The Image of Religion in Russia: Educational Projects and Construction of Religious Tolerance: Discourse analyses of the current implementation of religious education in Russia in comparative perspective (2009-15)

十多年来，俄罗斯社会各界围绕实施宗教教育展开了生动的争论。在试验阶段结束后，自2012年9月起，宗教教育已成为俄罗斯所有学校的必修课。这一事态发展具有高度的政治敏感性，因为宗教现在影响到普通民众，或者至少影响到每个有学童的家庭。即使是不信教的人也要在宗教问题上定位，这里提出的研究项目旨在考察围绕宗教教育及其实施的争论。这项工作将与弗拉基米尔州立大学的合作伙伴密切合作，后者将用实证社会学研究来补充目前以话语分析为导向的项目(包括专家访谈)。对于这一研究项目来说，有两个方面尤为重要：一方面，应该调查以前被忽视的地区接受这一过程。另一方面，除了俄罗斯东正教之外，俄罗斯的穆斯林和佛教徒的宗教教育话语还没有得到充分的考虑，将从比较的角度，结合俄罗斯东正教的话语进行研究。在关于宗教教育的辩论中，有必要讨论在宗教多元化社会中构建宗教宽容的企图(规范性)，以及在国家支持的宗教教育对民族认同和公民教育的贡献上，宗教立场和世俗立场(立场)之间的差异增加/减少的过程。本研究项目旨在分析国家、教会和社会关于宗教教育的话语，以及关于神学在国家教育机构中的存在的话语。本研究项目旨在为宗教教育提供更广泛的宗教和政治背景，并有助于更好地理解宗教在俄罗斯社会中的社会政治角色。提供新的宗教教育课程是否是一个“自上而下”的过程，或者它在多大程度上满足了社会需求，这一问题对于申请者与项目合作伙伴在VLA-DIMER的联合项目特别感兴趣。

Vivid debates on the implementation of religious education in Russia have been taking place in all strata of society for more than ten years. After the experimental phase, religious education has become mandatory in all Russian schools since September 2012. This development is of high political sensitivity in so far as religion now affects the general population or at least every family with school children. Even non-religious people have to position themselves concerning the issue of religion.The research project proposed here aims to examine the debates around religious education and its implementation. This will be done in close cooperation with partners from the Vladimir State University, who will complement the present discourse analysis-oriented project (including expert interviews) with empirical sociological research. Two aspects are particularly important for this research project: On the one hand previously neglected regional reception of this process should be investigated. On the other hand besides the Russian Orthodox Church, religious education discourses of Muslims and Buddhists in Russia, which have so far not been sufficiently taken into account, will be studied in a comparative perspective and in relation to Russian Orthodox Church discourses.In the debates about religious education, it is necessary to address attempts of constructing religious tolerance in a religiously plural society (normativity) and the processes of increasing/decreasing differences between confes-sional and secular positions (positionality) on the contribution of the state supported religious education to national identity and citizenship education. With a focus on the normativity and positionality this research project aims to analyse the state, church and social discourses on religious education as well as the discourse on the presence of theology at state educational institutions.The research project seeks to provide a broader religious and political contextualization of religious education and to contribute to a better understanding of the socio-political role of religion in Russian society. The question whether the offering of the new religious education courses is a 'top-down' process or to what extent it meets the social demand as well, is of particular interest for the joint project of the applicant with the project partners in Vla-dimir.