Russian Religious Studies in the Digital Age

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis and assessment of the modern state of Rus­sian religious studies as a research field, scientific discipline and educational program of higher education in the context of digital transformations of culture and society. The ways of reaction of the religious studies community to the re­thinking of the principles of rationality and the production of scientific knowl­edge are described. The issues of the autonomy of religious studies in relation to other socio-humanitarian disciplines are discussed, it is stated that in the Russian context, it is possible to talk about disciplinary unity only in the educational sphere. The features of the current educational standards in religious studies are considered, the change in the number of budget places, including, in comparison with the direction of “Theology”, a significant reduction in the number of gradu­ating universities is recorded. The problems of professional orientations of reli­gious scholars and the expansion of career trajectories are discussed. Promising areas of religious studies are outlined: cognitive approaches, an appeal to envi­ronmental and bioethical problems. The authors justified the relevance of the de­velopment of the field of mediology of religion as a religious studies analysis of the processes of mediatization of religious ideas and practices in a changing me­dia sphere.