Religious Situation in Modern Kazakhstan (а sociological reconstruction)

Religious Situation in Modern Kazakhstan (а sociological reconstruction)


Burova Y.Y.

Dr. Sci. (Philos.), Prof., Chief Researcher of the Institute for Philosophy, Political Science and Religious Studies of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almaty, Kazakhstan bee1958@bk.ru

Jamanbalaeva Sh.E.

Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., Chief Researcher, Deputy Director General for Scientific Work, Institute for Philosophy, Political Science and Religious Studies of the CS MSHE RK, Almaty, Kazakhstan dsholpan1971@gmail.com

ID of the Article:


The article was prepared as part of the financing of the Committee of Science of the CS MSHE RK – grant AR09259797.


For citation:

Burova Y.Y., Jamanbalaeva Sh.E. Religious Situation in Modern Kazakhstan (а sociological reconstruction). Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2023. No 8. P. 76-85




Abstract

The purpose of the study is to reconstruct current religious situation in Kazakhstan as a secular state. Goals were formulated as follows: to reveal specifics of the religious situation; to present the religious self-identification of the population; to show the spectrum of the value perception of religion in public discourse; to outline main trends of religious changes; to discover the lines of “fault” in understanding the possibilities and prospects of secularism and religiosity; to comprehend the relevance and practical application in the research of the religious process. The religious process is assessed as multifactorial and contradictory. Based on sociological studies of public opinion and expert assessments, the authors presented a paradigm of perception of religion, analyzed its functions and capabilities in a multicultural and multi-confessional society. The religious situation in Kazakhstan is analyzed on the basis of state statistics, mass and expert surveys. Practical recommendations are given for improving government approaches in cooperation with religious institutions.


Keywords
Republic of Kazakhstan; religious identification; religious process; trend of Islamization; traditional religion; secularism of the state; sociology of religion

References

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Secularism and Religion in Modern Kazakhstan: Modernization of Spiritual and Cultural Meanings and Strategies. (2020) Ed. by A.Kh. Bizhanov. Almaty: IFPR KN MON RK. (In Russ.)

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Volkov Yu.G. (2015) Sociological diagnosis as an analytical construct. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 3: 4–11. (In Russ.)

Content No 8, 2023