Paul
Goble
Staunton, April 28 – Eighty percent
of Russians say they are celebrating Easter this year, according to new VTsIOM
polls; but only 50 percent know that the holiday marks the resurrection of
Christ, yet another indicator that many who identify as Christians in fact have
little or no knowledge as to what that faith involves.
A third of the Russians surveyed (32
percent) said they found it difficult to say what Easter was all about. Six
percent confused it with Christmas and said Easter was the date of Jesus’
birth. Four percent said it is “simply a great Christian holiday” at which one
remembers the dead. And three percent said it was the end of a fast (credo.press/224207/).
It is undoubtedly the case that in
many countries there is a gap between those who mark any religious holiday and
those who know what it stands for, but in Russia it is likely larger than
elsewhere because of the communist past – and should be kept in mind when
political and religious leaders insist that Russia is a genuinely Christian or
even Orthodox country.
No comments:
Post a Comment