ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH ON RELIGIOUS CONSCIOUSNESS (IN THE EXAMPLE OF BELARUSIAN AND RUSSIAN RESEARCHERS’ EXPERIENCE)

Abstract

The article analyzes the research carried out on the religious consciousness of the population of the republics of the North Caucasus of the Russian Federation and Belarus. Thus, in the North Caucasus, based on opinion polls, the state of mass Islamic consciousness in the region was analyzed to identify Salafi components in its content. By comparing the religious positions of the demographic groups of young people and the older generation, we identified the features and trends in the development of Salafi consciousness. The main hypothesis of the study boiled down to the fact that in the mass Islamic consciousness of the region, the Salafi consciousness is widespread to a sufficient extent, in connection with which, one could speak of the presence of a solid social base for followers of Salafism in the region. By the tasks of their research, Belarusian scientists determined the study of religious consciousness in its most comprehensive and broad understanding, setting the goal of obtaining a religious worldview model, as well as determining the factors that influence its dynamics. The hypothesis is that the degree of respondents’ religiosity forms a spectrum from declarative through weak and moderate to deep involvement.