SOME ASPECTS OF THE FORMATION OF THE CONFESSIONAL IDENTITY OF PROTESTANTS - CARRIERS OF THE FINNO-UGRIС LANGUAGES

Abstract

This paper examines the religious identity of the speakers of the Uralic languages before their adoption of the Protestant Christianity, as well as the determining factors under the influence of which the respondents came to Protestantism (the impact of people - relatives, friends, church members, missionaries, etc.). It was found that Finno-Ugric peoples living in an industrial (urban) society, according to these indicators, practically do not differ from the main body of respondents - Protestants, more than 60.0 % of whom are Russians. Among the Protestants - the indigenous peoples of the North and Siberia - Nenets and Khanty, there is a significant number of former carriers of traditional religions. The article uses materials from fieldworks conducted by the Institute of Ethnological Research named after RG Kuzeeva UFIC RAS in 2013 - 2015 in the South, Middle and Polar Urals, as well as in the Surgut region of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (KhMAO) - Yugra. The materials presented in the work can be used by teachers, students and graduate students of specialized educational institutions, scientists, specialists in the field of state - confessional relations.