a certain religious component. 47% think that the church should influence the spiritual life of society, but it should not interfere in politics. Nearly half of the respondents believe that the church is now correctly building relations with society, expressing its position only when it is necessary and not interfering in matters not related to it. At the same time, more than a half of the population wants to live in a country where religion has no significant impact on the lives of most people, and belief or unbelief is a private matter.