Antonov Konstantin; Kolkunova Ksenia

Vasily Zenkovky: religious experience as basis for psychology of religion and religios upbringing

Abstract

Vasiliy Zenkovsky (1881–1962; Russ. Василий Зеньковский), the renowned philosopher, theologian and educationalist, was a founder of one of the earliest Russian systems for psychological analysis of religion. His ideas are associated with the most important achievements in the psychology of religion of the early 20th century, e.g. the works by William James and Theodore Flournoy. Zenkovsky’s system was also infl uenced by Husserl’s phenomenology, as well as by Dilthey’s ideas. This paper addresses the role played by the culture of Russian émigrés, especially its perception of events in Russia, critical attitude to the theory and practice of militant atheism. The paper discusses methodological principles of psychology of religion (biological, phenomenological, social psychological) proposed by Zenkovsky, his view of the structure of religious life and the place of emotion and intellect in this structure, his understanding of child’s religiosity and main factors of religious upbringing. In the fi nal section, the paper draws conclusions as to the signifi cance of Zenkovsky’s ideas about psychology of religion and its place in the history of psychology of religion in Russia.

Keywords

Zenkovsky, childhood psychology, psychology of religion, religious feeling, religious upbringing, Flournoy

References

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Information about the author

Antonov Konstantin

Academic Degree: Doctor of Sciences* in Philosophy;
Place of work: St. Tikhon's Orthodox University for Humanities; 6/1 Lihov per., Moscow, 127051 Russian Federation;
Post: Head of the Department of Philosophy of religion;
ORCID: 0000-0003-0982-2513;
Email: konstanturg@yandex.ru.

*According to ISCED 2011, a post-doctoral degree called Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc.) is given to reflect second advanced research qualifications or higher doctorates.

Kolkunova Ksenia

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in Philosophy;
Place of work: St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University for Humanities; 6/1 Likhov pereulok, Moscow 127051, Russian Federation;
Post: Senior Lecturer;
ORCID: 0000-0003-4655-6488;
Email: ksenia.kolkunova@gmail.com.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.

Acknowledgments

Supported by the grant of RFH 16-03-00799 "Psychology of religion in Russia: XIX - early XXI".