Prevention of sectarianism among youth. Prevention of sectarianism in Russia. Psychological Factors Promoting Engagement

PREVENTION OF THE ENGAGEMENT OF YOUTH IN DESTRUCTIVE SECTS

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

At present, interest in religion has sharply increased in our society. The spiritual, moral and economic crisis causes many people to feel insecure and insecure. Under these conditions, interest in the problem of life and death, immortality is escalating. From time immemorial, religion has provided answers to these questions. K. Jung believed that religion gives life a general semantic structure, without which life would seem meaningless to people and which allows you to establish a connection with the deepest images (archetypes) of the collective unconscious.

We live in a society where a person is free to follow religious beliefs of his own choice and by virtue of his individuality, convictions and beliefs, then the question arises of how non-traditional pseudo-religious associations attract people into their ranks with their teachings.

Non-traditional religiosity is a new spiritual phenomenon of the 20th century. - has found itself in our country in the last decade, has become its characteristic feature. In the United States, the emergence of "new religions" has been recorded since the 50-60s. From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, so many religious innovations began there that scientists began to talk about a real epidemic. The American religious boom was imported into Western Europe. our countries opened their borders when this process in America and Europe was fading. Therefore, a very limited number of new religious associations operate on the territory of Belarus - about 42, and they brought with them many new problems.

A destructive religious association is an authoritarian hierarchical organization of any orientation, destructive in relation to the natural harmonious spiritual, mental and physical state of the individual, as well as to creative traditions and norms, established social structures, culture, order and society as a whole, practicing hidden psychological violence, expressed in the purposeful establishment by an individual or a group of individuals for their narrowly selfish purposes of illegal control over the consciousness, behavior and lives of other individuals without their voluntary and informed consent in order to form and maintain in them a state of unnatural and illegal dependence and obedience to the doctrine and leaders.

Pseudo-religious neo-cults are classified by many researchers as destructive, since they leave no right to those involved, bringing down on them a stream of special techniques that cause irreparable harm to the mental health of their members, they threaten the state and society with destruction and instability.

The influence of destructive cults on the development of the individual is being studied by a number of scientists and practitioners of pedagogy, psychology, and theology who deal with problems associated with a critical change in the relationship between humanity/religiosity in Belarusian and Russian society, and among them can be named A.I. Osilova, O.V. Dyachenko, A.L. Dvorkina, A.S. Maykhrovich, T.P. Short, V.S. Prokoshin and others.

At the present stage in Belarus, according to the State Committee for Religious Affairs and Nationalities of the Republic of Belarus, there are 11 organizations whose activities are recognized as destructive and contrary to the laws of the Republic of Belarus. Among them: the Great White Brotherhood (“Yus-malos”); "Children of God" or "Family"; "Unification Church", or "Church of Moon", Church of Scientology; "Aum Shinrikyo"; Church of the Disciples of Jesus Christ"; "Mother of God Center"; "Church of Vissarion"; "League of spiritual revival S.Dharma"; "Ahmadia"; "Satanists".

An analysis of the available information indicates that sects have an extremely destructive effect on the individual and, accordingly, the impact on health at all levels of the functioning of society: individual (personality level); microsocial (family level, social group, labor collective); macrosocial (level of the whole society).

Membership in a destructive cult, as noted by the participants of the scientific-practical conference "Belarus: Religious sectarianism and youth", is the result of two interacting factors:

1. tactics used by cults to recruit and retain cultists;
2. personal vulnerability of a potential newcomer.

A theoretical study of the reasons for joining destructive sects, as well as a study we conducted with former members of new religious associations and their potential members, helped to identify the main prerequisites for involvement in such organizations: intellectual, emotional, social spiritual. Respondents put emotional reasons in the first place, among the main ones they distinguish: loneliness, lack of communication - 46.7%, desire to feel their importance - 26.7%; weak will in life - 13.3%; personal crises - 13.3%; misunderstanding on the part of others - 13.3%; unstable system of values ​​- 13.3% of respondents.

A study was conducted on the basis of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University. Maxim Tank, 83 students took part in the survey (5th year students of the Faculty of Belarusian Philology and Culture, 2nd-3rd year students of the Faculty of Social and Pedagogical Technologies, as well as undergraduates of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank) aged 18-25 years. Of these, 6 men (7.2%), women - 77 (92.8%).

A comparative analysis of the value orientations of young people involved in sects and young people who are involved in them showed that spiritual values ​​in the system of priorities of today's youth do not occupy the first positions. The researchers came to the conclusion that spiritual values ​​(80% of the subjects) lie at the heart of the life world of young people who belong to diverse religious formations.

Socially significant issues of the psychology of religion are currently attracting a lot of attention from sociologists, psychologists, educators, and culturologists. This is due to the rapid and widespread spread of non-traditional religious teachings on the territory of Belarus and Russia, including totalitarian destructive religious sects, which often damage the spiritual, mental and physical health of a person, pose a threat to the historical and cultural traditions of society as a whole. Most often, young people are involved in them, sometimes fraudulently.

The awareness of student youth in Minsk on the problem of destructive cults is characterized as follows: 61.7% of respondents are not familiar with the activities of destructive sects, the rest have insufficiently clear ideas about destructive sects and cults as a social phenomenon. I.E. Metlitsky notes that the ease with which young men and women allow themselves to be carried away by sectarians is due to their lack of awareness of the real goals of neo-cultists.

According to the respondents, a destructive sect is a group in which there is a rigid management structure (38.5%% suppresses the individuality of a group member (40%), people are united by a specific idea, program (28%), group members are recruited fraudulently (41%). %), true goals and intentions are hidden from ordinary members (61.5%).

30% of respondents responded to our request to name the names of religious organizations that, in their opinion, could be called a sect. The remaining 70% found that they were poorly informed, and the expressions "I don't know, I'm at a loss" often appeared in their answers. This group of respondents can be considered insufficiently protected against sectarian recruitment. The names of the religious organizations mentioned in the survey are shown in the chart in descending order of particularity.

Destructive religious organizations

1 - Satanists

2 - Jehovah's Witnesses

3 - Baptists

4 - Aum Senrikyo

5 - Society for Krishna Consciousness

6 - Pentecostals

7 - White Brotherhood

8 - Church of Christ

9 - Teachings of A. Ivanov

10 - Scientology

11— Renaissance League

12 - Ahmadna

13 - Bahai

There is a noticeable influence of the media in this list, since in the past few years the largest number of TV reports has been about the activities of the Satanists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Aum Senrikyo, and the White Brotherhood.

We have developed and tested an audio visualization lecture (as one of the forms of preventing involvement in destructive sects) with subsequent planned control of the learned information. The conducted studies showed: 60% of undergraduates of BSPU named after. Maksim Tank learned 100% of the information he listened to, the remaining 40% - more than half of the proposed audiovisual lecture. A comparative analysis with a study conducted in 2003 (the study involved teenagers from gymnasium No. 146 in Minsk and teenagers from secondary school No. 176 in Minsk, shows that 69.4% of adolescents from gymnasium No. 146 learned 100% of the information, teenagers from secondary school No. 176 - 38.4% of information Thus, such lectures will be an effective means of preventive work in educational institutions.

We see a way out of this situation in the implementation of prevention at all its stages:

• family strengthening;
• training and education of the younger generation with the introduction of relevant knowledge on destructive cults into the programs;
• appropriate training of teaching staff;
• intensification of purposeful work in the media in terms of educating the population; uniting the efforts of state, non-state, youth, religious organizations traditional for the Republic of Belarus.

The most effective forms and methods of preventing the involvement of young people in destructive sects are: interactive forms of work; individual; a clear example from the life of former adherents; lectures; seminars; action learning, etc.

The trend of the spread of new non-traditional religious movements in Belarus and in foreign countries indicates its increase. Expanding knowledge and providing young people with the necessary information on the problem of sectarianism has become an urgent problem in modern conditions.

16 signs of totalitarian sects

"It's easier to resist at the beginning than at the end."

Leonardo da Vinci

Warm spring days are out. This delighted not only idlers, but also urban "hunters" who seek to lure these strollers into the network of their organizations. I'm talking about sects. How to understand from the first words where you are invited? How to avoid the danger of being drawn into where you did not aspire?

So, you should take your feet in your hands and run if: you were met by people who claim that:

1. In their group you will find what you have been looking for in vain until now. They know exactly what you're missing.
2. The very first meeting with them opens up a whole new way of looking at things for you.
3. The worldview of their bands is stunningly simple and explains any problem.

As a result:

1. It is difficult for you to make an accurate description of the group. You don't have to speculate or check. Your new friends say, “It's impossible to explain. You have to go through this - let's go with us to our center now.

They tell you that

1. The group has a teacher, medium, leader or guru. Only he knows the whole truth.
2. The teaching of the group is considered the only true, eternally true knowledge. Conventional science, rational thinking, reason are rejected because they are negative, satanic, unenlightened.
3. Criticism from people outside the group is considered proof that she is right.
4. The world is headed for disaster, and only the group knows how to save it.
5. The group is the elite. The rest of humanity is deeply hurt and deeply lost because they do not cooperate with the group or allow it to save themselves.
6. You must become a member of the group.

As a result:

1. The group limits itself from the rest of the world, for example, clothing, food, a special language, a clear regulation of interpersonal relationships.
2. The group wants you to cut off your “old relationships, as they impede your development.
3. Your sexual relations are regulated from the outside. for example, the manual selects partners, prescribes group sex, or, conversely, complete abstinence.
4. The group fills all your time with assignments: selling books or newspapers, recruiting new members, attending courses, meditating.
5. It is very difficult for you to be alone, someone from the group is always there for you.
6. If you begin to doubt, if the promised success does not come, then you will always be to blame yourself, because you allegedly did not try hard enough, participated and acted.

Remember 16 signs of totalitarian sects - and be careful!

On the question of the causes of the emergence of destructive religious groups.

After the collapse of the USSR, the loss of ideals caused a certain spiritual vacuum, which naturally arose in place of the departed dominant ideology. This vacuum was instantly filled by representatives of various types of non-traditional religious and near-religious systems, and their activity became so high that it began to cause a certain public concern. Unlike religious religions, whose history goes back many centuries, new religious organizations appeared in Belarus relatively recently - about one or two decades. Despite the fact that society, as a rule, reacts to everything new rather cautiously, non-traditional religions have found fertile ground for themselves, which has become complete religious illiteracy and, as a result, defenselessness against the expansion of new cults. Representatives of traditional religions and state bodies could not recognize the approaching danger in time and realized it already when this phenomenon took root. Therefore, such concepts as "neocult", "destructive sect", etc., have become commonplace even in everyday speech.

New religious systems that have emerged in recent decades in Belarus are known under various names: “non-traditional cults”, “totalitarian sects”, “religion of the new century”. a special category is a group of new religious cults, called "destructive", i.e. destroying human consciousness (6). It is the fact of the existence of these associations that makes this problem particularly relevant. A destructive cult is an organization (usually a religious one) whose activity is based on the principles of authoritarianism and a hierarchical form of government. the result may be the destruction of the personality and volitional qualities to the dehumanization of a person.

According to a number of sources, there are currently several religious organizations in Belarus that are recognized as destructive (4). The most aggressive, and as a result - socially dangerous, are cults united by the collective name "Satanism". Despite the fact that Satanism has long become a serious problem in the spiritual life of our society, no thorough research on this topic has been conducted in our republic so far. The complexity of the problem lies in the fact that this phenomenon is located at the junction of several areas of knowledge - religious studies, history, sociology, philosophy and psychology. At the same time, it is necessary to answer that one of the patterns of psychological development in ontogeny for young people is the formation of a worldview, the philosophical orientation of the individual and the need to understand the meaning of life and human destiny (3). Moreover, such a sublime philosophical, metaphysical attitude and romanticism are recognized as characteristic of youth by all psychologists, regardless of what socio-economic system they live in. Despite the completely different content of the statements belonging to the youth of different countries and strata of society, they all differ in the same desire to understand life, its meaning and find their own place in this life (2).

To some extent, this phenomenon can be explained by the fact that, for example, among German boys and girls, the fascist worldview has acquired a mass character. It is often mistakenly thought that the upbringing of the National Socialist ideology in adolescence and psychologists supposedly consisted only in "unleashing", in "release" in young people primitive "animal" drives and instincts. No, the fascist ideology and psychology were instilled in young men precisely in accordance with their age characteristics "from above" through the perversion of the ideal, through the "romance" of cruelty and murder: and the basest, savage, cruel deeds were cultivated among young people through sinister fascist romance.

Representatives of destructive neo-cults act similarly and in accordance with the laws outlined above. The appearance of such organizations in our republic today and the intensification of their activity naturally coincide with the phenomena of a spiritual crisis in society. People feel insecure about the future. Experiencing anxiety and depression, social apathy.

Even V. Fryakl noticed that more and more people complain about meaninglessness, emptiness, "inner emptiness", he called this state "zkmetents & oshtzhsh vacuum." The ethnology of the existential vacuum, according to Frankl, comes from a person's lack of urges and instincts that tell him what to do, conventions, traditions of values ​​that provide him with a choice of what he should do. - Mozyr: UO MGPU them. I. P. Shamyakina, 2010. - 172 p.

4. Dvorkin A. L. Sect studies. Christian Library, 2008 - 360 p. URL: http://www.blagovesti.ru/arhiv/2015/n4.files/sektu.htm [Date of access: 03/30/2016].

5. Galitskaya I.A., Metlik I.V. New religious cults and school. Handbook for education leaders and teachers. - M.: 2001. - 159 p.

6. Mukhina T. K. Pedagogical conditions for preventing the involvement of youth in religious sects: dis. ... for the competition. uch. step. cand. ped. Sciences: 13.00.01 / T.K. Mukhin. - Vladimir, 2008. - 190 p.

During its many-thousand-year history, in the field of social and legal regulation of social relations, namely the regulation of relations between the state and various religious and public organizations (associations, groups), humanity has gone from total control over them to the establishment of the principle of reasonable (up to certain limits) non-interference in the process of their emergence and development, thereby guaranteeing each person the observance of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.

The main stages in the development of state-confessional relations can be considered four periods:

Until the 1st century AD - ideological diversity, with the almost complete merging of secular power with religious institutions, or their active and significant joint impact on all processes taking place in society;

Starting from the 1st century AD. until the second half of the 19th century - the suppression of any dissent that could compete with the dominant religious or secular ideology (most often the state, whose status was fixed by law);

During the XX century - there was a transition from a mono-ideologized to a poly-ideologized system;

Currently, in most countries of the world, there is a legislative approval of ideological diversity.

The first two periods are characterized by cruel repressions, which were subjected to representatives of religious and secular organizations that did not share the ideas prevailing in society, or openly opposed themselves to society and the state, including representatives of science and art.

In 1951, the British Parliament was the last of the civilized states to repeal the laws against witchcraft adopted in the past centuries. Thus, the 500-year history of persecution of witches ended, with skill, and sectarians of all stripes took advantage with impunity for active anti-social, and often criminal activities.

As a result, the European Parliament, in its resolutions and decisions, had to admit that sects and "sect-like associations" had become an ever-expanding phenomenon "which can be observed in various forms all over the world" (p. C. European Parliament decision of February 12, 1996 ). The European Parliament Resolution “On Sects in Europe” indicates that sects “violate human rights and commit criminal acts, such as: cruel treatment of people, sexual harassment, incitement to violence ... arms and drug trafficking, illegal medical activities” and others .

In order to strengthen control over the observance of human rights in sects, the Resolution of the European Parliament "On sects in Europe" contains recommendations to member states, including:

1. courts and law enforcement agencies to effectively use existing “national legal acts and instruments” “in order to counter violations of fundamental rights for which sects are responsible”;

2. "strengthen the mutual exchange of information ... about the phenomenon of sectarianism";

3. Member States should check whether "their existing tax, criminal and judicial laws are sufficient to prevent such groups from committing illegal acts";

4. prevent "the possibility of sects obtaining state registration";

5. identify and use "the best methods to limit the unwanted activities of sects."

The death in France of "16 people, including 3 children, on December 23, 1995 ... in Vercors" as a result of the activities of one of the sects, forced French legislators to take measures to restrict the freedom "to profess religion or belief ... to protect public safety, order, health and morality, as well as the fundamental rights and freedoms of others” - as recommended by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 18), and to adopt an anti-sectarian law in 2001.

The French Interior Ministry has a special police unit to detect and suppress crimes committed in connection with the activities of sects.

Even in the United States, famous for its tolerance towards any sects (including Satanists), a department for cult-ritual crimes has been created in the National Department of Justice, and the manual developed by this department “Control of crimes based on cult-ritual soil: Legislative basis for investigation, Analysis and Prevention is used as a textbook by the US National Association of Police Inspectors.

In Russia, since the late 1980s, the proclaimed ideological diversity has led to a sectarian bacchanalia, in which sects banned in many countries of the world have received state registration and freely carry out their activities. Some researchers undertook to argue that the use of the concepts of "sect" and "sectarians" is incorrect, although in the legislation of Russia these concepts do not exist, reflecting their negative meaning. At the same time, publicists who dare to write on the topic of sectarian expansion in Russia began to be directly and unambiguously warned about the negative consequences of a negative review of the activities of sects.

Moreover, such threats are heard against the backdrop of the continuing growth of crimes committed by adherents of sects (especially ritual crimes), the desire of sects to influence the socio-political life and economy of Russia by recruiting new members in state bodies and public organizations, which may lead to the destabilization of public life. aggravation of the situation in the country. This situation requires the soonest clear legal regulation of the state's relations with religious, pseudo-religious and secular sects.

This process was initiated by the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” (1997), as well as by the Decree of the Government of Russia, which approved the target program “Formation of Attitudes of Tolerant Consciousness and Prevention of Extremism in Russian Society (2001-2005)”.

However, the problem of legal regulation of the activities of asocial sects remains unresolved in due measure. A retrospective analysis of the history of the Russian state's opposition to sectarianism shows that in Russia since ancient times, crimes in the religious sphere (in particular, against the church) were considered the most serious, the perpetrators were sentenced to death (burning) in almost all cases: this was already the case under Ivan III, under Ivan the Terrible , and in the era of Peter the Great.

Subsequently, the authorities also fought hard against crimes against faith, which not only encroached on the state religion and were expressed in the form of blasphemy, heresy and sacrilege, but also encroached on the rights and health of citizens. When committing a number of crimes against faith and religion in sects, they directly harmed the health of the adherents themselves, as, for example, during the “castration” in the sect of eunuchs (375 people were convicted and exiled to Siberia for this crime from 1822 to 1833).

In the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments of August 15, 1845 - Chapter 6 was called “On Secret Societies and Prohibited Gatherings”. In accordance with Article 351, the responsibility of persons for providing a place for the meeting of "malicious societies" was singled out as an independent norm; property of secret societies according to Article 352 was subject to confiscation or destruction.

At the end of the 19th century in Russia, in the field of law enforcement theory and practice, the concept of “ritual crime” was formed: in 1844, an official at large of the Ministry of Internal Affairs V.I. Dahl (the author of the "Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language") prepared and published "Search on the killing of Christian babies by Jews and the use of their blood" (13224 such facts were registered), in which he noted that "this savage rite not only does not belong to everyone in general Jews, but even, without any doubt, very few people know. It exists only in the Hasidic or Hasidim sect."

It should be noted that the trials, during which cases of ritual crimes were considered, in most cases were of a political nature and ended in acquittals. For example, in 1892-1896, the case of the ritual murder of citizen Matyunin by eleven "votyaks" - the Udmurts of the Vyatka province was investigated, as a result of which the accused were acquitted after the intervention of "prominent liberal democratic figures and human rights activists". In 1903, in the case of the murder of a teenager Mikhail Rybalchenko, after examining the scene and medical examination of the corpse, a conclusion was made "about the staging of a ritual crime"; later it was found out that the killer (a relative of the victim) staged a ritual crime "in order to accuse the local Jewish community" .

In the Soviet period, trials also took place, during which cases of ritual crimes were considered: in 1935, the case of the ritual murders of about 60 adherents (by drowning in a river, a swamp and burning at the stake) in the Zyryanov sect under the leadership of their leader, Khristoforov, was investigated (Zyryanova).

The historical experience of Russia in the legal counteraction to sectarian extremism and manifestations of crime involving members of sects must be taken into account when developing a system of preventive measures aimed at preventing and suppressing such negative phenomena in modern public life. At present, many members of the public, who are aware of the danger that comes from the activities of various destructive organizations, directly declare the need to strengthen legal counteraction to the development of sectarian extremism in any of its manifestations.

In particular, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District G.S. Poltavchenko, speaking at the scientific-practical conference “The State and Religious Associations” on January 25, 2002, expressed the following opinion: “The activities of a number of new religious movements ... cannot be qualified otherwise than extremist ... it is necessary to limit the spread of destructive pseudo-religious organizations .... To counter religious extremism, it is necessary to develop the legislative framework…”.

The deputy of the State Duma, Chairman of the Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation V.I. Zorkaltsev: “The country was flooded with all sorts of pseudo-religious organizations, occult-mystical groups… it’s time to create a number of additional regulations that would make it possible to enrich the legislation in this area.”

It seems to us that this system of normative acts, which counteracts the spread of sects, should establish a clear procedure for their registration based on a preliminary study of their ideology and type of orientation, systematic public and state control over the activities of sects, and submission of relevant documentation on sources of funding and the number of adherents. Legal regulation also requires the activities of sects using various covers, including in the form of pseudo-scientific institutions. Similar institutions have been created and are functioning in a number of foreign countries. For example, “the Maharishi University arose in the USA, the activity of which bears very little resemblance to science” .

Similar trends are observed in Russia, which undoubtedly worries the scientific community: in 2002, “... Academicians E. Aleksandrov, V. Ginzburg, E. Kruglyakov sent a letter to the President of Russia V.V. Putin. This letter draws the attention of the President to the dangerous growth of the influence of pseudoscience in the country. Pseudo-scientific ideas form the basis or are part of the teachings of most modern sects, which is of concern not only to individual representatives of Russian science, but also to the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which, by resolution No. 58-A, adopted the appeal “Do not pass by!”. In particular, it says: “At present, pseudoscience is widely ... promoted in our country: astrology, shamanism, the occult, etc. ... Pseudoscience seeks to penetrate into all sectors of society ... These irrational and basically immoral tendencies undoubtedly pose a serious threat for the normal spiritual development of the nation ... ".

The Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of the Russian Federation in its information materials directly points to the danger of sects in society: “Many sects use methods to influence the human psyche”, the use of large doses of “psychotropic drugs against their members allows ... leaders to achieve irreversible zombieization of the personality of adherents, turn them into blind fanatical executors" of someone else's will.

Life itself forces us to resolve the issue of strengthening the legal prevention of anti-social activities of sects. In this regard, it is necessary to recall the historical experience of Russia, when back in 1876 a special normative act was issued - the "Code of Charters on the Prevention and Suppression of Crimes", in which, in particular, there were chapters aimed at combating obscene, seductive gatherings. 320 articles of this code contained a system of measures and norms of substantive, procedural, executive law, interaction of law enforcement services with local secular authorities, religious hierarchs, cultural and educational centers, zemstvo associations of citizens.

Of exceptional importance from this point of view is the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of November 23, 1999 No. 16-P “On the case of checking the constitutionality of paragraphs three and four of paragraph 3 of Article 27 of the Federal Law of September 26, 1997 “On freedom of conscience and on religious associations ” in connection with the complaints of the Religious Society of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Yaroslavl and the religious association “Christian Church of Glorification”. This resolution put an end to the debate about the appropriateness and possibility of using the term "sect", directly indicating that it is necessary "to prevent the legalization of sects." The resolution also emphasizes that "The legislator has the right to establish ... certain restrictions affecting constitutional rights, but justified and proportionate to constitutionally significant goals ...".

Based on the said Resolution of the Constitutional Court, it is necessary to develop a systemic set of legal provisions regulating the activities of sects - this dangerous phenomenon of modern social life.

First of all, in modern Russian legislation it is necessary to formulate and evaluate such concepts as "sect", "anti-social ideology", "anti-social religion", "ritual crime", "methods of suppressing the personality and manipulating the personality", "control and deformation of consciousness" , despite the fact that in the legislation of most countries of the world these concepts are absent. But as rightly called A.F. Koni: “We will not imitate the West in everything and, where possible, we will go our own, better way.”

Isolation of crimes committed in connection with the creation and activities of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects and fixing the relevant provisions in the legislative acts of the Russian Federation will perform not only a law enforcement function, but also an information one, because if you are warned, then you are armed.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation should point to the special state role of the main religions, primarily the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Concept of National Security of the Russian Federation should explicitly state that the development of sectarianism, along with other socially dangerous phenomena, poses a real threat to the national security of our country.

There is already a precedent for introducing such a provision into federal legislation: the Doctrine of Information Security of the Russian Federation notes (Article 6, Chapter 2) that: “The following threats to the information security of the Russian Federation pose the greatest danger in the sphere of spiritual life: ... health and life of citizens as a result of the activities of ... totalitarian religious sects. The same document emphasizes that “The main directions of ensuring the information security of the Russian Federation in the sphere of spiritual life are: ... the development of special legal and organizational mechanisms to prevent illegal information and psychological influences on the mass consciousness of society ...; counteracting the negative influence of foreign religious organizations and missionaries". These provisions, of course, must also be supplemented with an indication of the danger emanating from the actions of pseudo-religious and secular sects, as well as the propaganda of pseudo-religious and secular teachings by various foreign preachers.

Undoubtedly, the criminal legislation of Russia also requires changes and additions, which currently do not qualify as a special type of crime - crimes related to cult and ritual actions, and therefore do not provide for liability for their commission or preparation for them - "there is no crime without specifying about that in the law. The application of criminal law by analogy in Russian criminal law is not allowed, which allows sectarians in many cases to harm the physical, mental and spiritual health of citizens with impunity.

In order to improve criminal legislation and prevent the development of socially dangerous forms of sectarianism in Russia, the following additions should be made to certain articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Ritual crimes are a special type of crimes, the motive for which is the performance of a religious, pseudo-religious or secular cult, a certain rite, ritual, most often associated with the activities of a religious, pseudo-religious, secular sect, that is, an organization that has a secret teaching in which methods of control and deformation of consciousness in order to manipulate the personality.

In paragraph "e" of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Circumstances aggravating punishment" should be added after the words "commission of a crime" - "by members of a religious, pseudo-religious, secular sect."

Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Murder” can be supplemented with the concept: “ritual murder”.

Ritual murder of a person is an act that entailed death, committed through physical and mental influences during the administration or for the administration of a religious or secular cult, rite, ritual.

A separate article should provide for responsibility “for inducing and refusing to provide medical care for religious reasons, as well as receiving medical care in connection with the fulfillment of the requirements of religious or secular teaching, the performance of cult and ritual actions.” Responsibility for such acts is partially already provided for by the legislators of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic: paragraphs 1, 2 of Article 9 of Chapter 3 of the Law of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic "On the prohibition of extremist religious activities and administrative liability for offenses related to the implementation of religious activities" dated June 1, 2001.

From the same law, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation should borrow an article for “physical or mental coercion, inducement of followers of religious or secular teachings to alienate property belonging to them or their families in favor of a religious or secular organization”, as well as responsibility for “preventing the exit from a religious or secular organization”. or secular organization.

In a separate article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is advisable to provide for liability for advertising anti-social teachings, in particular, advertising of Satanism, fascism, occultism, black magic and witchcraft.

In order to suppress the socially dangerous activities of sects in society, Article 239 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Organizing an association that infringes on the personality and rights of citizens” should expressly prohibit “the creation of a religious, pseudo-religious, secular sect, that is, an organization whose secret teaching is opposite to that officially propagated, to members methods of suppressing and manipulating a person (control and deformation of consciousness) are used” and provide for responsibility “for the creation and leadership of a religious, pseudo-religious, secular sect.”

Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Inciting hatred or enmity, as well as the humiliation of human dignity” should be supplemented, after the words “Actions aimed at inciting hatred or enmity ...” with the following provision - “propaganda of anti-social secular and religious teachings, ideologies, in particular, fascism, Satanism, the occult and magic.

Hidden from society, the secret life of sects, the criminal manifestations of sextants require increased attention from the subjects of operational-search activity. Identification, prevention, suppression and disclosure of crimes committed by members of these sects should become an important area of ​​official activity of the operational apparatus, which should be appropriately reflected in departmental regulations, educational and methodological and other documentation. In the prevention and suppression of criminal manifestations on the part of sect members, it is necessary to use the capabilities of the operational apparatus of special services, including internal affairs bodies, and correctional institutions. Preventive work in the line of counteracting the anti-social activities of sects should include the study of the personality of sectarians under operational and preventive supervision, the adoption of measures to separate the adepts of sects prone to commit crimes, the use of emerging conflict situations among sectarians, the initiation of such situations, undermining the sources of funding at their disposal. these associations.

The intensification of work along this line requires the widespread use of the entire complex of operational-search measures provided for in Art. 6 of the Federal Law "On operational-search activity". Here, the implementation of such an operational-search measure as operational infiltration is of particular importance, which allows "from the inside" to identify the criminal intentions of sectarians, to take comprehensive measures to prevent them. In this category of cases, it is also important to rely on the assistance of citizens to the bodies carrying out operational-search activities.

Documenting the criminal activities of sectarians is, as practice has shown, an increased complexity. The use of the possibility of an arsenal of operational equipment, information retrieval systems makes it possible to increase the level of use in the fight against adherents of sects who commit crimes, forces, means and methods of ORD. The new Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation should be supplemented with norms that determine the possibility of using the results of operational-search activities in criminal proceedings, including in cases of crimes committed by members of sects.

Due to the fact that the environment of convicts (that is, persons with a deviant-destructive, delinquent orientation) is favorable for the promotion of anti-social teachings and the activities of sects, the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation, in particular, Article 14 “Ensuring freedom of conscience and freedom of religion for convicts should be supplemented in part 1 after the words “They have the right to profess any” to indicate “social (socially approved)” before the words “religion or not to profess any ...”.

It should be especially noted in the legislation that the leaders of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects, despite the proclaimed official goals, in most cases seek to obtain the maximum material benefit from their activities, resorting to any means and methods. Many sects are trying to prove through the courts (and in many cases prove, like, for example, "Scientologists") that their teaching is a new religion, demanding benefits from the state in the implementation of their activities. In Russia, it is not only groups and associations that are engaged in the creation of new religions, but also individual citizens (for example, a certain doctor Yuri Negribetsky since 1994 has been reviving the so-called ancient religion “The Matrix, which people of previous civilizations professed”).

These facts prove the need to create an "Interdepartmental Expert Council for the State Religious Expertise" instead of the "Expert Council for the State Religious Expertise under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation." The current council under the Ministry of Justice includes representatives of even non-state institutions, but there is not a single representative of departmental science - the Prosecutor's Office, the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and, most surprisingly, the Ministry of Justice itself. The creation of the Interdepartmental Council would make it possible to avoid the mistakes that the existing council makes, recognizing the right of sects banned in many countries (in particular, the "Unification Church" in Germany), to legally operate on the territory of Russia.

Additions are also needed in the tax legislation, which will allow to some extent deprive (which is very important) of the economic base of religious, pseudo-religious and secular sects.

The legal framework is the basis for preventing the emergence and activities of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects in society. But prevention itself should be a set of measures aimed at creating conditions in society under which the development of the phenomenon of sectarianism could not proceed unhindered without the control of state bodies and the public.

Society should develop an objective attitude towards adherents of asocial sects as people whose physical, mental and spiritual health has been harmed, and therefore they require increased attention, legal and other assistance. It is impossible to ignore these persons, because communication with them, as well as "communication with the insane" in some cases leads to the fact that "many people lose their minds or become seriously mentally ill on religious grounds" .

There is also a need for a legislative act that would prohibit civil servants from membership in non-traditional religious organizations (new religious movements), which are often various kinds of sects. In the case of their participation in the activities of such an organization (sect), the citizen must be deprived of the powers that the state has endowed him with.

Many human rights defenders in this case may point to the infringement of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but it should be borne in mind that a citizen endowed with additional rights (such as law enforcement officers who, among other things, have the right to carry and use firearms and special funds), should also have additional responsibilities, since the health and sometimes the life of Russian citizens depends on their daily activities.

It is advisable to adopt the State Program for the Scientific Study of Problems Related to the Activities of Sects, and, in particular, the study of methods of deprogramming and psychological rehabilitation of persons subjected to mental violence, against whom methods of control and deformation of consciousness were applied. This problem is relevant not only in connection with the danger of the spread of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects, but also because these methods are used in their activities that threaten the national security of Russia, special services of foreign states.

At the moment, the study of the phenomenon of sectarianism is mainly carried out by representatives of traditional religious denominations for Russia, in particular, the Russian Orthodox Church: the Orthodox St. Tikhon Theological Institute has a department of "Sect Studies", which conducts very successful research. But, as practice shows, in Russia, as in a secular state, only developments created by secular scientists are used and applied.

The state represented by its bodies (mainly law enforcement) and public and religious organizations can and should actively cooperate in the prevention of socially dangerous forms of sectarianism.

For effective work in the field of prevention and investigation of cult and ritual crimes, law enforcement officers need appropriate methodological developments and recommendations.

In higher educational institutions, especially those providing training for law enforcement agencies, it is advisable to teach at least a special course on the history of the development of sectarianism and the activities of the most dangerous religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects.

Anti-sectarian committees, rehabilitation centers, created mainly on the initiative of representatives of relatives of adherents of sects and representatives of traditional religious organizations (the Center of St.

For more successful prevention of sectarianism (and, therefore, crime in general), both in the penitentiary system and in the whole society, it would be necessary to carry out:

Making additions and changes to the existing international legal norms and legislative acts of the Russian Federation; creation of new criminal law norms, development of drafts of new laws;

Creation of "new bodies ensuring the security of the individual, society and the state" (in particular, such a body as the Interdepartmental Committee or commissions to counter the socially dangerous activities of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects);

Delimitation of powers and organization of coordinated actions (as in coordinating the fight against crime) of state bodies and the public (it is very important that “each prevention subject ... does not replace other bodies, avoids parallelism and duplication”).

The activities of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects mainly affect the spiritual sphere, both world and Russian society (affecting negatively the processes in this area). Prevention of anti-social (criminal) forms of sectarianism is part of the state system for the general prevention of crime and includes measures to improve not only the economic, social, political, but also the spiritual sphere of society.

In order to combat sectarianism at the international level, Russia could take the initiative to create an "International Center for the Study and Prevention of Socially Dangerous Forms of Sectarianism." The international center would cooperate in the field of:

Exchange of information between relevant organizations on the prevention of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sectarianism;

Conducting a comparative analysis and collecting information on the development of the international sectarian movement, the reasons for its emergence, the connection of this process with the development of organized crime and instability in the socio-economic sphere;

Strengthening scientific and technical cooperation (exchange of scientific developments in the field of deprogramming of adherents of sects; creation of a single database containing information on the activities of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects and socio-legal methods of preventing the development of sectarianism, organizing the work of law enforcement agencies in this area);

Assistance in the training of specialists in cult-ritual crimes; creation of interdepartmental centers of interaction on the issues of studying and preventing religious, pseudo-religious, secular sectarianism in each country.

The efforts of states to counteract the spread of sectarianism must be of a joint and planned nature. This is also relevant because in recent years there has been active cooperation and even association of religious, pseudo-religious, secular sects with criminal organizations, including terrorist ones, all over the world.