Results of Youth Poll on Religious Issues Reported

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

in national self-awareness which has been manifested more and more vigorously in recent years carries in itself somewhat idealized ideas of the role of religion in natinoal culture. Thus, 23 percent of the creative youth feel that national culture cannot exist without religion. and overall 16.4 percent of the respondents hold this point of view.

A fact that draws attention is that four percent think that religion under contemporary conditions is a "form of defense of national interests" and express the opinion that religious fundamentals should be taught in school. About 10 percent of the young people surveyed think that in the process of religious organizations' more active interaction with society they must be represented in state organs, and 14 percent propose organizing broad access to the mass information media for religious organizations.

It appears that such a "radical" position in part of the intelligentsia may be caused by a reaction of rejection of that "atheistic" stereotype that has been artificially imposed for many years. At the same time it is direct evidence of an inadequately mature civic position in some young people, a result of equating the concepts of religion and morality, religion and culture, and so in the ideas of these young people.

A significant number of respondents (about 30 percent) expressed the opinion that one of the primary reasons for the preservation of religious feeling is shortcomings in the system of education and indoctrination, which does not adequately mold a scientific materialist worldview. Thus, to the question, "Did the knowledge received in these classes help you in realizing and formulating principles and goals in life and in searching for answers to the questions that are important to you?" 38 percent answered, "No," and 30 percent were unable to give any answer at all. But this is just one aspect of the general problem of dehumanization of the system of education and indoctrination.

Along with the youth intelligentsia these same questions were answered by a group of young believers, followers of the Hare Krishna cult. The answers to questions about the level of teaching of history and literature are practically the same for both groups. But 70 percent of the believers gave a negative assessment to the role of the humanitarian knowledge received in school. If we consider that the ranks of the believers are filled most often by emotional, suggestible types who are easily wounded psychologically, then the damage to their spiritual world that is caused by the mechanical, stereotyped approach to humanitarian culture could have been the initial impetus to withdraw into religious mysticism. it is not surprising that an absolute majority (95 percent) of them think that religion fosters an awakening of the higher spiritual principle in people.

While traditional, canonical religious culture attracts the attention of about half of the respondents, a majority (80 percent) are interested in questions linked to mysterious phenomena of nature and the human mind (UFO's, telepathy, telekinesis, the biofield, and the like). There is a notable infatuation with dream books, horoscopes, fortune telling, and the like. Although 36 percent consider all of these things a kind of "game" and something to do "from boredom." 32 percent of the young people surveyed link fortune telling with a hope to avoid dangers and unpleasantness and a desire to know one's future, and almost as many say that they have encountered cases which verified certain signs, predictions, and so on.

I would like to point out one other aspect of the problem of non-traditional religion. This is that because of a certain eclecticism and primitivism the so-called "neocults" are unable to perform the religious compensatory function and cannot serve as a adequate means of individual social adaptation. Therefore, politization of the activity of non-traditional religious groups is almost inevitable. This is confirmed by foreign experience, and by our own domestic experience. Most of the existing associations which to one degree or another have a religious (or pseudoreligious) orientation are drawn to consolidation. Steps are being taken to work out common ideas and programs whose purpose is to form a political organization of believers, persons united by "space religion," and so on.

Many Soviet social scientists are now speaking of the "need to refine the existing pactices in classifying believers with religious organizations considering the real processes in the ideology and activity of our country's religious organizations." But while rejecting vulgar atheism which has been imposed on mass consciousness for many years, we must understand that idealized ideas of religion and religious organizations are also unwise and usually result from inadequate theoretical literacy and humanitarian culture.

Under conditions of continued democratization of public life in the country the activity of religious organizations, including the non-traditional ones, will grow. Overall this is natural, and given all the diversity of the situation there must be broader interaction with religious oragnizations and groups of believers in the social, cultural, and sociopolitical spheres. Joint activity by religious, public, and state organizations offers an opportunity for believers to achieve social self-realization not only in the religious sphere, but also in solving socially significant problems. Such interaction can help reorient the individual and mold a scientific materialist worldview through concrete activity, through solving joint problems that are equally important to believers and non-believers.