The Two Pluralisms Under the Third Rome

Abstract

This article applies Berger’s new paradigm for religion in a pluralist age to the case of Russia, a society that underwent 70 years forced secularization and yet today displays great religious diversity. The analysis rests upon two major assumptions. The first is that of “multiple secularities,” meaning that societies that arrive at secularity may arrive there from very different points of departure and by following very different secularization paths, and the particular paths taken are of considerable consequence. Second is the assumption that Russia’s history of forced secularization continues to have profound implications on all aspects of the sacred and the secular in Russia today. This is explored in the areas of church-state relations; religious belief; religion and national identity; and the implications of these on what Berger calls “formulas for peace.” Throughout the analysis, Berger’s theory proves quite valuable and offers several useful lenses through which to view the relationship between the sacred and the secular in today’s Russia.