The problem of the interaction of religion and morality has occupied the minds of various thinkers since ancient times. And since antiquity, the most diverse, sometimes opposing points of view have been expressed on this problem. On the one hand, religious ideologists both in past centuries and now quite categorically assert that morality cannot exist without religion, just like a tree without roots. It is in religion that morality draws the strength to do good, it is religion that provides man with the meaning of his being, the highest moral values(God is the living embodiment of good). Ideas about the beneficial effect of religion on morality were also shared by those whose religiosity was very problematic.

Religious morality is a set of moral concepts, principles, ethical standards, formed under the direct influence religious outlook. Religious morality finds its expression in peculiar ideas and concepts of moral and immoral, in the totality of certain moral norms (for example, commandments), in specific religious and moral feelings (Christian love, conscience, etc.) and in some volitional qualities of a believer (patience , humility, etc.), as well as in systems of moral theology and theological ethics. Together, these elements make up the religious moral consciousness.

Features of religious morality include a number of aspects:

1) The main feature of religious morality is that its main provisions are put in a mandatory connection with the dogmas of the dogma. Since the "God-revealed" dogmas Christian doctrine are considered unchanged, the basic norms of Christian morality, in their abstract content, are also relatively stable, retain their strength in each new generation of believers. This is the conservatism of religious morality.

2) Another feature of religious morality, arising from its connection with the dogmas of dogma, is that it contains such moral instructions that cannot be found in systems of non-religious morality. Such, for example, is the Christian doctrine of suffering-good, of forgiveness, of love for enemies, and other provisions that are in conflict with the vital interests of real life of people.

3) Arguing that morality has a supernatural, divine origin, the preachers of all religions proclaim the eternity and immutability of their moral institutions, their timeless character. From a traditional religious point of view, morality is bestowed on a person from above, it acquires the meaning of God-given, its basic norms and concepts are fixed in holy books, and for believers, morality appears as a set of eternal and unchanging commands, or such imperatives that people must strictly follow.

4) Religious morality is able to exist forever, because, unlike non-religious, it is not aimed at a materialistic paradise on earth for one or two generations, but into eternity. Religious morality proceeds from superhuman, divine imperatives.

5) Despite the fact that religion also reflects the concrete historical conditions of its formation, which in a specific way sanctify some real aspects of people's existence, religious moral standards are universal for the believer, regardless of the historical conditions in which he lives, that is, they are universal in time, they can provide answers to eternal questions.

TO strengths Religious morality and ethics include the outward simplicity of answers to the most complex moral problems, the firm provision of criteria for moral values, ideals and requirements, their peculiar integrity and orderliness. Ready-made, already available in the system of religious morality, answers to the basic questions of moral life are capable of evoking a certain emotional and psychological peace of people's ethical consciousness.

6) However, not one religious norm of morality is universal, since it always to some extent reflects the specific conditions of social life in which its formation took place. Moral norms may be different in different religious systems. This is primarily due to the fact that they were formed in different countries, y different peoples at different stages of social development.

Despite all the seeming autonomy of religious morality, it is closely connected with the social system of morality. The interpenetration of religious and secular norms occurs, despite the conservatism of religion. Religion cannot be completely isolated from society, since it is its integral part. integral part, and therefore will experience its influence, but society cannot refuse all those norms that religion introduces to it.

Morality and religion- This social phenomena, each of which has a qualitative originality. Speaking of "religious morality", it is necessary to correlate this concept with both religion and morality as forms of social consciousness, with a specific way of regulation inherent in each of them. social behavior person. The most expansive interpretation of "religious morality" comes down to the fact that it is generally understood as the moral consciousness of the believer. Religion in the full sense of the word organically includes the doctrine of how one should live, what is considered good and what is evil; Morality is an essential aspect of any religion.

On the one hand, religious ideologists both in past centuries and now quite categorically assert that morality cannot exist without religion, just like a tree without roots. The French enlightener Voltaire, who sharply denounced the Catholic Church, at the same time declared that if God did not exist, then he would have to be invented in order to ensure the fulfillment of moral commandments: “I want my manager, my wife and my servant believed in God. I think that in this case I will be less robbed and deceived.

But on the other hand, it must be admitted that the nature of the impact of religion on the moral life of a person depends on a number of factors, on the content of the religion itself (compare, for example, Christianity and the religion of Ancient Greece, whose gods did not differ in special morality), on which components religion and for whose purposes they are used, from the historical era, the culture of the people, etc.

The complex, contradictory nature of the interaction of religion and morality is also due to their specificity, their differences (although sometimes they try to identify religion and morality). First of all, in the fact that morality is the path to the Good, the highest moral values, to moral perfection. And religion is the way to God, rather the worship of God. These two paths may or may not coincide.

But between religion and morality there are not only differences, but also a certain similarity. This is expressed, first of all, in the fact that religions, especially modern ones, are literally saturated with moral issues, the concepts of moral consciousness (duty, shame, conscience (heart), justice, guilt, etc.).

12. Moral in Christianity:

The ethics of Jesus Christ can be briefly defined as the ethics of love. We know about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ from the testimonies of his disciples and the disciples of his disciples.

The gospel (good news) tells that Christ is the son of God, born of an immaculate conception. He was sent to earth to prepare people for the last terrible judgment.

Jesus looks at our life (at our world) as if through a looking glass - from eternity. He speaks of the end of time, when good and evil, light and darkness, life and death, separate each other with an unbridgeable abyss. He speaks like a man who came from there. Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is near (growth. kingdom - doomsday, apocalypse).

Jesus overturned the established order of values. Jesus calls himself the son of man. The virtue of the son consists in obedience to the father. The son not only accepts the will of the father, he accepts it as his own. "The father loves the son" - this is the quality that makes the father a father. Man-son is likened to God-father through love. The ethics of Christ is the ethics of love. The last instruction of Christ is to love one another.

Love is humble - love is active - love is disinterested. Love for the enemy - deities. person height.

13. Moral in Islam:

Muhammad is the founder of the Muslim religion and civilization. The basis of his ethical programs yavl-Xia - the idea of ​​a single God. In his opinion, the prerequisite and guarantee of individual happiness and social harmony is unconditionally faith in God in the form in which God himself considered it necessary to reveal himself to people.

The essence of Muhammad's revelations was that God rules the world. God is absolute in every way, the god of truth, justice and mercy. Only he can be the patron of a person, his support and hope.

The idea of ​​a single God indicates to a person his rather modest place in the world and at the same time obliges a person in a certain way, namely, in a purely positive way, to relate to the world and, above all, to other people. THE UNITY OF GOD IS A GUARANTEE OF THE HARMONY OF THE WORLD. The human being must also be one. Faith is one, it cannot be divided.

Religion and Morality: General and Special

T.F. Suleimanov

The general and distinctive features religion and morality. It is shown that religion and morality are the highest achievements of the human spirit and world culture. They largely predetermine the spiritual life of both an individual person and society as a whole. It is emphasized that on this historical stage In the development of Russian society, the importance of both religion and morality is growing, they are becoming more in demand due to the fact that solving the problems of spiritual renewal, strengthening social harmony outside of them is unthinkable.

Key words: religion, morality, morality, human spirit, religious ethics, world culture.

"Morality does not need religion at all, but inevitably leads to religion."

"From natural religion receive their reasonable sanction

all moral requirements.

V. Solovyov

Throughout human history, the interaction and interconnection of various spheres of social life have made adjustments to the existence of society. Since both religion and morality are among the most ancient forms of manifestation of human social activity, their interaction and mutual influence can be found at any stage of the development of human society.

In order to examine in detail the relationship between religion and morality, it is necessary to define what is meant by the concepts of "religion" and "morality". “Religion (from Latin religio - piety, shrine, object of worship) is a worldview and attitude, as well as appropriate behavior and specific actions (cult), based on the belief in the existence of God or gods, the supernatural.”

Religion “is one of the most important social institutions, including a system of social norms, roles, customs, beliefs and rituals (cult), prescriptions, standards of behavior, and organizational forms. For most of human history, it has played a decisive role in man's construction of social reality and has been the most effective and widespread means of legitimation (explanation and justification) and maintenance of social order.

The concept of "morality" (from Latin moralis - moral) is "1) morality, a special form of social consciousness and a type of social relations (moral relations); one of the main ways to regulate human actions in society with the help of norms. Unlike a simple custom or tradition, moral norms receive an ideological justification in the form

ideals of good and evil, due, justice, etc. Unlike law, the fulfillment of the requirements of morality is sanctioned only by forms of spiritual influence (public assessments, approval or condemnation). Along with universal human elements, morality includes historically coming norms, principles, ideals...; 2) a separate practical moral instruction, moralizing.

Morality "is a well-known set of historically established and developing life principles, views, assessments, beliefs and norms of behavior based on them that determine and regulate the relationship of people to each other, to society, family, team)" .

The above definitions of religion and morality reflect only the most general features. In fact, the content and structures of these phenomena are much deeper and richer.

Considering the relationship between religion and morality, it should be noted that “three types of relationships are possible between them:

Autonomy. Morality is autonomous if it is based solely on reason and does not refer to religious ideas. Even if the moral values ​​in this case coincide with the values ​​of a particular religion, this is considered as a pure coincidence.

Heteronomy. In relation to religion, morality is considered heteronomous (that is, its rules come from an external source) if it directly depends on religious belief or a set of values ​​given by religion.

Theonomy. Morality is said to be theonomous (that is, coming from God) if it is supposed to come from the same source of inspiration and knowledge as religion, that is, from the source that religion calls God.

The essence of the first type of relationship - autonomy - is that "morality will be based solely on reason and experience." Heteronomy is the argument that “ethics inevitably depends on religion; this connection has a positive effect on morality, since religion has a broader and more realistic view of human nature than rationalism. Theonomy, on the other hand, can be expressed in the most general way as follows: “get religion out of your head as a separate part of life and just focus on those fundamental ideas and values ​​that religion expresses. These ideas and values ​​also serve as the basis of morality.

Having considered three types of relations between religion and morality, we proceed from the fact that religion is the basis of morality. The outstanding Russian thinker S.N. Bulgakov, considering the problem of the relationship between religion and morality, wrote: “It is fair that morality is rooted in religion. The inner light, in which the distinction between good and evil is made in man, comes from the Source of Lights. In his conscience, thoughtless and impartial,

So mysteriously free from natural human selfishness, a person feels that Someone conscience consciences with him his affairs, creates his own court, always sees him. And further he states: “Religion gives place to ethics and substantiates it, but it itself is not exhausted by it and is not even determined by it (it does not “orient itself” according to it)”. “Morality is not autonomous, but heteronomous, because it is transcendent, i.e. religious, its sanction. It has roots in religious consciousness.”

Based on the fact that religion initially and primarily influences the formation and development of spiritual and moral orientations, values ​​and norms, “ethics is developed precisely in the sphere of religion. Of course, such a definition unwittingly simplifies and, consequently, impoverishes the problem, because religion is largely created on the basis of the existing collective ethical matrix. In this case, as in most others, the interaction and mutual influence does not occur linearly metaphysically, but cyclically-dialectically. And yet, in the end, we can say that ethics is formed in the sphere of religious consciousness, and carried out in the sphere of cultural action.

Prominent modern Russian scientists G.V. Osipov and Zh. T. Toshchenko, regarding the relationship between religion and morality, quite definitely proceed from the fact that religion is the basis of morality, its norms, values, and principles. They express the following opinion on this matter: “Many achievements of culture came out of the bowels of religion or were mediated by it. It is religious teachings that summarize the wisdom and life experience of people on the problems of morality, and on this basis the main postulates of morality are formulated, without which the existence of peoples, the organization of their social and Everyday life". In other words, "without religious basis morality is impossible, just as without a root there can be no real plant.

The fact that religion is the basis of morality was written a lot and convincingly by D.S. Mill, W. James, G. Heffding, P. Tillich, J. Moriten and many thinkers. Here we also note the fact that not everyone agrees with this and adheres to an autonomous concept, it (the concept of ethics independent of religion) was born from the needs of life: it gives a program of morality to those people who do not believe that God exists. These people do not accept religious ethics, but they cannot remain without ethics. And, despite this, it should be noted that the first and most important relationship between religion and morality is the relationship of their inalienable interaction. This is due to the fact that both the religious and moral spheres of social relations are ultimately related to a person, they inevitably intersect and mutually influence each other. The reality of the mutual influence of religious ideas and moral ideas is quite obvious and is expressed in the comparison by people of the results of their actions (and, above all,

in the sphere of moral relations) in accordance with religious beliefs.

Having determined the relationship between religion and morality, it is necessary to note the common thing that unites them. In our opinion, the unity of religion and morality is that:

They represent fundamental general historical values;

Both religion and morality, relying on their functions and using their natural methods and means, perform the same regulatory, communicative, axiological and educational functions in terms of ultimate goals and objectives;

They are integral components of the spiritual culture of society, which represents "the unity of the diversity of all types of spiritual development of reality, a way of social life associated with the production of spiritual values ​​​​and the satisfaction of the spiritual needs of people";

Religion, like morality, represents the corresponding forms of individual and social consciousness;

Religion and morality are represented by an appropriate system of norms, namely religious and moral (it should be borne in mind that a number of norms can be both religious and moral at the same time, for example: the ten commandments from Moses. Exodus. Ch. 20). Religious and moral norms are varieties of social norms that together form an integral system of normative regulation;

Religion and morality have the same object of influence - a person, they are addressed to the same people, layers, groups; their requirements largely coincide (namely, the requirements of constant spiritual and moral improvement);

Religion and morality in philosophical terms are superstructural categories due to political, economic, cultural determining factors, which makes them socially the same type in a given society or a given formation;

Religion as a system always presupposes as its obligatory component a set of moral norms that form religious morality. Religious morality is always a set of moral concepts, principles, ethical norms that develop under the direct influence of a religious worldview, therefore, there are Buddhist morality (which is based on the basic moral postulates of Buddhism), Christian, Islamic morality, etc. Here it would be appropriate to give as an example the main provisions of the Christian

morality, the essence of which is formulated in the well-known Old Testament ten commandments from Moses (Exodus. Ch. 20) and the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ, in which the New Testament moral instructions are expressed (Gospel of Matthew. Ch. 5). From the Sermon on the Mount it follows that everything depends on the inner dignity of a person, and this inner dignity is determined by the "blessedness", i.e. qualities of mental attitude, and precisely emphasizes complete spiritual humility and self-abasement as opposed to selfishness and self-exaltation. Each kind of religious morality is always closely connected with the dogmas (basic provisions) of a particular creed;

In religion and morality, “a significant place is occupied by the emotional-sensual sphere. Without a deep feeling, a full-fledged religious life is not possible. In the same way, it is difficult to imagine moral relations without a variety of experiences”;

Common to religion and morality is “an obvious desire for the stability of the initial postulates (conservatism), as well as edification: believe in God! - the clergyman broadcasts; be fair, be honest! - calls the moralist ";

Religion and morality presuppose the presence of a belief component, i.e. “not only religious, but also moral life is based on faith. In the first case - faith in God, in the second - faith in the triumph of Goodness, Justice, etc.” ;

Religion and morality proceed from the fact that a person must strictly and strictly observe the relevant religious and moral norms. And this common point is indicated by the Russian philosopher V.S. Solovyov. In his work “The Justification of the Good,” he writes: “Religious morality, like morality, is not at all a confirmation of everything that happens, but a precept of one thing that should be. Regardless of any positive beliefs and any unbelief, every person? as a rational being, he must recognize that the life of the world in general and his own in particular has meaning, that, therefore, everything depends on a higher rational principle, by whose power this meaning is maintained and realized, and recognizing this, he must place himself in a filial position relative to the highest beginning of life, i.e. gratefully indulge in its conduct and subordinate all your actions to the "will of the father", speaking through reason and conscience.

Between religion and morality, there is not only a common thing that unites them, but also significant differences that are due to the specifics of both religion and morality, and taking them into account is perhaps more important than stating their commonality. What are these differences?

1. Religion and morality represent different forms of social relations, different types of activities. Religion creates a special type of relationship that creates the religious life of society, which can be defined as “a socio-spiritual education that includes a certain system of dogmas, religious and ritual actions, religious institutions (church, etc.), specific forms of relationships between believers and religious organizations. Integrating component religious life is religious consciousness. Morality, on the other hand, represents the moral life of society, defined as follows: "the fundamental principle of spiritual life, due to the need to form humane and reasonable relations between people, the need for moral regulation of the norms of human society" .

2. Religion and morality differ primarily in the way they are established and formed. As you know, the norms of religion always act as the will of God, are formulated at the relevant councils as revelations that are given to the elect (a certain circle of clergymen), and if they are not fulfilled, a sanction follows - God's wrath and judgment on the sinner and then God's punishment. Moral norms proceed from the fact that they are accepted taking into account the voice of conscience, are based on independent and free conviction, and the failure to comply with them entails a reproach of conscience, a sense of guilt and public condemnation - censure. Religious norms adopted by clergymen (higher hierarchs) become obligatory for adherents of one or another religious confession. These norms, as a rule, are sanctified by the name of God and become sacred. Moral norms are already partly created as part of a particular religious system and are being disseminated primarily among people professing a particular religion, and then recognized by the rest of the participants in social communication.

3. "Every religion represents a certain worldview, that is, a certain concept of God and his relationship to the world ... This philosophical side of religion is called dogma" (12). And from this it follows that the main feature of religion is that religious morality, as its attributive element, always becomes an obligatory connection with the dogma of dogma. Dogma is “(from the Greek dogma - doctrine, opinion) the basic formulas of dogma, the truth of which is considered undeniable. They are declared to be established by God, accepted by the "fathers and teachers of the church" through divine revelation and passed on by the church to subsequent generations of believers. The core of religious morality is the doctrine of sinfulness. A short set of main dogmas is the so-called "creed". As an example, we can cite the main tenets of the Western Roman Catholic christian church:

The dogma about the procession of the Holy Spirit both from God the Father and God the Son;

The doctrine of purgatory, according to which sinners, burning in flames, "purify their souls";

The doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary;

The dogma of the infallibility of the pope in matters of faith.

4. The norms of religion are more static (primarily due to their relationship with the dogma of religion, which, despite the changed historical conditions, remains unchanged) than the norms of morality, which are filled with new content due to changing political, economic and social conditions.

5. Religion always involves devotion to the highest religious and spiritual values ​​associated with God as the Creator of all things, and therefore, first of all, this requirement of honoring God, serving him, and then the virtue received from God, applies to all members of the religious community and other people. Service is "a concept that expresses the ontological essence of a person and the highest normative principle of social life" . The meaning of serving God “consists in the fact that a person, entering into communion with God, must renounce himself; he must give himself wholly to that Supreme Being whom he worships. Morality, unlike religion, puts in the first place a virtuous life and highly moral relations in the society in which a person lives. It is not limited only to religious ethics (its norms, values, institutions) and incorporates all possible prescriptions of universal human significance, and this is due to such features as universality, universality, alternativeness, voluntariness.

6. Religion and morality are different in their structural components. Religion is a system that includes the following components: "religious community, ritual, ethics, participation in society, writing (myth), concepts, aesthetics and spirituality" . The basis of "any religious faith is a person's personal religious experience, and the source is the Revelation experienced in this experience." Morality also includes: "1) moral consciousness, 2) moral relations and 3) moral activity."

7. Religion presupposes, as mentioned above, the presence of a religious community, a religious union (church) as an obligatory institution and, accordingly, the presence of a special religious group - professional clergymen and the hierarchy inherent in clergymen. Morality, as you know, is not institutionalized, it does not have special institutions that specifically ensure its implementation in the life of society, organizing control over the implementation of its norms and rules. It relies only on the conscience of an individual and public opinion.

8. Morality “represents the path to the Good, to the highest moral values, moral perfection. Religion is the path to God, the worship of God. These two paths may coincide, or they may differ.

9. Religion, as you know, is always associated with a certain religious doctrine, in which “there are specific concepts that are absent in the moral consciousness (in any case, secular consciousness): heaven and hell, sin (as a violation of the commandment of God), repentance before God , expiation of guilt before God, etc. In addition, believers experience specific feelings - love for God, fear of God, before the torments of hell. Religion includes a cult (prayer, sacrament, rituals), which causes special experiences.

10. Religion and morality differ in the level of requirements for human behavior. This level is much higher in religion, which in many cases requires from the individual much more than just the observance of moral standards. Religious morality induces to the highest examples of moral selflessness, which were shown to the whole world by the follower of Hinduism M. Gandhi, the Baptist pastor M.L. King, Nobel Prize winners A. Schweitzer (philosopher, musician, doctor, theologian) and nun mother Teresa. Religion is a demand for endless moral perfection, and this is clearly expressed in such a world religion as Christianity. This is the fundamental position of the Christian doctrine, its main axiom. As the outstanding Russian philosopher I.A. Ilyin: “The spirit of Christianity is perfection,” the Christian “not only contemplates Perfection, but also makes it his duty to perfect himself: hence he has a living experience of sin and a sense of his own unworthiness; he judges himself, reproves, repents, and purifies himself; and in every deed, in every deed, he asks about the perfect and calls himself to him. This is where this spirit of responsibility, self-accusation, repentance comes from in Christianity; the spirit of diligence, conscientiousness, work, self-restraint, discipline, feat.

11. The difference between religion and morality also lies in the fact that they represent different forms of social consciousness.

These, in our opinion, are the general and distinctive features of religion and morality. In conclusion of this work, it should be noted that religion and morality undoubtedly form one of the highest achievements of the human spirit and world culture. They largely predetermine the spiritual life of both an individual person and society as a whole. At this historical stage in the development of Russian society, the importance of both religion and morality is growing, they are becoming more in demand due to the fact that solving the problem of spiritual renewal, strengthening social harmony is unthinkable outside of them.

A special role in the matter of spiritual and moral revival is, of course, given to the Russian Orthodox Church due to the fact that: “The Church in history, in addition to direct moral and educational influences on the conscience of each of its individual members, is also known for its powerful transformative influence on public morality in connection with its universal impact on the entire life of mankind, on the entire civilization and culture.

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Morality and religion are the most ancient regulators of relations between people. They arose long before the written history of mankind. Being components of the spiritual life, morality and religion have come a long way of development. They mutually influenced each other and in different cultural and historical epochs differently influenced the way of life of people and society as a whole. Suffice it to recall the spiritual life of the individual and society in medieval Europe when everything was determined and regulated by religious ideology. Accordingly, moral ideas, ideals, prescriptions and requirements in this society did not go beyond religious morality.

At all times, morality and religion were considered the most important factors in the unity of society. Over thousands of years of history, these socio-psychological and organizational structures accumulated a lot of common values ​​and tools that actively influence the behavior modern man on his spiritual well-being. At the same time, their position and functioning in society differ significantly. Let's consider each of these social phenomena separately.

People in society are connected by various relationships. Every adult has professional responsibilities that require skills, conscientious performance of assigned tasks, attentive attitude to the possible negative consequences of their work. The pilot seeks to safely deliver passengers to their destination, the doctor - to help and not harm the patient, the teacher - to instill a love of knowledge and not alienate students from their subject with the lifeless dryness of the presentation of educational material.

Such activities are regulated by special instructions, memos, rules, charters.

However, in addition to the external rules governing any professional activity, there are many other conditions for successful work: love for one's profession, the desire to benefit people with one's work, the accumulation of new knowledge and turning it into skills and rules for more productive, successful work. In other words, there are such regulators of professional activity that cannot be prescribed in service instructions, but are the most important conditions for its content, consistency, success and consistency with other types of work. These regulators are a system of rules and norms of professional ethics: military, medical, pedagogical, sports, judicial, etc.

However, human life is not limited to professional activities. A large place in it is occupied by the birth and upbringing of children, relationships in everyday life between husband and wife (the distribution of responsibilities for housekeeping), the relationship of children to parents and other relatives more distant by blood. Finally, there are spiritual regulators of everyday relationships between people in friendship, love, affection, everyday contacts.

This begs the question: is there anything in common between these regulators? Is it possible to talk about a single core that unites different ways spiritual regulation of people's behavior into a single whole?

Such a core of spiritual life in all societies known to science is morality.

Morality is a special type of regulation of people's behavior and relations between them on the basis of following certain norms of communication and interaction.

Our ideas about society will be incomplete if we lose sight of its differentiation along religious lines, i.e. division into believers and non-believers.

In history lessons, you have already received information about the role of religion and the church in the life of human society in various cultural and historical eras.

However, this knowledge is most often limited to general ideas about the influence of the church on the spheres of politics and culture in various countries.

Religion as a socio-cultural phenomenon is not limited to the activities of official institutions - churches and other religious associations (communities). When studying this phenomenon, it is extremely important to understand that we are dealing with a world of complex moral, meaningful, aesthetic and other searches of people, psychologically rich, emotionally sharp and meaningful for a believer.

"Religion" literally translated from Latin means "connection" (reconnection). Believers consider the connection of everyday life, decisive actions and even their thoughts with the main shrine, that is, with God, surpassing in its capabilities and manifestations of the possibility ordinary people. This -- special kind reality. In science, such a reality is called supernatural, otherworldly. However, for believers, as the famous Russian religious thinker and scientist P. A. Florensky (1882-1937) emphasized, this reality is more natural than conventional ways and forms of human life.

So, religion is a worldview, attitude and the behavior of people determined by them based on belief in the existence of a supernatural sphere. This is the desire of man and society for a direct connection with the absolute, the universal foundation of the world (God, the gods, the unconditional center of everything that exists, the substance, the main shrine).

Religious consciousness, i.e., the belief in the real existence of the supernatural, otherworldly, that the source of the main guidelines and values ​​of mankind is God is supreme strength in the world. Accordingly, moral requirements and norms are perceived in religious consciousness as a derivative of the will of God, expressed in his covenants, commandments and sacred books (Bible, Koran, Lun-yu (“Conversations and Judgments”), based on certain contacts with a supernatural source (covenants Moses received from the god Jehovah (Yahweh) on Mount Tabor; the Sermon on the Mount of Christ is the word of the God-man; the illiterate Muhammad dictated what God told him through the angel (archangel) Jabrail).

Religion, due to its universal character (it refers to all manifestations of people's lives and gives them its own assessments), the obligatory nature of its requirements for the fulfillment of basic moral and legislative norms, psychological insight and vast historical experience, is an integral part of culture.

In history, religion has always coexisted with secular elements of culture, and in certain cases opposed them.

At present, a fairly stable historical balance is emerging between the main religions of each country, on the one hand, and the secular sector of culture, on the other. Moreover, in a number of countries the secular sector occupies a significant position.

Introduction

Starting to study the topic, we note that the relationship between religion and morality is very close. Along with religion, morality dominates this system. Morality is a broader concept than religion and religious morality. Compared to other social norms, it has the most extensive scope. Only small areas of social reality are free from moral evaluations. The foregoing means that the spheres of action of religion and morality largely intersect, however, morality and religion remain independent sovereign normative and regulatory entities.

This topic is relevant, since morality and religion often operate in the same areas. Subject of consideration: religion and morality in their interconnection, interaction and correlation.

The relationship between religion and morality is complex, it includes four components: unity, difference, interaction and contradictions. The work required a careful comparison of religion and morality, the elucidation of the relationship between them allowed a deeper knowledge of both of these phenomena.

There is a lot of scientific literature on this issue. The greatest interest in the preparation of the work was caused by the theoretical works of Lukasheva E.A. , Ageshina Yu.A., Alekseeva S.S., Vengerova A.B., Marchenko M.N. and, of course, one cannot ignore the opinions of Matuzov N.I., Malko A.V., Lazarev V.V., Naidysh V.M., Gorelov A.A., Gaisinovich A.E., Bashem A..

Main part

Morality (lat.moralis - relating to mores, morality) is a special type, one of the main ways of normative regulation of human actions, represented by a set of norms and principles that extend their influence to everyone and embody moral values. Morality covers moral views and feelings, life orientations and principles, goals and motives for actions and relationships, drawing a line between good and evil, conscience and shamelessness, honor and dishonor, justice and injustice, norm and abnormality, mercy and cruelty, etc. Morality embodies absolute values ​​in its norms, due to which moral norms and assessments are the highest criterion of behavior.

The modern philosopher Francis Fukuyama considers morality as social capital, which determines the degree of viability of society. This understanding of morality is close to its definition as a collective intuition.

Morality is aimed at the uniformity of the regulation of relations and the reduction of conflict in society.

It is necessary to separate the ideal (propagated) and real moral systems.

Morality is formed mainly as a result of education, in lesser degree- as a result of the action of the mechanism of empathy or adaptation process. The morality of an individual, as an imperative subconscious mechanism, does not lend itself well to conscious critical analysis and correction.

Morality is the subject of ethics. A broader concept that goes beyond morality is ethos.

Morality is a more subtle concept than morality, associated not only with the system of morals, but also with the spiritual world of a person, his orientation towards internal values. From questions of ecology, technology, political science, we must inevitably move on to discussing the problems of the evolution of the inner world of man. It is necessary to find ways to influence him so that the inner world of a person becomes his main value. This is the key to the most important thing - the preservation of the species homo sapiens.

The formation of morality has a natural-historical origin, inseparable from the very life of people, in the process of which the values ​​and ideals tested by the experience of human society are fixed in the public and individual consciousness in the form of certain views, moral ideas and expectations. The subject forms moral norms and draws them on himself.

Religion (from lat. Religio - piety, piety, shrine) - a worldview animated by faith in God. It is not only a belief or a set of views. Religion is also a sense of bondage, dependence, and obligation to the mystery. higher power giving support and worthy of worship. This is how many sages and philosophers understood religion - Zarathustra, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, Christ, Mohammed. Does not diverge from this understanding of religion and what modern thinkers offer.

Theologians, historians, philosophers are engaged in the study of religion, but they do it from different angles. The first takes care of the most accurate expression of the facts of religious consciousness given by revelation, the second considers the stages of religious consciousness, compares and classifies different religions. The philosopher seeks to comprehend the phenomenon of religiosity. The comparative study of religion began only in the 19th century. Philosophers are trying to identify religious forms of consciousness, to reveal their main types.

Thinkers' thoughts:

“There are four reasons by virtue of which concepts of gods are formed in the minds of people:

1. Belief in predicting the future.

2. Fear of a formidable natural phenomenon.

3. An abundance of objects that serve our existence.

4. Observations of an unchanging order in the movement of the starry sky ”(Cleanus of Assos).

"The natural cause of religion is worry about the future" (Thomas Hobbes).

“Fear of an invisible force, invented by the mind or imagined on the basis of fictions allowed by the state, is called religion, not allowed - superstition. When the imaginary power is really such as we imagine it, then this is true religion ”(Thomas Hobbes).

“Religion is the art of intoxicating people in order to divert their thoughts from the evil that the powers that be inflict on them in this world” (Paul Henri Holbach).

"Philosophy is identical with religion" (Georg Hegel).

“If people are so weak when they have religion, what will they do when they are without it?” (Benjamin Franklin).

“The strength of religion rests chiefly on faith in it, and the strength of human laws rests on the fear of them. The antiquity of existence favors religion; the degree of faith is often commensurate with the remoteness of the subject in which we believe, because our mind is thus free from side concepts of that remote era that could contradict our beliefs ”(Charles Montesquieu).

2. Correlation between morality and religion.

2.1 General characteristics.

The development of civilization determined the formation and functioning of many various systems norms that are interconnected. Bearing in mind the diversity of norms operating in different spheres of society, their close interrelationships, we can speak of a "system of systems" of norms. From other types of norms used in society, the actual social norms differ in scope, method of formation, content, functions, methods of reinforcement - authorization, mechanisms of distribution and action.

A holistic, dynamic system of social norms is a necessary condition for the life of society, a means of public administration, ensuring coordinated interaction between people, human rights, and stimulating the growth of the well-being of the people. The social norm is nothing more than the rule of people's cohabitation, the rule of socially significant behavior of members of society. The rules governing the behavior of people, the actions of social groups, teams, organizations, in their totality, constitute a system of social norms.

The system of social norms reflects the stage of economic, socio-political and spiritual development of society, it manifests the historical and national features of the life of the country, the nature of state power, the quality of life of people. The norms governing social relations specify objective laws, trends in social development, that is, such patterns that operate with historical necessity. The objective nature of these laws and tendencies is organically linked with scientific knowledge and using them by people in their purposeful social activities. Social norms are also connected with the laws of morality and morality, natural and technical sciences, with the very scientific and technological progress of society, of the whole civilization.

The system of social norms consists of various groups of norms that operate in interrelationships. In approaches to their classification, both basic and additional, complex criteria can be applied. The specifics of the operation of the norms, the very quality of the rules of conduct, incentives and guarantees for the implementation of the norm are taken into account. In the works of modern domestic legal scholars, classifications of social norms are given, which have certain differences, features in the names of certain groups of norms. So, Professor N. I. Matuzov names among social norms legal, moral; political, aesthetic, religious, family, corporate, norms of customs, traditions, habits, business habits, rules of etiquette, correctness, decency, rituals, rituals. Professor MN Marchenko in the textbook on the theory of state and law in the system of social norms considers law, morality, custom and religion. Professor V. N. Khropanyuk subdivides social norms on two grounds: according to the method of their establishment (creation) and according to the means of protecting them from violations. On the basis of this, he singled out such social norms: norms of law, norms of morality (morality), norms of public organizations, norms of customs, norms of traditions, norms of rituals. In terms of content, among social norms, he singled out political, technical, labor, family norms, norms of culture, religion, etc. Different opinions were expressed on the issue of so-called technical norms.

"Social norms - regulators of relations between people, groups, social communities - should be classified depending on the nature of the social relations that regulate these norms." Social norms include economic, political, legal, moral, religious, aesthetic, etc.

In the process of regulating social relations, the active role of one group of social norms is supplemented and corrected by other groups. The interaction of specific norms, groups of norms in a single system of social norms reveals the complex properties of the components included in the system. The effectiveness of the operation of social norms is expressed in the achievement and maintenance of the public consent of citizens, a strong public order, an atmosphere of fair social partnership and initiative, social responsibility, and conscious observance of norms by citizens.

Principles and specific rules of conduct carry out regulatory, control, educational functions. For example, not only specific legal, religious or moral rules, but also legal, religious or moral principles have an active impact on social relations through the regulation of people's volitional behavior by influencing its motives. The principles of justice and humanism, democracy, religion, respect for human rights, legality and others deeply influence the choice of a certain behavior of people, social groups, collectives, and in the absence of a norm directly regulating this species relations. Social norms are associated with the interests of the individual, society as a whole, as well as with the interests of social groups, the international community. Social norms expressing the interests, values ​​inherent in all people, social groups, the entire international community, can be called universal human norms.

For educational and practical purposes, it is very important to identify both the close relationship of all types of social norms and their specificity. This is especially true of religion and morality, which are of particular interest as the highest spiritual values ​​in the system of social norms.

Religion is inconceivable without lessons of morality, morality, ethics. Morality is the most important social institution, one of the forms of social consciousness. It is a well-known set of historically emerging and developing life principles, views, assessments, beliefs and norms of behavior based on them.

The above definition reflects only the most general features of morality. In fact, the content and structure of this phenomenon is deeper, richer and also includes psychological aspects: emotions, interests, motives, attitudes and other components. But the main thing in morality is the idea of ​​good and evil.

Morality has internal and external aspects. The first one expresses the depth of the individual's awareness of his own "I", the measure of responsibility, spirituality, social duty, duty.

Morality and ethics are one and the same. IN scientific literature and in practical use they are used as identical. Some analysts are trying to establish differences here, suggesting that morality is understood as a set of norms, and morality is the degree of their observance, i.e. actual state, level of morality. In this case, we proceed from the identity of these concepts. As for ethics, this is a special category, meaning teaching, the science of morality, although it also contains certain evaluation criteria.

The second aspect of morality is the specific forms of external manifestation of the above qualities, because morality cannot be reduced to bare principles. These two sides are closely intertwined.

“Morality presupposes a person's value attitude not only to others, but also to himself, self-esteem, self-respect, awareness of himself as a person. Honor, dignity, good name are protected by law - these are the most important social values. Honor is sometimes more valuable than life. Once, because of honor, they went to a duel; Pushkin and Lermontov died in such fights. Ideas about honest and dishonorable are another core of morality. The highest law and the highest court for the individual is his own conscience, which is rightfully considered the most complete and deepest expression of the moral essence of man.

2.2.Unity of religion and morality.

Religions in the historically established confessional forms had a significant and comprehensive influence on the moral principles of the peoples who professed them. Religious morality, being codified in religious texts, spreads along with religions. It should be noted that monotheistic religions more clearly and rigidly define the boundaries of good and evil in comparison with religions where polytheism is practiced. However, there are entire cultures and civilizations in which the formation of morality and morality took place in the conditions of paganism (the ancient Greeks formulated Golden Rule morality and developed the very concept of ethics), or which may appear irreligious (the Confucianism of Chinese civilization).

Religion and morality are varieties of social norms that together form an integral system of normative regulation and, therefore, have some common features, they have a single regulatory framework; they ultimately pursue the same goals and objectives - streamlining and improving social life, introducing organizing principles into it, developing and enriching the individual, affirming the ideals of humanism and justice.

Morality and religion are addressed to the same people, strata, groups, collectives; their requirements are largely the same. Both morality and religion are called upon to act as fundamental general historical values, indicators of the social and cultural progress of society, its creative and disciplining principles.

2.3. The main differences between morality and religion.

Being a priority, morality and religion have a mutual influence on each other. Morality, unlike religion, has no specialized vehicles (such as, for example, scriptures) its norms and principles. Morality is reproduced by the force of beliefs, habits, moral duty, etc. Religion and religious morality is applied by special institutions (churches, temples) using special means and mechanisms.

Morality is a universal regulator and its influence extends to all or almost all spheres of human actions and actions. Religion is still selective. There are spheres that are inaccessible to its influence, or its influence is quite specific.

With the development of moral values ​​in the world and the spread of the idea of ​​the existence of universal morality, religion itself and its sacred texts began to be subjected to sometimes disappointing assessments from these somewhat different moral systems. For example, cruelty and injustice towards non-believers and atheists, practiced in some religions, is often considered immoral.

From the side of many atheists, religion is often presented as a doctrine that carries immorality. In this case, the fact that some people use religion as a tool to achieve their own goals is often used in criticism. A similar opinion is sometimes expressed in the words of Sigmund Freud, who says that immorality at all times has found in religion no less support than morality.

Accused of immorality jewish god: "God Old Testament- perhaps the most unpleasant character in world literature. Jealous and proud of it, petty, unjust, ruthless power-hungry, vengeful, bloodthirsty ethnic cleaner, misogynist, homophobe, racist, child-killer, sowing plague and death sadomasochist, capricious, vicious bully" (Richard Dawkins).

And the gods of polytheistic religions: "How cruel you are, oh gods, how you have surpassed everyone in envy!" (Homer, "The Odyssey").

Morality supports evolution and scientific progress. Modern defenders of religion do not want to quarrel with science, they are afraid of its huge, ever-growing authority. The leaders of the Catholic Church now say that the persecution of scientists by the Inquisition was a tragic mistake, and now the church supposedly respects science and scientists.

Russian Orthodox Church takes credit for the fact that it is less than Catholic Church and the Catholic Inquisition, guilty of persecuting leading scientists. At the same time, the main thing is hushed up - the fundamental ideological opposition scientific knowledge justified by morality, and religious dogmas. After all, knowledge frees a person, gives him the opportunity to develop harmoniously, rebuild society on truly humanistic, moral principles. Religious ideology, on the contrary, is generated by the dominance over man of natural and social forces alien to him, it fetters creative energy, strengthens the unfreedom of man.

And the struggle between scientific and religious ideology in Russia was just as sharp and sometimes no less dramatic than in Western Europe.

Reading pre-revolutionary literature, quite often you come across examples of the hostile attitude of the church towards science and technical progress. Where the church was able to slow down scientific and technological development, hinder the growth of the educational and cultural level of the population, it tried with all its might to do so.

Sometimes the hostility of the defenders of Orthodoxy to scientific and technological progress led to curiosities. Even the railroads once aroused the enmity of the highest hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. It’s hard to believe now, but Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow (1782-1867) tried to oppose the construction of railways in Russia, arguing that they damage the religious zeal of pilgrims: walking to “holy places”, according to this religious figure, is much more useful for the salvation of the soul of a believer, rather than traveling by rail....

In 1898, at the Nizhny Novgorod fair, religious fanatics burned down one of the first cinematographs in Russia, which they declared to be "creations of the devil."

A storm of indignation among the clergy was caused by the project to build a metro in Moscow, which was considered by the City Duma as early as 1903. The reactionary and inert clergy strongly condemned the very idea of ​​building an underground road, calling it a "sinful dream" and stating that, once underground, in the "hell", passengers can fall into the kingdom of Satan and destroy their souls. The position taken by the Moscow clergy to a large extent contributed to the rejection of the metro project by the city duma.

Modern Russians Orthodox theologians they are trying to create the impression that the Orthodox Church, unlike, for example, the Catholic Church, has never been at enmity with science and has not persecuted leading scientists. But real historical facts testify to her wary, hostile attitude towards education, science and scientists. The Russian Orthodox Church, although on a smaller scale than the Catholic Church, in the pre-revolutionary period banned and burned scientific books, organized the persecution of the greatest natural scientists - materialists, persecuted atheists and freethinkers, and hindered the development of education and science.

That's what a digression into history testifies to.

2.4 Contradictions between morality and religion

The close interaction of religion and morality does not mean that this process is even, smooth, conflict-free. Sharp contradictions, collisions, and discrepancies can arise between them and quite often do. Moral and religious demands do not always and not in everything agree, and often directly oppose each other. These inconsistencies and contradictions are of both social and dialectical origin, and stem from the operation of the law of unity and the struggle of opposites.

The reasons for the contradictions between them are that they have different methods of regulation, different approaches, criteria in assessing the behavior of subjects. What matters is the inadequacy of their reflection of real social processes, the interests of various social strata, groups, classes. Religion is by its nature more conservative, it inevitably lags behind the flow of life, moreover, it itself has many collisions. Morality, on the other hand, is more mobile, dynamic, reacts more actively and more elastically to ongoing changes. These two phenomena develop unevenly; morality is dominated by elements of flexibility and spontaneity. Hence, in any society there is always a different religious and moral state.

Although religion is based on morality, this does not mean at all that religion mechanically fixes all the dictates of morality, regardless of their essence and affiliation. Morality is heterogeneous, reflects the aspirations of various social groups, strata, classes, states, nations, religions, mutually exclusive views can oppose in it. F. Engels wrote: "People's ideas about good and evil have changed so much from people to people, from century to century, that they often directly contradicted each other." Morality, as a rule, turns out to be ahead, but sometimes religious institutions serve as a guide for morality and can have a leading effect on it.

Often situations are created when religion allows something, but morality prohibits, and vice versa, the law prohibits, but morality allows. The lack of agreement and “mutual understanding” between them is ultimately reflected in the regulatory and educational possibilities of both of these means.

3. Relationship, interaction of morality and religion.

3.1. The essence of the relationship between morality and religion.

As a form of social consciousness, a complex of relations and norms, morality originated earlier than political and religious forms of consciousness, this is a broader concept. Customs, morality regulated the behavior of people in the primitive communal system.

“Morals express people's ideas about goodness, justice, dignity, honor, diligence, mercy. Moral standards - a product historical development humanity, they were formed in the fight against evil, for the affirmation of goodness, philanthropy, justice, and the happiness of people. The development of morality is influenced by various forms of social consciousness. Moral principles and norms are ultimately determined by the economic conditions of society. In the development of humanity as a whole, moral progress and the growing role of moral culture are noted. However, this moral development is contradictory. The universal in morality collides with manifestations of group moral consciousness. Morality is formed in the interaction of class and universal. Although religion has a significant influence on morality, on the approval of its universal norms in consciousness, in people's behavior.

The history of the development of civilization shows that religion and morality, as components of the spiritual culture of society, are organically linked. Religion takes into account the state of public morality, the moral culture of the country's population. Morality takes into account freedom of religion.

The area of ​​relations that morality covers is much wider than religious relations. Many relationships between people in everyday life, in a team, in a family are objects of morality, and are considered broader, more multispectral and freer than religious views on them.

3.2. Interaction of morality and religion.

From the close relationship of the regulators under consideration, their same close social and functional interaction follows. They support each other in ordering social relations, positive influence on the individual, the formation of a proper moral culture and legal consciousness among citizens. Their requirements are largely the same (in Christian religion 10 Commandments of Jesus Christ: do not kill, do not steal, do not slander, do not commit adultery, etc.) Religion condemns the commission of crimes of a legal and moral nature in the same way as morality.

Any illegal behavior is also anti-moral and anti-religious. Religion prescribes the observance of laws, and morality achieves the same. Such commandments of Christian morality as "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not bear false witness" are taken under the protection of the law, which punishes their violation. As we can see, the interaction of religion and morality is often expressed in the direct identity of their demands addressed to a person, in the education of high civil qualities in him. In the process of carrying out their functions, religion and morality help each other in achieving common goals, using their own methods for this. It follows from this that they objectively need each other. The challenge is to make this interaction as flexible and deep as possible. This is especially important in those relations where there are lines between the legally punishable and the socially reprehensible, where legal and moral criteria are closely intertwined.

Morality and religion not only do not exclude, but presuppose and complement each other. The religious norms and dogmas of the Church serve and must serve as conductors of morality, to consolidate and protect the moral foundations of society. And the effectiveness of religion largely depends on how fully, adequately it expresses these requirements. The strength of religion increases a hundredfold if it is based not only on its own power (a special apparatus), but also on morality. In turn, the action of morality, as well as other social norms, to a large extent depends on a well-functioning religious system, on the spirituality of people. After all, all these regulators form a single regulatory field.

4. Law, customs, traditions, moral and religious norms.

Social behavior, the actions of people are also regulated by customs. A custom is a rule that has been established in social practice as a result of repeated application, an established approach to assessing a certain image of relations, actions of a person, a team, a social group. A custom is a form of social regulation that is familiar to members of a society, a social group.

Custom is one of the oldest forms of regulation of human behavior. Along with the development of society, the system of customs changes: some customs cease to exist, others undergo changes, new customs appear that reflect the needs and interests of people. By its very nature, custom is conservative. Prejudices and remnants of the past, which exist in a number of cases, are reinforced in customs, which negatively affects the new stage of social life.

Customs recognized and sanctioned by the state acquire the meaning of legal customs, are a form (source) of law, an integral element of the legal system of the state. Customs operate in the international sphere, act as a regulator in trade relations between sellers and buyers of different states.

Customs that have a moral character are called mores. The morals express the psychology of a social group, the inhabitants of a certain area. The vestiges of the past in the realm of morality are most often retained in mores. Society, using cultural, organizational measures, is fighting against morals that are unacceptable in a civilized community.

In sociology, mores are interpreted in a broader sense - as a form of existence and functioning of social norms. Social mores are understood as socially prescribed stereotypes of behavior of a large mass of people. They “are substantiated by ordinary consciousness not so much by ideas about what is due (i.e., morality), as by ideas about natural, self-evident ways of behavior.

In influencing the lives of people, groups, society as a whole, traditions play a significant role - the established ways of people's behavior, passed down from generation to generation. Customs and traditions have a certain similarity. Both contain elements of social and cultural heritage and have signs of sustainability. Traditions are broader entities than customs. How traditions manifest certain ideas, values, social institutions, norms of behavior.

In everyday, family, religious relations, customs and traditions are manifested in rites and rituals. Such, for example, are the wedding ceremony, the ceremony of presenting a birth certificate to a child, the ceremony of initiation into workers of young people starting work, the ceremony of seeing off a veteran of labor for a well-deserved rest.

A significant and important group of social norms are religious norms. These norms regulate the attitude of believers to God, the church, to each other, the structure and functions of religious organizations. The code of moral and ethical regulations is an integral part of religion, which includes religious beliefs, specific actions and religious institutions. The divine authority of religious norms is determined primarily by their connection with religious faith. The code of religious canons (prescriptions, rules) is a regulatory system that has been operating in society since the earliest stages of human development. In the ancient world, religion, morality, politics were closely interconnected. World religions: Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam influence not only the spiritual, moral life of society, but also the development of legal systems in the same way as moral laws.

The Christian religion, the canons of morality of Christianity have had and are having a great influence on the life of the peoples of the Earth, primarily the population of Europe and America.

Religious norms have found expression in Christian church canon law. These norms regulate the internal organization of the church, the relationship between church bodies, believers and the state, and some relationships in the lives of believers. In 1917 the Roman Catholic Church published the Code of Canon Law.

“One of the main legal systems of our time is Islamic law. This system of legal prescriptions, based on the Qur'an, shows the Muslim the "path" that follows from the religion of Islam. Sharia - a set of religious and legal norms of Muslim feudal law - was created in the countries of the East. The sources of Sharia are the Koran, Sunnah, ijma (sayings of the preachers of the Muslim religion), qiyas (interpretation of the Koran and Sunnah).

In the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud, and other sacred books, along with the actual religious provisions and canons, universal human moral norms found expression. Such universally recognized norms of human community are contained, for example, in the Bible in the commandments of Moses, in the Sermon on the Mount.

The morally based Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others, to manifest his religion or belief, public or private in teaching, worship and the performance of religious and ritual rites" (Article 18). Freedom of conscience and religion, cooperation of all confessions to achieve prosperity and harmony in the world is a remarkable achievement of civilization.

In the Russian Federation, there are norms of various religious beliefs and directions. Among Russian citizens there are Orthodox, Old Believers, Catholics, Baptists, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews.

Russian legislation on freedom of conscience, religion, relations between the state and the church, and religious organizations reflects the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Final Document of the Vienna Meeting of Representatives of the States Parties to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Declaration of the Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen, adopted in 1991 in Russia, states that every person is guaranteed freedom of conscience, religion, religious or atheistic activity. Everyone has the right to profess any religion or not to profess any, to choose, have and disseminate religious or atheistic beliefs and act in accordance with them, subject to the observance of the law (Article 14).

Russian Federation is secular state. This is one of its most important constitutional principles. No religion can be established as a state or obligatory one. Religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law. Any restrictions on the rights of citizens on the basis of their religious affiliation are prohibited. The creation and activities of public associations whose goals or actions are aimed at inciting social, racial, national and religious hatred are prohibited. The Constitution of the Russian Federation states that "everyone is guaranteed freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including the right to profess individually or jointly with others any religion or not to profess any, freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them"

In modern conditions of life in Russian society, the importance of religious consciousness, religious norms in strengthening social harmony and healthy morality is increasing.

Conclusion

The unity of religion and morality is characterized by normativity, universality and generality. Normativity consists in a set of certain norms that are the standard and criterion for evaluating people's behavior. Universality is manifested in the fact that both religion and morality extend to all social relations, and are universal regulators in the system of social norms. The commonality of morality and religion is expressed in the same assessment by them of ideology, morality, law, politics and other spheres of human life.

The interaction of religion and morality is manifested in their interpenetration and mutual influence. The interpenetration lies in the fact that religion is ultimately based on morality. Religion enshrines the moral principles of justice, morality, honesty, good and evil. The mutual influence is manifested in the fact that morality has an active impact on religion and largely softens its canons, makes it more tolerant of the evolution of mankind, of new positive influences on society, on the development of the economy, science and culture, the trends of the times.

In the conditions of the crisis state of Russian society, the contradictions between religion and morality have become extremely aggravated. The threshold of moral requirements for the individual has sharply decreased.

Morality has become more tolerant and indulgent towards dexterity, cheating, illegal actions. There is a general decline in morals, culture, and conscience. The number of people with base passions and thoughts has increased. An honest person is no longer an authority, but an object of ridicule.

Summing up all the above, it is necessary to draw certain conclusions. I believe that at this stage of history, the role of religion is enormous. Faith is a kind of lifeline for society in difficult times; religious conservatism in this situation is a kind of foundation, the ground under the feet of mankind, which will not allow falling into the abyss of aggression, cruelty, debauchery, deceit and commercialism; a certain basis for the revival of highly spiritual norms of morality.

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