Studies in Mysticism and Mystical Experience in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia
European Journal for Philosophy of Religion June 21, 2015 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.24204/ejpr.v7i2.126 via OpenAlex
Summary
The paper discusses how Soviet and Post-Soviet scholars viewed mysticism as a vague belief in communication with supernatural powers. They categorized it into three components: mystical experiences, mystical beliefs, and mysticism as a false ideology. This perspective emerged from their epistemological framework of dialectical materialism, which considered mystical elements as distorted reflections of reality influenced by individual and social factors. This interpretation continues to shape academic views on mysticism in Russia today.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | Soviet scholars interpreted mysticism as a belief in communication with supernatural powers, viewing it as a multicomponent entity influenced by dialectical materialism. |
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Abstract
The paper highlights the key perspectives on mysticism typical for Soviet and Post-Soviet religious studies. Recognizing the vagueness of the ‘mystical’, Soviet scholars interpreted it as a belief in ‘communication’ with ‘supernatural powers’. Furthermore, ‘mysticism’ was thought of as a multicomponent entity composed of (1) mystical experiences, (2) mystical beliefs, and (3) ‘mysticism’ as a ‘false ideology’. Such an understanding resulted from their epistemological settings, i.e. the reflection theory of dialectical materialism. In this light, mystical experiences and beliefs were distorted ‘reflections’ of objective reality in the human mind caused by factors both of an individual and a social nature. This understanding still defines the academic interpretations of the ‘mystical’ in Russia today.