Axiological Basis of the Interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and Political Parties in the Process of Forming Civil Identity

Abstract

Currently, the Russian Federation is facing a number of important issues related to nation-building and finding its own identity in a changing world. In this case, the state should be considered as one of the agents of identity, significant but not the only one. Despite the fact that the state makes attempts on its own, through construction, to create a new identity based on the principles of citizenship, the effectiveness of this process remains at a rather low level. To transform the current situation, religious organizations are also involved in the process of nation-building, including the Russian Orthodox Church, which retains the largest number of followers within the country. In this regard, the aim of the study is to examine the results and prospects of interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and political parties and public associations. The authors put forward the following hypothesis: it is only within the framework of symbolic interactionism of social and religious movements, especially with the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church and parliamentary political parties, that productive progress in building a civic (political) nation may be achieved.