Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Religion, MA

First Advisor

Eugene V. Zaitsev

Second Advisor

Cedric Vine

Third Advisor

Vsevolod V. Andrusyak

Abstract

Any religion, including Christianity, is not only a system of beliefs and doctrines, but also patterns of behavior that make up a certain culture of its followers. The degree of development of religious culture and involvement in it largely determines the self-identification of members of communities of various denominations. It can be expressed through the following markers: everyday behavior, the presence of specific vocabulary, the formation of oral, musical, visual and written creativity of a particular religious movement. This is true of Seventh-day Adventist culture as well.

Statement of the Problem

However, to date there is no full-fledged study on Adventist culture in the USSR. The lack of a description of the written and oral underground culture of the Seventh-day Adventist does not allow us to reasonably substantiate the deep cultural traditions of the Seventh-day Adventists in Russia, which creates difficulties in raising the status of the church in society, its popularization, prevents the disclosure of the Adventist identity and the rooting of the young generation of Adventists in the Adventist religious tradition. In addition, the lack of knowledge of Adventist culture in the USSR actually does not allow us to speak of it as a religious and cultural phenomenon. If such a phenomenon is supposed, then it is necessary to define it in the context of humanitarian and social knowledge. --

Purpose and Objectives of the Study

Purpose is to identify the main features of the Adventist culture in the USSR. The goal substantiates the main objectives of the study: - Identify the main features of everyday Adventist culture in the USSR - Identify the main features of Adventist literature in the USSR - Identify the main features of Adventist musical creativity in the USSR - Identify the main features of Adventist poetic creativity in the USSR. -- Theoretical and practical significance The study will provide an opportunity to identify the main characteristics of Adventist culture, to determine its place in the context of unofficial Soviet culture. A number of new sources will be introduced into scientific circulation, as well as new samples of documentary and fiction literature, poetic and musical creativity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church will be described. The dissertation materials will be useful to members of the Seventh-day Adventist church, historians, religious scholars, culturologists, art historians, teachers of relevant disciplines in higher educational institutions, as well as to everyone who is interested in the spiritual and material and cultural heritage of the countries of the former USSR. The study also will reveal the deep cultural traditions of the Seventh-day Adventists in Russia, raise the status of the church, popularize it, will contribute to the disclosure of the Adventist identity and the rooting of the young generation of the Seventh-day Adventist in the Adventist confessional field.

Subject Area

Soviet Union--Religion; Seventh-day Adventists--Soviet Union; Culture; Soviet Union--Social life and customs

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