RELIGIOSITY OF ESOTERICISM, ESOTERICISM OF RELIGION: ON THE ISSUE OF CRITERIAL DIFFERENCES
Study of Religion January 1, 2026 E.s. Elbakyan
The boundaries between religion and esotericism are conventional and mobile, not fixed. Using J.D. Frazer and B.K. Malinowski's criteria for distinguishing magic, the analysis examines institutional, doctrinal, epistemological, social, practical, and functional levels. Despite both appealing to the transcendental and searching for meaning, differences remain debated. The author identifies zones of interpenetration: the "religiosity of esotericism" and the internal esoteric component within traditional religions ("esotericism of religion"). A rigid opposition between the two phenomena should be abandoned in favor of considering historical dynamics and cultural context.