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Religion contains four main parts: faith, creed, cult and organization. religious faith - this is the most complex cultural phenomenon that combines high intellectuality, inspiration, humility in front of a world that is spiritually superior to you, awareness of your creatureliness and, at the same time, a special pride in belonging to this real world.

In world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam), faith is a complex cultural complex that includes the subject of faith, the doctrine of faith, the practice of religion, dogma and other elements. So, in Islam, faith consists of three elements (verbal recognition of God,

ry deeds and virtuous intentions) and includes five main subjects: 1) faith in the one and only God; 2) angels; 3) God-revealed Books (five such Books are named in the Koran: the scrolls of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Psalter of David, the Gospel of Jesus, the Koran of Muhammad); 4) God's prophets and messengers; 5) Judgment Day, heaven and hell, retribution and punishment. Later, to these five articles of faith, a sixth one (of non-Quranic origin) was added - faith in predestination (everything that happens in the world - both good and evil, and also all the deeds of people are conditioned by the will of the Almighty).

The main features of faith are:

♦ ultimate individualization, since any religion implies the presence of a certain organizational structure that acts as an intermediary between God and man;

♦ personal attitude to the object of faith (in the form of any kind of supernatural), since the believer, as a rule, subconsciously evaluates it positively, considers it appropriate to the system of norms and values ​​that he shares;

♦ emotional-sensual character.

creed

From the word "faith" comes the concept "creed" which denote a systematic doctrine, concept, set of ideas, which are based on faith in the supernatural world, deity. But even this - belief in the supernatural - is the main thing in the dogma. Much more important in the dogma is the fact that it is a systematic presentation of the content of faith in dogma- recognized once and for all as immutable truths that are not subject to criticism.

In this sense, Christianity, Buddhism or Islam are creeds. The source of the doctrine is the system of fundamental principles set forth in the Holy Tradition or in the Holy Books - for Muslims this is the Koran, and for Christians - the Bible. Holy Bible in essence, it is considered the Revelation with which God turned to people, because one can only believe in the truth of this Revelation. The main source of doctrine is understood as the eternal, uncreated "word of God", revelation.

The totality of religious doctrines and teachings about the essence and action of God is called theology(from Greek. theos- God and...logia), literally meaning theology. It presupposes the concept of an absolute God who communicates to man knowledge of himself in revelation. In the strict sense, it is common to speak of theology in relation to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Thus, in theology, which form the basis of the Christian doctrine, three components can be distinguished: ontological doctrine(how the world works) epistemological doctrine(how to know the world) and revelation(revelation).

The new quality that religious faith has acquired in comparison with mythological faith is that it has moved from the realm of feelings into the realm of knowledge. Faith becomes epistemological basis of religious morality and practice.

REVELATION- in monotheistic religions, the direct will of the deity or the knowledge emanating from him as an absolute criterion of human behavior and knowledge. It is expressed in the text of "scripture" (in Judaism and Christianity - the Bible, in Islam - the Koran) and in "tradition", which also receives written fixation (in Judaism - the Talmud, in Christianity - the writings of the "fathers of the church", in Islam - the sunnah).

Religion

From the word "faith" comes the term "religion". Religions in Christianity are understood as its denominations, formed after the schism (Greek. schisma- split) - split in christian church, which led to the division of the churches (Orthodox and Catholic), which arose about the clarification of the divine and human nature in the person of Jesus Christ (the so-called Christological disputes). As a result of doctrinal differences in V-VII centuries several religions were formed, in particular, “non-Chalcedonites”, Nestorians, “Christians of St. Thomas", Monothelites and Monophysites. AT XI 11th c. Another religious division of the Churches - Orthodox and Catholic - took shape, behind which was a conflict of state ideologies, complicated by doctrinal and ritual differences. In XVII in. the Old Believers separated from Orthodoxy, which itself was divided into many "interpretations". During the Reformation, Protestantism broke away from Catholicism, within which many confessions and so-called denominations developed: Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglican Church, Methodists, Baptists, Adventists, etc. In modern times (XVI-XVII centuries) several confessional branches were formed within Catholicism: Jesuits, Piarists, Redemptorists.

Faith is one of the fundamental philosophical concepts without necessarily implying religious faith. It takes place in the event that a person is convinced of something, although he does not currently have evidence that meets the requirements of knowledge. At the same time, complete evidence that does not require proof makes it redundant. A number of philosophers pointed out that any worldview is based on a certain minimum of prerequisites that are not verified at all or that a person does not require verification. According to them, human knowledge is not presuppositional, and it is based on faith.

Faith can be directed to a variety of objects - from material things to spiritual entities and abstract constructions and principles.

For example, the German philosopher I.-G. Jacobi(1743-1819) believed that the existence of things in the surrounding world is guaranteed by faith, since there can be no other reliable guarantees. The Englishman D. Hume was close to similar views, but he did not draw religious conclusions from the above position. Faith is of exceptional importance in almost all spheres of human life, regardless of whether it is of a religious nature. K. Jaspers pointed to its role in science, citing the examples of G. Galileo and J. Bruno. The former could, with a clear conscience, renounce the views that he considered true because they rested on rational scientific conviction. The second died not so much because of his principles, but because one hundred beliefs were largely based on scientific faith, and this also implies such behaviors as martyrdom.

Religious faith is understood as the belief in the existence of a transcendent personal essence, which is the source of being and represents an unconditional value for a person (the latter implies the need for a personal connection with this essence, the presence of contacts, including organized ones). This feature, the belief in the necessity, importance and value of connection with a higher being, it differs from what a number of authors call "philosophical faith." At the same time, according to the researchers, one can be confident in the existence of the beginning-creator, but not be interested in communication with him or even believe that it is impossible, since the creator and creation are separated (in particular, supporters of deism believe so) . In religions where the otherworldly principle appears less distinctly, faith takes on somewhat different characteristics. In particular, it may not require such a close, personal, sincere connection with the absolute beginning. Religious faith determines a number of psychological attitudes and experiences, including certain types of behavior.

Thus, religious faith has two closely related components. One involves the recognition of the existence of the otherworldly beginning and, in some respects, is closer to philosophical faith, the other is the acceptance of personal dependence on this beginning and the need for it. The latter gives religious faith its originality.

The objects of religious faith can be angelic and demonic beings, one's own soul and the souls of other people, events of a miraculous nature, fate, nirvana.

In contrast to scientific faith, which has a stating character, albeit associated with appropriate emotions, religious faith has a special saving (soteriological) character, clearly expressed in monotheistic religions. It not only certifies the fact of the existence of God and establishes certain relations with him, as well as the duties of a person arising from them, but also makes it possible eternal salvation, those. eternal life in the blissful contemplation of God as an absolute and perfect good. Such a faith surpasses, in its dignity and content, its more ordinary forms. At the same time, it is both a means and a condition for salvation.

The described nature of faith also determines interfaith disputes about its features - about the role of grace in the emergence of saving faith (can a person acquire it without God's special graceful help) and about the relationship between faith and deeds in achieving salvation.

A famous controversy of this kind is the controversy of the Reformation (see ch. 8). In Christianity, faith in God is inseparable from faith in the incarnate God - Christ and his saving mission. Christian theology, which goes back to the Bible, has defined it as part of the triad of basic virtues: faith, hope and love (love is understood as spiritual attraction, the prototype of which is love for God). The lower levels of faith are recognized as having no saving power. Thus, it is connected with the will, which must be applied, especially in periods of cooling and crises, reason and divine grace, and without whose help it is inconceivable, since it is a divine gift. In Judaism, faith is associated with the expectation of the coming of the Messiah; in Islam, with the experience of obedience to God and the absoluteness of the will of the latter, etc.

A lot of controversy and ambiguity caused the question of the relationship between faith and reason. If we consider faith as a pure act, without specifying its object, then the role of reason seems insignificant. But if faith is taken into account as directed to its object and realized, then the place of the rational principle becomes a problem that requires definition. There is an extreme point of view according to which faith does not need reason at all. There is a well-known attitude that goes back to the early Christian writer Tertullian, "I believe, because it is absurd, absurd." Otherwise, faith loses its dignity. However, the point of view that links faith with reason and gives it an epistemological significance prevailed.

Religion doesn't care what you believe. To protect a person from gullibility and delusions, it is the mind that should to a large extent. In addition, the already acquired faith itself is included in the system of cognitive processes, forms answers to a number of questions, removes worldview ambiguities and harmonizes the picture of the world, in which religious ideas and values ​​should take a certain and verified place. That is why the loss of a religious worldview, in the center of which was faith, can turn into a severe shock for a person, hitting even his physical well-being. Ideas about faith as a fanatical conviction that “turns off” all rationality, or as an absurd infantile gullibility, do not correspond to its understanding by religion itself, which is studied by religious science. The idea of ​​the harmonious coexistence of faith and reason is firmly rooted in Christian theology, although not every act of its manifestation can and should be provided with reason (for example, a series of actions where a person relies on faith in the good will of God), and some truths are initially super-reasonable and require to the advantage of faith (see paragraph 2.6). The mind is also understood as given by God and not contrary to faith, so that their mutual exclusion becomes unnecessary.

There are degrees of faith in different religions(for example, in Islam and Judaism), we are accustomed to meeting with their representation within the framework of religions of the monotheistic type.

Faith is the core component of the structure of religion. Other components (for example, emotions) are secondary and represent its original "frame".

The subject of faith is the believer. For religious studies, the question of its object is important. From the point of view of some people, he can act as a non-existent (otherworldly personal god for an atheist), for a believer he is an absolute reality. Russian philosopher S. L. Frank(1877–1950) was inclined to believe that ideological disputes in such a situation are inconclusive, since they resemble disputes about music between people, one of whom is endowed with an absolute ear for music, and the other is deprived of it.

Turning to the fundamental philosophical category"reality", then it should be recognized that even phenomena such as dreams, hallucinations, etc., have a certain share of it (if only because they can sometimes influence human behavior even more than material stimuli and motives). For this reason, even from the position of consistent atheism, it is irrational to completely deny the objects of religious faith in reality. You can also point to relatively new philosophical concepts related to "possible worlds", i.e. with the state of things that does not exist in our world, but could be under certain circumstances. The idea of ​​God is included as an essential element in the worldview of a religious person, determines his appearance, the attitude of the subject to the world.

If faith is the center of the inner structure of religion, then ritual is its outer correlate. However, their ratio is not arbitrary. The nature of faith and ritual are interdependent (if, of course, we do not take into account the secondary features of essentially identical rituals that arose for unprincipled, historical reasons). The latter consistently expresses and formalizes the former with the help of the system of signs of which it consists, and also, what is especially important, concretizes it. As a result, a complex system arises, the main element of which is the coordinated relationship "faith - cult - ritual" (a kind of simple structure, "molecule" of religion). A change in the first element of the structure is associated with a change in the nature of the second and should cause a transformation of the third, albeit delayed in time. Conversely, a change in the latter usually signals a transformation of the former, or at least such a threat. Therefore, ritual cannot be considered as some kind of addition to faith, and there is no religion that would exist from one faith in the complete absence of ritual.

The origin of the very act of faith in different religions can be interpreted in different ways.

The most famous is revelation model. Faith arises as a response to the revelation of the deity about himself. In this case, the latter is recognized as unconditional primacy. The model of revelation has been consistently implemented in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Some representatives religious philosophy, as well as supporters of religious modernism suggest free faith model when the latter arises primarily, as a result of the subjective search for the divine principle. Such a model emphasizes the individual's initial inclination to religious search, seeing in this one of the fundamental features that make a person such, but reduces or completely obscures the role of revelation.

Faith can have different degrees of expression. It may represent faith-conviction. It is normative for religion, and, as a rule, not exclusive, but on the contrary, implying a powerful rational component that strengthens faith. At the same time, a number of religious philosophers emphasize that it is not guaranteed by any evidence, and even in oneself a person cannot find solid principles for it. Such faith is dramatic and becomes courageous balancing between its extinction and strengthening. Similar views were expressed, in particular, by existentialist philosophers - S. Kierkegaard, G. Marcel, M. Buber(1878–1965). The latter also belongs to the interpretation of faith as an eternal "risk": it is not secured by anything and that is why it is genuine. In this case, it is extremely dramatic, requires the strongest exertion of spiritual strength and courage, turns into kind of feat.

The act of faith, being subjective (despite the focus on a specific object), requires concretization, rational expression, expansion. Therefore, the word "faith" often implies the presence of certain well-articulated provisions, set in a system that allow a person to give an "account" for his faith. These goals are served by a system of dogma and a set of basic dogmatic provisions (the so-called "creed" in broad sense, not correlated with a particular denomination) provided by theology. The definition of faith within the framework of a dogma does not exclude moments of love, trust in the object of faith, fear of it. Its rationalization is necessary not only for external expression, but also for streamlining the religious worldview of people.

Religious faith has a function making sense(sometimes called nootic). The fact that believers are generally less susceptible to despair and frustration of meaning (the state of experiencing the lack of meaning in their own being, the being of the world as a whole, from which the loss of purpose follows), is an objective fact, even if we take into account the judgments of those who consider it a manifestation of weakness a situation when a person cannot find support in himself (in fact, support is not found in "himself" in such cases, a person seeks support in other spheres of life, for example, in social ones, when debt to loved ones does not allow him to fall into despair, unwillingness to seem weak, etc.). Thanks to the confidence in the existence of a principle that cannot do evil, even capable of providential use of it for good, determining the mission of a person, it is possible to strengthen vitality, the ability to endure hardships and not lose the experience of having meaning in life.

A feature of religious faith is the possibility of its expression to varying degrees, as well as susceptibility to hesitation and doubt, which are not considered the norm from a religious point of view, but are inevitable. Religion involves the strengthening of faith. "Growing in faith", strengthening of conviction is a process in which there may be periods of crises and weakening (at the same time, religious asceticism dictates certain rules of behavior in such a situation so that the crisis does not drag on and faith would not be completely lost). For example, in Christian mysticism, states of sudden cooling, weakening of faith, occurring without negligence or other fault of a person, are known, which are sent precisely as a means of testing and strengthening faith (in the Western Christian Catholic tradition, such states are called "gloomy night"). It is assumed that the supply of spiritual strength and experience allows a person to withstand such a period. Similar attitudes can be found in other religions.

As already pointed out, faith, being subjective, cannot but be expressed outwardly. In addition to the religious ritual, it is reflected in the system of actions. According to the degree of dependence of the latter and the faith declared by him, one can approximately judge its seriousness, depth and consistency.

Religious faith, which does not affect the sphere of affairs, becomes defective, degenerate and is in danger of dying out altogether. It, especially due to the realization of a personal connection with God, obliges a person to commit acts that can be described as heroic. The latter are religious norm. We can talk about "small heroism", associated with the struggle with oneself in matters not very significant, and about heroism in the common sense of the word, when religious conviction obliges and gives a person the strength to endure persecution, unfair treatment, and finally, physical suffering and death . The acts of suffering for the faith and martyrdom have always been regarded as the highest proof of its power and authenticity. Manifestations of such heroism make it possible to speak of holiness (especially in those religions and denominations where this category is clearly developed and widely used).

Religious faith occupies an important place in religious ideology and in the practice of religious organizations. All theological systems ultimately serve to substantiate and justify faith, and the main goal of liturgical practice is to use various means of influencing people to excite and strengthen faith in God.

Defenders of religion declare belief in God an innate property of every person, a gift from God, which, due to its divine origin, cannot be explained with materialistic positions. The atheistic conviction of a scientist, any certainty of a person that is not connected with religion, is considered by them as an imperfect, distorted manifestation of religious faith.

The task of atheists is to give genuine scientific explanation such a complex psychological phenomenon as faith, confidence, to show the inconsistency of theological explanations of this phenomenon, to clearly reveal the opposite of religious faith and confidence and conviction inherent in materialists and atheists.

The very concept of faith is very complex, it includes at least two interrelated elements - epistemologically and emotionally-psychologically. Therefore, the analysis of faith involves both epistemological and psychological aspects of the consideration of this phenomenon.

The epistemological element of faith

In epistemological terms, faith is associated with the characteristics of both the social and individual processes of cognition. The classics of Marxism repeatedly emphasized the complexity and inconsistency of the process of cognition, substantiated the close connection of cognition with social practice and with its essential element- production activities of people. Social practice, being the basis and criterion of knowledge, is historically limited in nature and cannot at any given moment fully and finally confirm or refute certain assumptions. In the volume of knowledge that humanity has at its disposal in each period of its development, there is such knowledge that has been confirmed by practice and has acquired the value of absolute truths, and such that cannot yet be practically verified.

Each new generation inherits from the previous one not only a certain level of development of the productive forces and the nature of production relations, but also the entire body of knowledge and errors. Along with practically substantiated and truly scientific information, religious-fantastic ideas are also assimilated. But in its practical activity, each new generation checks the inherited information, which was previously taken for granted; it discards ideas and assumptions that are not confirmed by practice, clarifies and deepens truly scientific knowledge about the world. In contrast to this real enrichment of knowledge, defenders of religion have always demanded the preservation of faith in the religious myths inherited from previous generations. They did not hesitate to directly ban scientific research in the name of preserving religious faith.

The need to navigate the diverse and complex phenomena of nature and society that surround a person every day gives rise to the desire to develop the most general principles for explaining and classifying phenomena. Each person creates for himself a mental model of the world, based on information received from society, and on his personal experience. The wider and deeper the knowledge of a person, the more diverse his ties with society as a whole and the more active he is. social activity and consequently, the richer the personal experience, the more correct is his idea of ​​the world. But if a person does not have enough scientific knowledge about the world around him, and his practical ties with the world are limited by the narrow confines of everyday and monotonous life, then a significant part of his ideas will be based on faith either by virtue of the opinion existing in his everyday circle, or in one or another authority. Not surprisingly, in such situations, a religious explanation of the world can be perceived.

As we can see, the real process of assimilation and development of knowledge includes the moment of faith.

In epistemological terms, faith can be defined as the acceptance by a person as true of certain ideas and representations that cannot be, due to objective or subjective reasons, unambiguously and convincingly proven at the moment.

Such a definition characterizes any faith in a formal sense. It emphasizes that the concept of faith characterizes the state of the internal thought process of a person, the object of faith appears not in its material form, but in the form of ideas and ideas.

In other words, a person does not believe in some object or thing, but in the truth of this or that understanding of this object or thing. True, some idealist philosophers and philosophizing theologians sometimes called faith and conviction of people in the objective existence of the material world outside of man. However, such a broad interpretation of faith aims to confuse faith and knowledge, to present all knowledge in the form of faith, and faith as the starting point of knowledge. In reality, in this case we are dealing not with faith, but with knowledge, because the thesis about the objective existence of material reality outside and independently of man has been proven by the entire practice of mankind and is constantly confirmed by the experience of each person. The object of faith, as noted above, can be those ideas and representations, the truth of which cannot be unambiguously substantiated and proven. In those cases where an idea or idea has a practically confirmed strictly scientific proof, it belongs to the realm of exact knowledge. Such a division of the areas of faith and knowledge is clearly seen in the analysis of both social and individual consciousness. People in their practical production activities have always proceeded from the amount of knowledge obtained in the process of mastering reality, by proven practice, placing the area of ​​faith on the border of the mastered and the unmastered, the known and the unknown. Once, watching a thunderstorm, people were not able to know the essence of this phenomenon, giving it a religious interpretation. After scientists have managed to explain the nature of this phenomenon, it never occurs to anyone except very illiterate people to explain thunder and lightning by the actions of Elijah the Prophet.

Thus, with the development of social practice and the increasing accumulation and dissemination of knowledge about the world around us, the sphere of faith is increasingly moving away from the boundaries of everyday human existence, finding its object in little-studied areas of science and practice.

The consideration of faith itself as a moment of the real process of cognition puts an end to the attempts of some theologians to present any faith as a supernatural phenomenon, as a gift from God.

But such a characterization of faith by no means removes the question of the difference between religious and non-religious faith. With a purely formal similarity between these types of faith, there is not only a difference between them, but also a direct opposite in the object of faith. In theological writings, the words from the Epistle to the Hebrews are usually cited to characterize religious faith: “Faith is the substance of what is hoped for and the certainty of the invisible ... By faith we know that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that out of the invisible came the visible” (ch. 11, art. 1, 3. In their sermons, theologians often emphasize that religious faith requires believing not in what can be seen, not in what can be demonstrated visually, but in what a person cannot comprehend and know. always lies the recognition of the supernatural Whether a person believes that the world was created by God, in the divine origin of the human psyche, or in afterlife and afterlife retribution - all this is based on the recognition of the determining role of supernatural forces and beings in relation to everything real, material world and to all processes occurring in it.

Theologians declare that God and the entire supernatural world cannot be known by the human mind, they must be believed in, regardless of the arguments of the mind that rejects the existence of God. The statements of Catholic theologians about the possibility of rational knowledge of God do not change the above assessment of the ways of Christian knowledge of God, because they also believe that reason will only lead to God when a person agrees to seek him, i.e., first believes in his existence. Faith in religious systems has been transformed from an auxiliary element into an independent, most important feature of consciousness, which, according to theologians, has decisive advantages over rational knowledge, over systems of logical proofs. Ultimately, all Christian theologians come to recognize the thesis expressed by Tertullian: "I believe because it is absurd." The human mind is assigned a service role in relation to faith: it must substantiate it as far as it can, and be silent when it turns out to be powerless to substantiate the object of religious faith.

It should be emphasized that if in hypothetical knowledge certain ideas are considered as ideas and are not identified with objective things and processes, then a characteristic feature of religious faith is that the object of faith that exists in consciousness is objectified. Both theologians and believers insist that the object of their religious faith is not the very thought or concept of God, but it is God himself, the supernatural itself as really existing.

In contrast to religious faith, non-religious faith has as its object certain hypothetical positions that are formulated on the basis of a generalization of social practice and proceed from scientifically established and practically verified truths. Being the basis for further activity, the content of such a belief is either recognized as false or confirmed in the course of practical, experimental scientific verification, acquiring the value of scientifically based knowledge. Such faith acts as a side, auxiliary element in the process of knowledge development.

The Psychological Side of Faith

In addition to the epistemological aspect, faith also has a psychological aspect, because faith is characterized not only by knowledge about something, but by an emotional attitude towards it. One must, apparently, distinguish between faith and conviction.

for conviction is usually called the belief of a person in the truth of such ideas and representations, which can be scientifically proven, although at the moment they are not recognized by everyone. In other words, belief and belief differ in their object, and the object of belief is usually a provable proposition. On the psychological side, that is, as personal confidence in the truth of a given proposition, they manifest themselves in the same way. Such a distinction between faith and conviction seems necessary in connection with the fact that theologians, declaring faith a gift of God, inherent in every person, call the faith and conviction of scientists who defend their theories. In reality, the conviction, for example, of Galileo that the Earth revolves around the Sun, that the Moon is a celestial body revolving around the Earth, was based on strict scientific formulas, experiments and astronomical observations. It was knowledge, not faith, but knowledge that needed to be defended, protected, and, naturally, therefore, the scientist was required to have firmness, a personal emotional attitude towards this knowledge.

Of the totality of information that a person has, only those that are important for his personal life become the object of faith or belief. daily activities. The range of such information is determined by the characteristics of the very activity of a person, his practical and spiritual interests.

What gives rise to such an emotional attitude to ideas and ideas, or, in other words, how to explain the psychological aspect of faith? Theologians assure that this ability to believe is inherent in the human soul by God himself when he was created. And the point, according to their ideas, is only in what this thirst for faith inherent in man finds satisfaction - whether in true faith in the greatest value, in God, as among Christians, or in faith in certain earthly and, therefore, transient values. In reality, this phenomenon is explained by the psychophysiological features of the human structure, on the one hand, and the specifically human features of mastering the surrounding reality, on the other. Let's start from the last moment.

A distinctive feature of all human activity, with the exception of purely reflex acts, is that it is purposeful. Before acting, a person first sets a goal, outlines ways and means to achieve this goal. A similar feature of a person has been developed in the process of social labor and is constantly reproduced in the labor process. In the process of social practice, as well as in the course of individual practical activity, not only certain ideas are confirmed, but new, previously not taken into account problems arise before a person. The practical activity itself puts a person in front of new problems and requires their resolution. Thus, a person proceeds to the practical implementation of his goal, sometimes experiencing a lack of information about the ways and means of achieving it. Since the goal itself is vital for a person importance, such as hunting for hunting peoples or growing crops for farmers, insofar as he is required to persevere in achieving the goal, the confidence that he will achieve the final result. He has to sort through and try many techniques, means, only some of which can lead to the desired result. Such progress along a partly unknown path requires a person's confidence, which helps to mobilize his spiritual and physical forces.

The ability to emotionally relate to one's ideas and ideas is connected, as mentioned above, with the psychophysiological characteristics of a person. Here it is appropriate to refer to the concept of the nature of emotions put forward by the doctor of medical sciences P. V. Simonov. Leaving aside the problem of the physiological processes underlying emotions in this case, let us emphasize those aspects of his concept that are of direct importance for our problem. P. V. Simonov considers emotions as an important factor in the adaptive actions of higher animals and humans. Emotions compensate for the lack of information and thus help a person (or animal) to withstand the unknown circumstances. Emotion arises with a lack or excess of information - this is the main thesis of the concept of P. V. Simonov. A characteristic feature of emotions is the acceleration and intensification of reactions, due to which emotions ensure the continuation of actions and, with a lack of information, contribute to the search for new information.

Therefore, it is precisely those ideas and ideas that either do not have an unambiguous justification or are subject to refutation and which at the same time are important for this person, acquire an emotional coloring, become an object of belief or faith. In cases where the action is performed on the basis of accurate knowledge and the achievement of the goal is not in doubt, then emotions do not appear. Therefore, they do not accompany such representations and ideas that are generally recognized as true.

All this shows that the existence psychological aspect faith has a completely materialistic explanation and, contrary to theological ideas, does not need recognition of God for its understanding.

Features of Religious Faith

However, the following question may arise: if the presence of faith is connected with the process of labor, as indicated above, and the objects of faith are ideas and ideas that are vital for a person, then how ideas and ideas about the supernatural, about the omnipotent and unknowable God, i.e. e. ideas that go beyond the daily interests of a person can turn into an object of deep religious faith? Theologians often pose this question, believing that it can be answered only on the basis of the recognition of the divine nature of faith itself.

Modern psychology gives a completely materialistic explanation for this fact. One of the features of the mental reflection of reality by a person is that reality is revealed to a person regardless of the person’s attitude towards it.

This is the process of consciousness itself, the transformation of an unconscious psychic relationship into a conscious perception. Depending on the specific goals and conditions of action, a person has a certain attitude towards perception at any given moment. He is not aware of all external influences on his senses, but only some. Let's take an example. A person, carried away by a conversation with a companion, walks down the street and, as it were, does not notice his surroundings, although his behavior is in full accordance with what is happening around him. But he does not have a conscious image of the street. However, having reached the desired house, he stops, realizes that this is the house he needs. Now the environment is clearly conscious of them.

In the sphere of thinking, we can talk about a similar process - a person can have, perceive many ideas, but some of them turn out to be indifferent to him, while others acquire personal meaning for him.

In order to instill in man the idea of ​​God, apparently, it is necessary that this idea be closely connected with the daily life needs of man. Such a connection can be established only when, on the one hand, the person himself is prepared by the experience of his life for the perception of such an idea. As K. Marx noted, a believer is a person who has either not found himself or has already lost himself, that is, a person who, due to certain social reasons, has come to realize his weakness in the struggle against the forces around him and alien to him. Thus, a person is already predisposed to the perception of such an idea. On the other hand, the very idea of ​​God must be presented in such a form that it has a personal meaning for a person, affects his vital interests, and thus evokes certain emotions. Each religion has a corresponding system of argumentation, which ensures the "grafting" of the idea of ​​God into human consciousness. The idea of ​​God is associated with the success of man's productive activity, with his moral sense, with aesthetic experiences. But the main link that makes it possible to connect the idea of ​​God with the daily interests of man is, at least in Christianity, the idea of ​​personal salvation. The thought of his fate, of what awaits him after death, cannot but excite a person. But as a condition for such salvation, an afterlife reward for the hardships and sufferings of life, theologians put forward faith in God, faith that does not reason, which should be preserved, despite the fact that reason rebels against it.

While striving to make faith in God the basis of a believer's life, theologians are nonetheless compelled to note that such faith is not inherent in everyone. They most often distinguish between three stages of religious faith, external faith, or it is sometimes called "faith by hearing", indifferent faith and living, ardent and passionate faith. This division of degrees of faith is carried out depending on what role the idea of ​​God plays in the daily behavior of a person. Faith external, or "from hearing", is characteristic of that group of believers who have heard about God, and the idea of ​​God is recognized by them, but this idea has not become an object of constantly acting emotions, does not motivate their behavior. They treat the idea of ​​God as a possible hypothesis, which seems to them very plausible, but the idea itself is not "inherent" in their consciousness, and in connection with this, the emotions aroused by it are so weak that they do not force them to properly comply with religious precepts. Such believers hardly attend churches, do not observe fasts and holidays, and remember the church in those cases when it becomes necessary to observe a stable ritual - in connection with the birth of a child and his baptism, in connection with the death of relatives and their funeral. Another group of believers, who have an indifferent faith, observes the basic prescriptions of the church concerning the actual cult, that is, they attend church more or less regularly and perform other church rites. But their daily behavior, like the representatives of the first group, is determined not by religious ideas, but by other motives. They believe in God, have knowledge of religious teachings, but believe that their duty to God is limited to the fulfillment of a number of formal prescriptions. As for everyday behavior, it is determined by the real conditions of life, and the believers themselves perceive these conditions of their life as a direct given and have almost no connection with God.

Such believers in our country make up a significant majority It is no coincidence that one of the modern Orthodox theologians admitted that the idea of ​​God in the minds of believers has moved from the center to the periphery of consciousness.

A third group of believers who have a living faith associate religious ideas closely with their daily behavior. These people accepted the idea of ​​personal salvation as the main goal of their lives, and in order to ensure salvation, they strive to implement religious prescriptions in their behavior, subordinate the efforts of reason to this goal, appealing to it only in those cases when it helps them justify their faith.

Speaking about the specifics of religious faith and its emotional and psychological aspect, one cannot help but dwell on the emotional significance of faith for the believer himself. When a person, tormented by grief, personal adversity, tired of life, turns to religion, begins to join the life of a religious community and religious ideas, he receives consolation. Many believers say that religious faith gives them peace, brings a sense of satisfaction. Faith can really give emotional release, calm, but this does not happen at all because a person supposedly found God, found the truth, a voice that sounded in his soul, as theologians explain this phenomenon. The matter is different. If, according to the concept of emotions mentioned above, the latter are called upon to make up for the lack of information, then, consequently, when receiving information about phenomena, the strength is also weakened. emotional stress. If misfortunes fall upon a person one after another, then it can be difficult for him to explain to himself such a combination of circumstances, and, not having firm worldview principles, he seeks relief in what he can give some peace of mind. Some turn to a religion that claims to have the answer to everything. This answer of religion is simple and does not require special knowledge: "This is the will of God. God sends a test, but he can also reward." For lack of another explanation, people accept it.

For such a person great importance it also has fellowship with other believers, a psychological tone that exists in the community and is consonant with moods of personal helplessness. In the community, this feeling is no longer only personal, the spirit of human helplessness before supernatural power permeates the entire community, and this removes from a person the feeling of his own loneliness.

Getting into a religious community, a believer, in addition to the psychological impact of the community itself, also experiences the influence of the means of emotional influence developed by this religious organization. The experiences caused by the influence of these means are perceived by the believers themselves not in their immediacy, but are associated with the religious idea. But in addition to these means of mass influence, religious organizations have developed many methods designed for individual, so to speak, self-strengthening of faith.

Among these means, first of all, daily prayer should be noted.

In prayer, a kind of self-hypnosis takes place, a person again and again convinces himself of the existence of God. When presenting his troubles and requests to God, a person involuntarily thinks through his worries, re-awares them, and from this alone they cease to seem so burdensome to him in a number of cases. In addition, the hope that some of the worries are shifted to God, to some extent, weakens the emotional tension of a person, bringing relief to him. This very fact is perceived by believers as a new proof of the reality of God and the truth of religion.

Such a rite as the sacrament of repentance in Orthodoxy and Catholicism has a similar effect on the psyche of believers. By this rite, a person is ordered to rethink his actions, his behavior in the light of religious precepts. Repeated repetition of this rite leads to the fact that a person develops a stable religious principle analysis of all phenomena, a specifically religious structure of thinking is formed.

On the example of some of these means of strengthening religious faith, the conclusion suggests itself that the irrational idea of ​​God, which, according to the theologians themselves, is inaccessible to logical justification, is reinforced in the practice of religious organizations by carefully selected means of emotional influence. The idea of ​​God, receiving an emotional coloring, becomes the object of religious faith.

Thus, religion, which is one of the elements of the cognitive process and plays an auxiliary role, has been turned into a self-sufficient means of comprehending God, opposing faith to truly scientific knowledge as the highest gift of God that man possesses. And no matter how theologians try to reconcile the methods of scientific knowledge with religion, the position that for religion the process of real knowledge and transformation of the world seems to be a secondary, unimportant problem remains indisputable. Atheism opposes to religious faith not unbelief, but a deep conviction in the creative abilities of mankind, faith in the possibility of building a beautiful society on earth. This faith has as its foundation the whole experience of mankind's struggle for its happiness, it is based on knowledge confirmed by practice about the natural ways of development of human society.

Case studies of contemporary religious beliefs. M., 1967.

Platonov K. Psychology of religion. M., 1967.

Popova M. On the psychology of religion. M., 1969.

Ugrinovich D. Psychology of religion. M., 1986.

RELIGIOUS FAITH - personal self-determination of a person in relation to his knowledge of the world and a person's place in it, arising from a religious worldview. Religious self-determination is a person’s worldview and way of life, generated by a sense of connectedness, dependence on some entity elevated above him, a sense of reverence and reverence for a force that provides support and prescribes norms of behavior in relation to other people and to the world as a whole. There are two approaches that form two images, or appearances, of V. R.: an approach, as it were, from the inside, from the state of faith from the point of view of a believer, convinced of the existence and active influence of the Divine on man and on everything that exists; and approach, as it were, from the outside, from the side of an external observer. This distinction is always present in V. p. with the leading role of the state of faith. But under certain historical conditions, it can acquire the character of opposition to each other. Within each of these approaches, a large…

Religion (from Latin religio - a compound Latin word. League - union, connection, re - prefix, meaning the return nature of the action. All together - "reunion") - one of the forms public consciousness conditioned by belief in the existence of the supernatural (in a supernatural force or personality). This faith is the main feature and element of any religion that believers represent.

Other definitions of religion:

Lifestyle. human worship higher powers, in the reality of which he believes in the same way as in the possibility of interacting with them through prayers, sacrifices and other various forms of cult, a system of symbols, moral rules, rites and cult actions, based on the idea of ​​​​the general order of being

The religious system of representation of the world (worldview) is based on faith or mystical experience, and not on data verified by scientific experiment.

Archaeological finds are consistent with the view that…

religious consciousness

For more full view about what religion is, it is necessary to turn to the question of its structure. To reveal the structure of any object or phenomenon means to determine what elements this object consists of and how these elements are interconnected.

The main elements of religion are: religious consciousness, religious activities, religious relations, religious organizations.

The basis, defining element of religion is religious consciousness.

Religious consciousness can be defined as a reflection of reality in fantastic images.

The main features of religious consciousness are sensual visibility, the combination of content adequate to reality with illusions, faith, symbolism, emotional richness.

religious faith

The central, unifying element of religious consciousness is religious faith.

Faith is a special mental state that…

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religious faith

Religious faith occupies an important place in religious ideology and in the practice of religious organizations. All theological systems ultimately serve to substantiate and justify faith, and the main goal of liturgical practice is to use various means of influencing people to excite and strengthen faith in God.

Defenders of religion declare belief in God an innate property of every person, a gift from God, which, due to its divine origin, cannot be explained from materialistic positions. The atheistic conviction of a scientist, any certainty of a person that is not connected with religion, is considered by them as an imperfect, distorted manifestation of religious faith.

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Religious Studies 2. ELEMENTS AND STRUCTURE OF RELIGION

The elements and structure of religion are formed and changed in the course of history. These include religious consciousness, religious activities, religious relations, religious organizations.

2.1. Religious consciousness. religious faith

Religious consciousness is the consciousness of a believer. Not every faith is a religious faith. The latter "lives" due to the presence of a special phenomenon in human psychology. Faith is a special psychological state of confidence in the achievement of a goal, the occurrence of an event, in the truth of an idea. It contains the expectation in the fulfillment of desire. This psychological state occurs in a probabilistic situation, when there is an opportunity for a successful action and its favorable outcome. When an event happens, faith fades away. Faith arises in connection with those events, processes, ideas that are essential for people. significant meaning, and is an alloy ...

Sergei SARATOVSKII

Religious faith in the structure of the human psyche from the standpoint of the psychology of religion and ethnic psychology

Awakened in last years society's interest in religion makes scientific thought increasingly turn to such a phenomenon as religious faith.

Despite the fact that the word "psychology" is literally translated as "the science of the soul", the concept of faith, closely related in its meaning to the soul, still does not have sufficient reflection in the psychological literature and reference materials, since it is a manifestation of a more spiritual sphere. . Nevertheless, the psychology of religion and ethnic psychology are trying within their branches to give a reasoned justification for this phenomenon of the human psyche.

Let's understand the concepts. The Russian and Greek word "vera" has a similar meaning and comes from the word to believe, trust. English - from a word with the meaning to honor, approve. German - from a word translated as praise, love, ...

Let us turn to the basic sources: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). So, "realization of what is expected" - what is it? First of all, this is what is needed, what is needed. For example, lost health or family well-being.

But how many believers, over the decades of their faith, have received the “expected”? This sometimes happens, but most often the state of a person - mental and physical - remains the same or becomes even worse from this fruitless expectation. But people still go to church and believe.

Instead of striving to get something, the very process of waiting, the endless and hopeless waiting for something, begins to dominate. This psychological state is expressed in the dogmatic prescription of the expectation of the posthumous Kingdom of Heaven. We can say that the entire religious culture of Orthodoxy is built on this.

Thus, instead of something specific, a believer begins to expect - if I may say so - the expectation itself. It…

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§ 12. What is religion?

Human. Society. State. Study guide for 11th gradea

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§ 12. What is ...

Faith is a person's perception of something (statements, evidence, facts, etc.) as true, truthful without prior verification, based only on an internal, subjective conviction that no longer needs any proof. Faith in human society exists in the form of certain creeds (religions, worldviews, ideologies, concepts). From the point of view of theories that identify being (existing) and truth, faith is one of the ways of seeing being. Faith in many cases is opposed to knowledge, which is based on a comprehensive study and explanation of the manifestations of being.

religious faith

Religious faith is belief in real existence supernatural beings, special qualities of individual objects. In practice, this is faith in saints, prophets, teachers, clergymen, in the possibility of communicating with spirits, the truth of dogmas and religious texts. In theological understanding, religious faith acts as the highest manifestation of human consciousness, the highest ...

discipline: Spiritual culture

on the topic: Religion and religious faith

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Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………….3

1. Religion…………………………………………………………………………………………………..4

2. Features of religious faith………………………………………………………………….5

3. Diversity of Religions……………………………………………………………………………….7

4. The role of religion in modern world…………………………………………………………10

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………….14

List of used...

Religion and religious belief

Introduction.3

1. Religion.4

2. Features of religious faith.5

3. Diversity of religions 7

4. The role of religion in the modern world 10

Conclusion.14

List of used literature.16

Introduction

Religion is one of the oldest forms of spiritual culture. Religious ideas of people originated in ancient times. Like religious rites, cults, they

were of great variety. An important milestone in the history of mankind was the emergence of world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam. At a certain stage in the development of religion, a church arises, in the bosom of which a spiritual hierarchy is formed, priests appear.

Religion has been the bearer of cultural values ​​since ancient times; it is itself one of the forms of culture. Majestic temples, masterfully executed frescoes and icons, wonderful literary and religious-philosophical works, church rites, moral…

religious faith. An integrative feature of religious consciousness is religious faith. Not every faith is a religious faith, the latter "lives" due to the presence of a special phenomenon in human psychology. Faith is a special psychological state of confidence in the achievement of a goal, the occurrence of an event, in the intended behavior of a person, in the truth of an idea, provided there is a shortage of accurate information about the achievability of the goal, about the final outcome of the event, the implementation of the expected behavior in practice, the result of verification. It contains the expectation that the desired will come true. This psychological state occurs in a probabilistic situation, when there is a certain degree of success of the action, a real possibility of a favorable outcome and knowledge of this possibility. If an event has taken place or it has become clear that it is impossible, if the behavior is realized or it is found that it will not be carried out, if the truth or falsity of the idea is proven, faith dies out. Faith comes from those...

1. Religion

The origin of the word "religion" is associated with the Latin verb relegere - "to treat with respect"; according to another version, it owes its origin to the verb religare - “to bind” (heaven and earth, deity and man). It is much more difficult to define the concept of "religion". There are a great many such definitions, they depend on the belonging of the authors to one or another philosophical school, traditions. Thus, Marxist methodology defined religion as a specific form of social consciousness, a perverted, fantastic reflection in the minds of people of external forces dominating them. A believer is likely to define religion as a relationship between God and man. There are also more neutral definitions: religion is a set of views and ideas, a system of beliefs and rituals that unites people who recognize them into one community. Religion is certain views and ideas of people, corresponding rites and cults.

Any religion...

religious consciousness

Religion is one of the forms of social consciousness. Main Feature is that with its help many people communicate with reality. True, this is not the reality in which each of us lives every day, but one that exists beyond the bounds of the human mind. At the same time, religious consciousness arises, which helps people cope with life's difficulties, gain faith in their own strength, believe in tomorrow, and so on.

Features of religious consciousness

The specificity of religious consciousness lies in the fact that it is emotionally based on faith, and this, in turn, involves adhering to accepted behavior in Everyday life, not forgetting to perform the appropriate ceremonies, rituals.

It should be noted that religion is…

Chapter IV

^ PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION

1. What is religion in terms of psychology?

2. Personally significant components of religion: religious faith, religious experience, religious behavior.

3. Religious personality; influence of religion on behavior.

4. Psychological consequences of an individual's involvement in a religious community.

^ 1. WHAT IS RELIGION

FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF PSYCHOLOGY?

Man in his religious behavior, thinking and feelings is the subject of the psychology of religion. How, on the basis of what criteria, does psychology distinguish a religious act from a non-religious one? Sociology answers this question by defining social role religious institutions - those functions that religion and only religion perform in society, in contrast to law, art or philosophy, that is, how it affects the development of the economy, political processes, etc. Meanwhile, the psychologist deals with religion as with a mental phenomenon, and not with a social one, that is, with those processes ...

Sergei SARATOVSKII

Religious faith in the structure of the human psyche from the standpoint of the psychology of religion and ethnic psychology

The public interest in religion that has awakened in recent years makes scientific thought increasingly turn to such a phenomenon as religious faith.

Despite the fact that the word "psychology" is literally translated as "the science of the soul", the concept faith, tightly connected in its meaning with the soul, still does not have sufficient reflection in the psychological literature and reference materials, since it is a manifestation of a more spiritual sphere. Nevertheless, the psychology of religion and ethnic psychology are trying within their branches to give a reasoned justification for this phenomenon of the human psyche.

Let's understand the concepts. The Russian and Greek word "vera" has a similar meaning and comes from the word believe, trust. English - from a word with a meaning respect, approve. German - from a word translated as praise, love, allow. Hebrew - has a common root with the word true. From Latin, the word "faith" is translated as trust certificate.

Science evaluates religious faith as a state of consciousness associated with the recognition of the existence of God, the belief in the real existence of something supernatural.

The psychology of religion and ethnopsychology regard religious faith as one of the most important personality traits. It is on the basis of such an approach, which takes into account all the features of being, that fruitful relations arise between theologians and psychologists, and the correct relations are established between scientific and religious thought (N. Neumann). In such an assessment of faith, one can find consonance with the teachings of Christian theologians, for whom the human person has a unique eternal value. In the scientific field, this concept cannot yet be considered complete, since it is only developing, but it has certain prospects in science.

A well-known specialist in the field of the psychology of religion, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor R.M. Granovskaya in her book “Psychology of Faith” writes: “The feeling of faith is generated not only by God. Often a person, contrary to all the arguments of reason, despite(emphasis added by R.M.G.) logic, holding on to one’s faith… Singling out people or objects as beloved or revered is a reflection of the innate human need.” That is, faith is not always a religious feeling.

There is also a semantic division of concepts. For example, for most people, the word "faith" is associated exclusively with the phrase "faith in God." Indeed, despite what can be said about “belief in oneself, in one’s own strength,” we constantly talk about “self-confidence.” And the phrase "I believe in the help of such and such a person" often sounds like "I trust him." And since the patronizing object in the person of God is not visualized by our senses, we usually do not say: "I am confident in God, I trust God." Our words are: "I believe in God." Is it a coincidence that the root part of the words "sure" and "trust" is also derived from the word "faith"?

Faith is the basis for developing beliefs. If there is no faith, then there is no belief. Faith can touch different areas human life: one's own sense of self, religion, politics, social relations, sports, etc. There is nothing stronger and more fragile at the same time than faith. Beliefs based on firm faith make a person become their hostage, their servant. Because of such beliefs, a person goes to suffering, having only one goal: to prove his case. And at the same time, the slightest action, phrase, event can be enough to destroy faith in something or someone, to dissolve the habitual foundations of life.

The question arises: can faith replace knowledge for a person? L. Feuerbach believed that the religious need is inherent in the very nature of man. It is so deep that it cannot be destroyed by the increase in human knowledge of the world. Knowledge does not replace religion, because faith is not so much a matter of the mind as of feeling.

As already pointed out, in its original meaning, faith is a feeling of special personal interest in the object of faith. If a person believes, then he treats this subject extremely emotionally. Faith is immersed in the depths of the human psyche and is accompanied by a strong sensual coloring. As a result, a person has a strong unconscious desire to defend his position and prove its justice to others. This is what separates faith from knowledge. Faith is part of the process towards getting the goal, and the goal is knowledge. That is, faith is incomplete knowledge (foreknowledge), since knowledge in itself causes inner satisfaction. And a person who has faith in relation to a certain subject is always in search (scientific, life, spiritual, etc.).

Faith contributes to the preservation of the spiritual and mental balance of a person in those cases when he does not have the opportunity to explain what is happening logically or logically deduce the possible result of some event.

But faith may not become knowledge. In some cases, this can lead to disappointment in the object of faith. In the case of religious faith acquired from a certain religious organization, it often happens somewhat differently: a person does not strive for knowledge in his classical understanding and is disappointed not in the subject of faith, but in the accompanying elements (interpretation of religious postulates, the behavior of other adherents of this faith, etc.). The inner faith remains unchanged and its manifestations are determined by the person’s further choice (transition to another confession, “leaving into a schism”, etc.).

Some researchers put an equal sign between the concepts of "religious faith" and "religiosity". Nevertheless, religiosity is represented by the degree of immersion of religious faith in the structure of the human personality. Recently, there have been suggestions that religiosity can be inherent in a person and genetically, which implies a hereditary predisposition to this quality. The proof or refutation of such views is a matter for the future. Now we can only talk about religious faith acquired, formed and strengthened under the influence of various factors: religious, psychological, social, ethno-cultural, historical, political, etc.

And what can be the impetus for the development of religious faith? If we proceed only from the reasoning of atheist scientists, then we can only point out two sides that are attractive, in their opinion, for a person: the consumer desire for help from supernatural forces and the desire to explain for themselves the unusual phenomena of the surrounding world. This approach seems to be somewhat one-sided. Experts in the field of psychology of religion believe that sympathy, understanding, spiritual self-development, trust (confidentiality) of the internal dialogue, confidence in the future, peace of mind are more important for a person. Thus, religious faith helps a person to realize his basic spiritual and moral needs.

A legitimate question arises: indeed, why is the subject given faith in an object that does not exist? In a simple example, it looks something like this: there is a first telephone subscriber, there is a telephone connection, but there is no second subscriber.

The results of studies of some prominent domestic and foreign scientists (N.M. Bekhtereva, M. Emoto, E. Kugis, N. Kh. Valitov) correct our understanding of religious faith and give reason to stop considering it as a kind of rudiment in the structure of the psyche These researchers make very, very cautious conclusions that testify in favor of a reasonable grain in a person's faith in the inexplicable.

I would like to note that even earlier many prominent scientists considered it their duty (privately, of course) to confess their religious faith (Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, Pascal, Kepler, Linnaeus, etc.).

It was said above that faith implies not only the presence of a subject, which is a person, but also the presence of an object - in particular, God. Some authors advocate giving the concept of "God" the status of an official scientific category (K.V. Lokh, D.M. Melekhov, etc.). The idea is very controversial, if we take into account that academic science requires direct evidence of the existence of someone or something, and indirect indications are not taken into account, although they can serve as a characteristic of the alleged object or phenomenon. The presence of religious faith can only indirectly testify to the possibility of the existence of God. But here, too, it is important to draw a clear line between scientific and non-scientific approaches. The problem of psychology lies in the fact that it (along with philosophy) is a kind of watershed between scientific knowledge and the spiritual sphere. The overwhelming majority of psychological branches have nothing to do with religious issues, but all these branches are somehow connected with the personality of a person, his psyche and the spiritual world.

What is the most common way of instilling religious faith in a person? Ethnopsychologists call our culture a "culture of texts." The “culture of texts” corresponds to the traditional type of society in which the normative systems themselves and their value justifications exist as a set of precedents. The latter are recorded in the form of parables. Parables are the main form of transmission of experience from generation to generation in traditional societies. “Parables are full of hidden symbolism and are rarely reduced to a system that is a creed or a coherent ideology. Value systems, which consist mainly of parables, are mostly tied to each other in a purely external way, initially not codified, and almost always have the ability to coalesce. Such an ethno-cultural conglomerate is assimilated by the bearer of culture as a whole and, apparently, is never reflected. Members traditional society often they do not even have any idea that the methods that they use in their activities are passed “through normative filters”. The choice was made for them by their predecessors” (K.Kasyanova). Similarly, religious faith, becoming a part of faith as a way of knowing the world, fits into the structure of a person's personality under the influence of the environment (cultural, religious, historical, political, etc.) and is outwardly identified with the religion of ancestors.

As already mentioned, a believer is very important connection with the deity. In Christianity, this problem is solved universally: God from an outwardly impersonal being passed into a person who is completely perceived by human senses - Jesus Christ. Let us leave beyond the scope of this work the question of the validity of such a position - this is the lot of theologians. But such an incarnation of God resolved for Christians the question of the personality of God, strengthened faith, gave hope for the presence of higher justice in this world and beyond its conceivable limits.

In all ethnic groups, religious faith necessarily comes out and, becoming a religion, is transformed into external manifestations (ceremonies, rituals, traditions, etc.). Here, such external manifestations of religious faith express the urgent need of people for ethnic and religious self-identification, playing a positive role. Nevertheless, theologians of traditional denominations clearly separate religious faith from ritual belief (superstition), strictly condemning the latter. Such an approach makes it possible for a person who is not strengthened in his faith and who has seen some apparent or obvious inconsistencies not to turn off the religious path.

Religious faith is a quality of a person, which not only contributes to the fulfillment of individual needs of a person, but also makes one look for like-minded people and create religious groups. On the one hand, it contains a communicative component, uniting believers with similar religious views. On the other hand, it contrasts the adherents of this particular cult with the rest of the world.

Religious faith can play both a constructive role in relation to the personality and psyche of a person, and a destructive one. This is clearly seen when comparing the influence of traditional confessions with the influence of some religious sects. Over the past centuries, traditional faiths have learned to protect the psyche and inner world person, exercising its influence on the minds of people, taking into account the above environmental factors. Many new religious groups, on the other hand, build their work with believers in isolation from the existing situation, entering into conflict with the system of values ​​of a particular person and destroying it, giving nothing in return.

Unconsciously, each person understands that love and hate, well-being and trouble, happiness and unhappiness are the components of the spiritual order. You can be a successful person in your career, but completely unhappy in your personal life. Hence it is assumed that religious faith contributes to a person in his desire to find the necessary compromise between the realities of everyday life and spiritual comfort. “She saves us from us, saves our inner world from the chaos lurking in it” (R.M. Granovskaya).

Conclusion: faith can motivate human behavior, faith is not knowledge, but it affects the development of a person, forming the spiritual and moral attitudes of his personality.

The task is modern science, in our opinion, is to, while maintaining the objectivity of approaches, to proceed to a more serious study of the phenomena described and the nature of religious faith.

In conclusion, I think it makes sense to quote the words of N.P. Bekhtereva: “The indestructible faith of mankind in miracles and mysterious phenomena can be regarded as a childish pursuit of a dream, the blue bird of Maeterlinck. And maybe - and as the desire of man and mankind to understand the world in all its real fullness, in all its amazing diversity.

Literature:

Bekhtereva N.P. The magic of the brain and the labyrinths of life.– M.: AST; St. Petersburg: Owl, 2007;

Granovskaya R.M. Psychology of faith.- St. Petersburg: Speech, 2004;

Platonov Yu.P. Fundamentals of ethnic psychology.- St. Petersburg: Speech, 2003;

Modern psychological dictionary/ ed. Meshcheryakova B.G., Zinchenko V.P. - St. Petersburg: prime-EVROZNAK, 2006;

Shapar V.B. Psychology of religious sects.- Minsk: Harvest, 2004;

Ethnopsychological problems yesterday and today: Reader / comp. Selchenok K.V. - Minsk: Harvest, 2004

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