Humanism as the essence of the principle of religious tolerance (on the example of the Ideas of L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, and N. N. Pirogov)

Abstract

During the period of globalization, various social strata comprise a new conceptual system. This ongoing transformational process prompts reconsideration of the fundamental concept of religious tolerance: it disintegrates and accretes with extraneous connotations. The worldwide growing religious fanaticism makes the problem of religious tolerance exceedingly acute. Its comprehension becomes relevant not only on the examples of countries, but also on the legacy of prominent representatives of different eras. The object of this research is the literary-philosophical heritage of L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, and N. N. Pirogov. The subject is the principle of religious tolerance in the worldview of the listed philosophers. Each of them demonstrates a superior example of humanism in the era of close interaction of various ethnic groups. The analysis of works of the three cultural figures indicates that despite the difference in worldviews, they all agreed upon the general humanistic essence of religious tolerance. The recognition of religious tolerance as a general cultural universal is based on their perception of the world as a single organism that does not unify various religious traditions, but rather constitute them into the “unity of diversified”. If L. N. Tolstoy elucidates humanistic nature of religious tolerance on the level of the individual, communities and entire humanity, then F. M. Dostoevsky has such reflections due to theme of war and peace. In combination with the “cosmic” worldview of N. N. Pirogov, these three views reveal different edges of religious tolerance based on the principle of complementarity. The study of humanistic ideas of the Russian philosophers may contribute to the creation of the methodological concept of religious tolerance as one of the fundamentals of the state domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Federation during the globalization era.