Problems of actualization and conceptualization of the course "Orthodox culture" in the modern Russian system of higher professional education

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleПроблемы актуализации и концептуализации курса «православная культура» в современной российской системе высшего профессионального образования
3. Language term Russian
4. lemma author Asliturk, Miriam
5. lemma category Ecumenism and dialogue > Westernism and anti-westernism - Ecumenism and dialogue > Education - Scientific theories and disciplines > Psychology-Psychoanalysis - Culture and national identities
6. Publication date 19-07-2018
7. lemma work Головушкин, Дмитрий Александрович [Author]. Проблемы актуализации и концептуализации курса «православная культура» в современной российской системе высшего профессионального образования
8. lemma manifestations Universum: Вестник Герценовского университета
9. Keywords Russian Orthodoxy - Higher Education - religious education - consumerism - globalisation - individualism - culture - psychology
10. Url Click Here
11. Citations
    1. <p>Головушкин, Д. А. (2013). Проблемы актуализации и концептуализации курса «Православная культура» в современной Российской системе высшего профессионального образования. <em>Universum: Вестник Герценовского университета</em>, (2), 110-117.</p>
12. Lemma body

    1. The article argues that today’s industrialized West, including Russia, faces an acute crisis, generated by unlimited cultural and social pluralism. Culture has become uncomfortable and sinister, as complex historically-conditioned structures of self-understanding and self-identity lose their meaning. The individualism of the New Age, which has recently emphasized the depth of each individual, begins to change its semantic content. Today, it gives birth to the doctrine of the individual, in which the elusive distinction between private and social life is erased. This leads to the emergence of phenomena of narcissism, nihilism, isolation and disruption of personality. In addition, in the context of psychological coercion, which exploits the basic stereotyped reactions of a person, it leads to “discoloration of the person” and “greyness of conformism.” This contributes to the approval of authoritarian regimes, the spread of mass culture, and “the unlimited theocracy of consumption.” Finally, it is argued that Western societies face a crisis of “public morality,” which entails the growth of organized crime, drug abuse, sexual abuse of children, etc.

       In this context, social scientists, politicians, and public personalities turn to religion and to Christianity in particular. Religion, according to the author, helps overcome the negative consequences and contradictions of the globalisation. On the one hand, religion releases an individual from temptation to manipulate and be manipulated. On the other, it allows one to connect his/her own identity with universal values. In Russia, Orthodoxy can thus play an important role in curtailing problems brought about by globalisation. The article draws attention to the place of Orthodoxy in education and in particular to the teaching of the course “Orthodox culture” in institutions of higher professional education. The author highlights two major tasks for this course:

       • the importance of overcoming possible risks of ‘dogmatization’, either ideological – dogmatisation replacing cultural and educational goals, or cultural - seeking to establish Orthodox culture as a way of life and cultural standard for all.
       • the course should become an integrative platform for the expansion or rethinking of existing knowledge in the field of Orthodox culture, for a dialogue of religious and non-religious worldviews to discuss complex topics of public interest.

       In conclusion, the author quotes American psychologist A. Maslow who argued that positivistically-oriented science is not capable of studying the spiritual values and inner world of a person, just as religion, which monopolizes spiritual life, cannot be the only arbitrator in the matter of faith and morality. Commenting on this, the author suggests a subtle dialectical approach to relations between society, religion and the church. In this regard, the author highlights the Master's program "Religious Education" offered by the Department of Religious Studies of the Russian State Pedagogical University named after Herzen as a good example of an integrative platform for training specialists in the field of religious culture.