The problem of ethnic self-identification became especially relevant in the 21st century. as a result of global globalization processes. It has long gone beyond the limits of purely scientific and has acquired socio-political significance, especially in the so-called so-called. national minorities living in the Diaspora. The nature of self-identity is determined by three distinct, but closely related factors: religion, culture, and state. Religion or a new religious idea becomes the dominant of the formation of a new ethnos; it is religion (...) that determines the basic cultures of each nation. Religion and culture are manifested in a certain state space, so the nature of their functioning depends largely on the state. However, relations between the state and culture are the result of the interaction of two vector-opposite processes: on the one hand, there is a tendency to form a single space-time - state - field of culture with unified norms, values, outlook and worldview. ; on the other, the desire of different ethno-religious groups to preserve their spatial niche and develop their own religious-cultural and legal specificity. (shrink)

Religious life in all eras is accompanied not only by real facts, but also by their subjective perception. It is fixed not so much reality as the imagination of it. Among the common beliefs, a special place belongs to stereotypes, which, on the one hand, systematize and generalize ideas about the world, helping people to adequately perceive and interpret being, and on the other - preserving these ideas, which sometimes prevents people from entering new life. History has given rise to (...) many religious stereotypes, by virtue of which the constitution and preservation of ethnic groups, nations, religious communities, and confessions took place. However, uncontrolled domination, and especially the use of these stereotypes in the theory and practice of social and individual existence, led to complications in the functioning of ethno-religious communities, to their struggle, even destruction, resulting in the disappearance of some and other ethnicities, nations, religions. and churches. The reality of the society in which we live is on. (shrink)

This paper seeks to explore the way Giovanni Pico della Mirandola treated the Orphics and the Pythagoreans in his Conclusiones nongentae, his early and most ambitious work, so that he formulates his own philosophy. I do not intend to present and analyze the sum of Pico’s references to Orphics and Pythagoreans, since such an attempt is beyond the scope of this paper. Rather, I aim to highlight certain Pico’s aphorisms that allow readers to understand and evaluate his syncretic method and (...) his goals. In addition, I attempt to trace Pico’s sources and evaluate his proper knowledge, understanding and treatment of the Orphics and the Pythagoreans. Pico resorts to the Orphics and the Pythagoreans because he wants to give a practical and applied dimension to his philosophy. He attempted the revival of the original wisdom that underlies the traditions he combined. He was not a fan of the Aristotelian θεωρίης ἢνεκεν. Philosophy does not aim at proper knowledge, but is the key for the manipulation of the cosmos, physically and metaphysically speaking. Pico probably thinks of himself as the modern Orpheus: he does not intend to reveal the paths which cross the sensible and the intelligible, but he aspires to tread them. (shrink)

Since the human history had start, people began to taboo, cultivate and channelled their own reproductive function, which was inherited by them from the nature. Although all cultures forbade those sexual acts that did not contribute to the birth of children, sacralisation of such acts helped overcome any prohibitions. Ritual incest, coitus with animals, non-physiological sexual relations, temple prostitution were declared sacral. Through their ingenious sexual exercises, which were sanctioned by pagan gods, people left animals far behind. After such changes (...) a sexual function in the society has lost animal naturalness and transformed into a specifically human phenomenon. Thus, at the first stage of sacralisation, the reproductive function ceased to be natural and became very human. At the second stage of sacralisation, this function became not only human but also humanity one. This process has evolved in two directions. Eastern Indian religious tradition, in one case, continued to use corporal images, but now pornographic bas-reliefs of some Indian temples were used by believers to make themselves sure that they do not get tempted by these images. In another case, some Indian religions considered bodily pleasures as a path to spiritual enlightenment. In this way, the physiologically accurate images of the orgy were negated for the sake of assertion of high spirituality. Western Christian tradition gradually eliminated any physiological corporeality and also subjected this body function to taboo. In this religion marriage, conception, birth, infancy and motherhood got sacred significance. The culmination point of the cultural transformation of the reproductive function was the Christian understanding of Love. The first stage sacralised the bodily-physiological aspect of reproduction of folks, but the second stage and gave to the human reproductive function a highly spiritual and sacred traits, when the birth of people for the Lord was considering as a charity. (shrink)