We are talking about the textbook “History of Religions”, which was published by the All-Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal to the Apostles. This book is now used in higher spiritual educational institutions.
As the chairman of the educational committee of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), the rector of the General Church postgraduate and doctoral studies, Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, explained, this textbook can be used as one of the basic tools for developing a new curriculum on the religions of Russia in secular universities.
Recall that the President of the Russian Federation instructed to consider the issue about the implementation in the programs of universities of the course on the history of religions. It is planned that the Ministry of Education and Science, the Interdepartmental Commission for Historical Education and the Association “Russian Historical Society” will jointly develop a new course on the history of religions in Russia for universities.
As Archpriest Maxim Kozlov explained to TASS, there is a fundamental manual that is dedicated to the history of world religions. This textbook is written correctly and respectfully, as well as with scientific thoroughness in relation to the religious traditions presented in it. In his opinion, this textbook could “be considered as one of the basic sources for compiling such a manual for our higher educational institutions.”
The rector of the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies reminded that the creation of this textbook became part of a large church project to develop new manuals for undergraduate students in the field of “theology”. The textbook is 777 pages and consists of 9 sections, including “Christianity”, “Judaism”, “Islam” and “Buddhism”.
