Legitimating New Religiosity in Contemporary Russia: "Vedic Wisdom" Under Fire
Attitudes toward alternative spirituality in Russia are shaped by legislative limitations on religious freedom, the state’s traditionalism, and Russian Orthodox anticultism. Nevertheless, public personalities associated with new religious movements persist and flourish. Oleg Torsunov, popularizer of...
| Published in: | Nova religio |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Californiarnia Press
[2021]
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| In: |
Nova religio
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Russia
/ Religious freedom
/ Orthodox Church
/ Vedism
/ Alternative medicine
/ New religion
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| RelBib Classification: | AZ New religious movements BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations KBK Europe (East) |
| Further subjects: | B
Legitimation
B New Religious Movements B Krishna B New Age B Eastern Europe B International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) B Vedic Wisdom B Gender B Russia |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Attitudes toward alternative spirituality in Russia are shaped by legislative limitations on religious freedom, the state’s traditionalism, and Russian Orthodox anticultism. Nevertheless, public personalities associated with new religious movements persist and flourish. Oleg Torsunov, popularizer of Vedic Psychology and holistic medicine, is a striking example. Despite ongoing controversies about his religious affiliation, medical claims, and gender ideology, Torsunov continues to attract followers. This article examines why public figures such as Torsunov seem unsinkable in hostile cultural environments. Mapping the heated discursive landscape surrounding Torsunov, I argue that the secret to this resilience is a "legitimation lattice" - the strategy of grounding one's authority in several sources of legitimacy. Torsunov's lattice is composed of different interlocked strips: science, Indian spirituality, personal charisma, and common stereotypes. This structure increases the resilience of controversial public figures in two ways: by making their legitimation strategies flexible and by allowing them to emphasize mainstream values as needed. |
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| ISSN: | 1541-8480 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Nova religio
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1525/nr.2021.24.3.6 |