«DIVIDE AND DOMINATE»: THE RELIGIOUS POLICY OF THE SOVIET STATE AND EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN 1920TH YEARS
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Abstract
The article looks at the attitude of the Soviet state to free churches of Baptists, Evangelical Christians, Mennonites and Adventists of 7th day in the 1920s. Religious minorities, united by belief and tradition, were the most constant enemies of the policy of sovietization of village. Organs of Party and government traditionally considered free churches as dangerous unions of the people who don’t adopt communist ideas and are able to gather a large number of adherents within religious organizations. Activity of free churches was considered as an attempt to adjust religion to new conditions. Thus, free churches became one of the most important targets of state repressive policy during the 1920-1930s. In the 1920s the issue of releasing “sectarians” from doing military service because of religious beliefs identified main collision in relations between Stalin’s State and believers. The problem of accepting military service was used as a pretext for disintegrating confessions from inside and provoke conflicts between different Evangelical movements. Having not to take mass punitive measures, regime, by OGPU organs, took selective administrative and judicial repression.Downloads
Published
2023-05-16
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