АТЕИСТИЧЕСКОЕ ВОСПИТАНИЕ И ПРОПАГАНДА В 1953–1964 ГГ. В СССР И ИХ ВЛИЯНИЕ НА ВНУТРИЦЕРКОВНУЮ ЖИЗНЬ БЕЛГОРОДСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study the features of anti-religious education and propaganda in the Belgorod region during the reign of N.S. Khrushchev. He pursued a policy of «development of science and culture» and actively fought against religious fanaticism. As part of this policy, a special body was created - the anti-religious commission, which dealt with the fight against religious organizations and their followers. Within the framework of this struggle, atheistic campaigns were carried out, in which scientific knowledge and ideas were actively promoted, and religious belief was criticized as a «socially harmful» phenomenon. The influ-ence of this atheistic propaganda on the internal church life of Belgorod region was significant. During this period, many people abandoned religion and became atheists. In addition, many churches were closed and the Catholic and Protestant churches were banned. Nevertheless, some believers continued to confess their faith in secret, dissatis-faction with atheistic propaganda led many people to strengthen their faith even more. Eventually, after the col-lapse of the USSR in 1991, religious organizations began to return to the Belgorod region, and today there are again many churches and monasteries operating there. As a result, the author comes to the conclusion that some archival materials and periodicals of that time allow to clarify the main directions of scientific and atheistic education of the inhabitants of the region and consider the reflection of the all-Union atheization process on the situation in Belgorod region, as well as assess the consequences of the anti-church activities of the authorities of the Soviet state.