The attitude of the Bashkortostan clergy to spiritual and educational activities

Abstract

The article examines spiritual and educational activities as one of the conditions for solving the strategic task of protecting traditional spiritual and moral values. Ministers (staff, volunteers) of religious organizations are considered as potential specialists in the field of spiritual and moral education. The Bashkortostan clergy expressed their attitude towards a new type of non-religious activity by taking part in a specially designed survey. The study showed that the clergy of the Republic of Bashkortostan, considering themselves as the carriers of spiritual and religious knowledge, are able to share their experience with parishioners. They are also ready to develop in the younger generation the skills of a religious way of understanding the world. Moreover, they are able to instill the values of religious doctrine, have experience in conducting educational events and reveal high readiness to conduct educational activities. But at the same time they understand that they are able to partially satisfy educational needs and interests in the field of religious cultures. The identified high need of the clergy for mastering spiritual and educational competencies leads the researcher to the conclusion that it is necessary to include a special course in the training of Orthodox and Muslim higher educational institutions, and, moreover, to develop a master’s program in “Spiritual and Moral Education.”