CATEGORIZATION OF RELIGIOUS ESSENCE AND THREAT IN PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL CONCEPTS OF RELIGION

The article analyzes the problem of threat proceeding from religion as a social phenomenon addressed by many thinkers and researchers of religion who recognized its universal character, but estimated its essence in different ways. The author proves that despite general recognition of religious worldview universality, there is a wide palette of opinions among religious researches concerning its possible danger for a certain believer as well as for large social groups. Using a comparative and phenomenological method, the author tries to show that the difference between external social manifestations of religion and its spiritual essence hidden from external observation was a source of perceiving religion as a threat. At the same time real social practice of interaction between the society, state and religions is based on the principle dividing religions into "friendly" and "alien" ones, that affects the way the problem of religious safety is comprehended in the history of philosophy and religious studies, where many a man relied upon the authors set of values, metaphysical by nature. That was the ground of a discourse between apologists and critics of religion, many of whom based themselves on engaged and fragmentary ideas of the essence and threat of religion. The analysis of the discourse content shows that most often it arises as a predictable reaction to those challenges which are thrown down by religions to societies with alternative values dominating. However this challenge and the following conflict, in which the terminology connected with the threat of religion is comprehended and conceptualized, can be judged as the conflict of confessional interests within a certain religious space, but not as the war against ruthless conspirators. It should be conducted against those who commit real social crimes under the religious slogans. It is important to note one more point that in most of modern countries there should be a discourse related to the discussion of the threat of a particular "friendly" or "alien", traditional or non-traditional religion. However, the factor of its development should be based on the public attention to the religious sphere; its active participants, being subjected to discussion and control, will have to transform and improve their social policy continuously thanks to public pressure.

Threat of religion, essence of religion, religion and society, concepts of religion, social philosophy, classical religious studies, religious extremism

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