Religious norms

These are the rules established by various church denominations and binding on believers. They are contained in religious books (Bible, Talmud, Koran, Sunnah, Laws of Manu, etc.), in acts adopted by church societies, meetings of the clergy or higher ranks churches, in the comments of religious books. Such norms regulate the administration of rituals, church services, and the observance of fasts. Religious norms can also have a moral content (for example, commandments from the Old Testament: do not kill, do not steal, honor your parents, etc.).

In ancient times and in the Middle Ages, many religious norms were given a legal character (canon law in medieval Europe). In modern Muslim states, the main sources of law are religious books - the Koran and the Sunnah. It is also known that in the early years Soviet power the norms of Islamic law were applied in some regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Nowadays, in most civilized countries, people have the opportunity to freely perform religious rites that are not associated with violence against a person, violation of public morality (marriage, burial of the dead, etc.), but such acts have no legal significance.

Religious prohibitions and permissions, representing the elementary norms of human relationships, concentrate the experience of social coexistence of people developed over thousands of years. This is the source of divine and human wisdom, the guiding compass of prosperity, the normal existence of mankind.

Political norms

They regulate the relations of classes, estates, nations, political parties and other public associations aimed at the conquest, retention and use of state power. Norms of this kind exist both in the form of general slogans (the principle of democracy, the building of communism, the introduction of the foundations of a market economy, etc.), and in the form of more specific political norms (the privatization of state property, the introduction of local self-government principles, an economic program, pension and tax reforms, etc.). In any case, they act as a form of awareness and expression of class, collective, group interest, assessment of political life.

Political norms are contained in the views of philosophers, politicians, leaders of political parties, social movements, their public speeches, in the charters and programs of parties and other public associations regarding their tasks and functions, general and specific programs and activities, the structure and nature of state power. Depending on the specific historical conditions, the correlation of class, national, religious forces, the level of consciousness of society and its culture, the interaction of such norms is different. This is mutual support, and compromise agreement, and confrontation.

Political norms should not take precedence over law, otherwise it gives rise to political arbitrariness and contributes to the creation of totalitarian regimes. Only there a truly democratic system and a civilized civil society are possible, where politics, political norms are based on the law, where the law limits political power, where a person, his interests and rights are the main object of the state's activity.

Norms of public associations (corporate norms)

These norms regulate the rights and obligations of members of parties, trade unions, voluntary societies (youth, women's, creative, scientific, cultural and educational, sports and recreational and other associations), the procedure for their creation and functioning (structure, management procedure, powers of association bodies, the amount of membership dues, etc.), as well as the relationship of such associations with state bodies and other associations. Such norms are formulated in the statutes and other documents of associations, express the will and interests of their members and are obligatory only for them. Measures of influence (reprimand, expulsion from the association, etc.) provided for by the charters of the relevant associations are applied to violators of corporate norms.

Corporate also includes the norms stipulated by the charters of cooperatives and other non-governmental organizations of a commercial nature.

Some of the most important aspects of the organization and activities of public associations are also regulated by legal norms. Legislation will create a legal basis for the organization and activities of public associations, determine the general procedure for their creation and activities, and relationships with state bodies. The Constitution provides for the right of everyone to associate, guarantees the freedom of activity of public associations. No one may be forced to join or remain in any association.

The law establishes prohibitions to create associations that have criminal goals or carry out their activities by violent methods, as well as to perform actions that go beyond the limits of the tasks provided for by their charters.

moral standards

Under morality (from Lat. - moral) refers to the views, ideas of people about good and evil, about shameful and laudable, about honor, conscience, duty, justice. At the same time, morality is also norms, principles of behavior emanating from such views, as well as feelings, emotions that evaluate their own and other people's behavior in terms of goodness, justice and decency.

As a form of social consciousness, morality, like law, has a historical character. It is in motion, constantly changing, reflecting the level of development of society, its social structure, national, everyday, religious and, above all, economic forces. The morality of primitive society, eras of slavery, feudalism and modern moral ideas are in many ways different, and some of them are even opposite to each other.

Morality implies a value assessment of a person not only in relation to other people, but also to oneself, a sense of personal dignity and self-esteem of one's behavior. The highest moral principles for a person are his conscience, decency, honesty, awareness of his own duty.

Such universal moral principles and foundations developed over the centuries as honesty, philanthropy, mercy, justice, adherence to principles, diligence, are called upon to be the guiding foundations of people's behavior and their relationships. The humane content of morality in a concentrated form is formulated in the "golden rule" known since ancient times: "Do to others the way you would like them to do to you." The general legal prescription of a modern civil society that the exercise of the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen should not violate the rights and freedoms of others (Article 17 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) harmoniously complements and develops this rule.

Finally, the last type of social norms is law (see ch. 20).

Federal Agency for Education

State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education

Nizhny Novgorod Commercial Institute

Faculty of Law

Essay

"Legal and Religious Norms in the Russian Federation"

Performed:

Student of group 6-Yuz

Gorskaya E.A.

Checked:

Makarova S.V.

Nizhny Novgorod

Introduction

1. General view on the rule of law

1.1 Legal norms: concept, types

1.2 Religious norms: concept, functions

2. Law and religion in Russia

2.1 Place of legal norms in the Russian Federation

2.2 The place of religious norms in the Russian Federation

2.3 The relationship between legal and religious norms in the Russian Federation

3. Attitude to other moral religious norms

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The relationship between the norms of religion and the norms of law is very close. Religion has never been limited to belief in God and the afterlife and the performance of religious rites. It was social teachings that allowed monotheistic religions to conquer the masses and influence the balance of power in society. Religion in its own way explains the real existing world and governs relationships between people. Without a religious interpretation of purely earthly relations between people, religion would not be able to perform complex social functions, including integrating, would lose its attractiveness, would cease to exist. The very reasons for the emergence of new religious movements were of a socio-political nature. Such movements appeared in response to urgent needs of social life. In fact, each newly emerged religious sect acts as a socio-political unit, and the system of its views is a new socio-political doctrine that appears in a religious form. This is the history of the emergence of such religions as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism. .

Religion and religious norms arise later than the primary mononorms, but quickly penetrate into all the regulatory mechanisms of primitive society. Within the framework of mononorms, moral, religious, mythological ideas and rules were closely intertwined, the content of which was determined by the difficult conditions for the survival of a person of that time. During the period of the collapse of the primitive communal system, mononorms are differentiated into religion, law, and morality. At different stages of the development of society and in different legal systems, the degree and nature of the interaction between law and religion were different. Thus, in some legal systems, the connection between religious and legal norms was so close that they should be considered religious legal systems. The oldest of these legal systems is Hindu law, in which the norms of morality, customary law and religion are closely intertwined. Another example is Islamic law, which, in essence, is one of the aspects of the religion of Islam and is called Sharia. Thus, the religious legal system is a single religious, moral and legal regulator of all aspects of society. The nature of the interaction between the norms of law and religious norms in the system of social regulation of a particular society is determined by the connection of legal and religious norms with morality and the connection of law with the state. Thus, the state through legal form can determine its relations with religious organizations and their legal status in this particular society. Article 14 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation reads: “1. Russian Federation- secular state. No religion can be established as a state or obligatory one. 2. Religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law.”

Legal and religious norms may coincide in terms of their moral content. For example, among the commandments of Christ's Sermon on the Mount are "Thou shalt not kill" and "Thou shalt not steal." At the same time, it should also be taken into account that, from the point of view of the mechanism of action, religious norms are a powerful internal regulator of behavior. Therefore, they are a necessary and important tool for maintaining and preserving the moral and legal order in society.

The purpose of writing my essay is to identify the relationship between legal and religious norms in the Russian Federation.

Tasks: to consider and analyze legal and religious norms, to identify problems in the relationship of these legal norms in the Russian Federation.

1. General idea of ​​the rules of law

A rule of law is a generally binding rule of conduct established or sanctioned by the state and secured by its coercive force. State legal theory and practice have developed a wide variety of ideas about the rule of law. Among the most important features and features of the rule of law, the following should be especially noted.

a) The general nature of the rule of law does not and cannot provide in detail for each individual life circumstance. It focuses only on typical, incorporating similar features and traits, life situations in which there is a need or need for its application. It is a criterion for determining the legitimacy or illegality of the actions of various subjects of legal relations. The degree of generality of the rule of law is quite often different. In the Russian Federation, for example, the most general character have federal constitutional laws. They are addressed to all citizens of the Russian Federation without exception, and some of them also to foreigners and stateless persons.

b) Expression in the normative norms of the state will. The will of the ruling stratum, group or class, in order to be embodied in the rule of law, to become their real content, must necessarily pass through the rule-making mechanism, inevitably transform into the will of the state. Of course, the latter in any state corresponds to the interests of the ruling strata, groups or classes and is aimed at strictly targeted social regulation of the behavior of all participants in legal relations.

c) Presumptive-binding character. Regulating public relations, the rule of law establishes certain powers or rights for one participant in these relations, and imposes legal obligations related to this power on the other. For one side, the rule of law points to a possible behavior (right) protected and guaranteed by the state, and for the other, to a proper behavior (duty) secured by the threat of state coercion. For example, by granting citizens of the Russian Federation the constitutional right to social security by age, in case of illness, disability, loss of a breadwinner. for the upbringing of children, the state at the same time imposes appropriate legal obligations on its bodies.

d) Consistency and hierarchy in relation to each other, as well as strict formal certainty. Each rule of law does not exist on its own, but in close interconnection and interaction, in a single system with other legal rules. Unlike other social norms (moral norms), legal norms form a hierarchy, which is due to the different legal force of normative legal acts. This hierarchy is made up of a system of norms contained in constitutional acts (laws), current or customary laws, and by-laws.

e) A specific feature of the rules of law is their protection and provision with state coercion. It is not only and not even so much about the actually applied, but about the potentially existing impact on the offender.

Among the measures of state influence, civil-criminal, administrative-legal and other measures are distinguished. The main purpose of their application (due to the nature of the offense) may be: punishment of the offender, compensation for harm caused, restoration of the violated right, fulfillment of obligations. Speaking about the measures of state influence on offenders, one should not assume that the rules of law are implemented only because of the existence of a threat of state coercion. A huge role in this process is played by measures of an educational nature, the authority of the state and law, and measures of persuasion. Rules of law can be classified on several grounds. Every rule of law prescribes a certain form of behavior to persons. In connection with this approach, the rules of law can be divided into: binding, prohibiting and empowering. Bindings are rules of law that require individuals to perform certain positive actions. Prohibiting legal norms indicate the inadmissibility of any action. In other words, they demand abstinence from them. Enabling rules of law provide individuals with the opportunity to perform certain actions that entail legal consequences. According to the form of prescription, the rules of law are divided into imperative and dispositive. imperative rules. contain authoritative instructions, deviations from which are not allowed. An example is a labor law rule that indicates the inadmissibility of replacing vacation with monetary compensation. Dispositive norms provide subjects of law with the opportunity to decide for themselves the issue of the scope and nature of their rights and obligations. In the absence of such an agreement, the prescription contained therein comes into force. Depending on the intended purpose, the rules of law are divided into regulatory and protective. Regulatory norms are prescriptions that establish the rights and obligations of participants in legal relations.

Protective norms regulate social relations related to legal liability and the use of state enforcement measures, that is, the norms of procedural law. Rules of law can be classified depending on the branches of law. There are: administrative-legal, civil-law, criminal-legal norms of law, norms of labor, environmental, international, constitutional, economic and other branches of law. This classification is based on the subject and method of legal regulation. Depending on the subject that issued the norms, there are: legislative, by-law and delegated - norms of law issued by a public organization on behalf of a state body. By the time of validity, the rules of law are divided into: permanent - they are valid until they are officially canceled and temporary - they are valid only within a certain period of time. According to the circle of persons to whom the norms apply, they are divided into general and special.

The former include norms that apply to all persons residing within a given locality, state, while the latter apply only to a certain category of persons (military personnel, students, law enforcement officials, etc.). According to the degree of certainty, the norms of law are distinguished between blanket and reference. Blanket norms are such rules of conduct, the action of which is based on the content of specific rules. Referential norms directly point to other norms of law as a condition of their action.

From this we can say that the rules of law are certain prescriptions, the rules of which a person must follow throughout his life. But all norms can also be divided into two groups: legal and religious. Legal norms are the norms that a person has created for himself, to maintain the state and society. Religious norms are the norms that are laid down in a person from birth. This is his spiritual state. Religious norms are divine norms. And very often, especially in our time, there is a clash of these two groups.

1.1 Legal norms: concept, types

Legal norms are a formally defined, universally binding rule of conduct that regulates social relations, enshrined in law and provided by the state. The rule of law is the primary unit of law. In turn, the totality of the rules of law, established and sanctioned by the state, form the law as a whole, constitute the system of law.

Consider the concept of "legal norm" in more detail.

The ideal legal rule looks something like this: a description of the situation where it applies - for example, the taxpayer had income for the reporting year; a description of the actual rules of conduct in this situation - it is necessary to file a tax return and pay tax; definition of liability for non-compliance with the rule - a penalty for failure to file a declaration or for non-payment of taxes.

Accordingly, in scientific and educational literature usually consider the following structure of the legal norm: 1) Hypothesis - a description of the conditions for the operation of the norm; 1) Disposition - a description of the rule of conduct; 1) Sanction - a measure of responsibility for violation of the rules of conduct.

The hypothesis indicates the addressee of the norm, the conditions under which the norm is to be applied. Depending on the number of conditions, hypotheses are divided into simple and complex, and a complex disposition that connects the operation of a rule of law with one of several conditions is called alternative.

The disposition contains the very rule of conduct, it is the main structural element of the rule of law. According to the nature of the instructions, the dispositions are divided into:

empowering (giving participants in public relations the right to act in a certain way);

binding (establishing an obligation to perform certain actions);

forbidding (setting a ban on performing certain actions).

The sanction indicates the legal consequences of the violation of the norm (usually unfavorable). According to the degree of certainty, sanctions are divided into absolutely certain, relatively certain and alternative (indefinite sanctions are not typical for modern law).

The rules of law, as a rule, are set out in normative legal acts, and the rule of law often does not coincide with the article of the normative legal act. There are three main ways of presenting the elements of the rule of law in the articles of normative legal acts: direct, blanket and referential. With the direct method of presentation, the element of the rule of law is directly stated in the article. With the referential method of presentation in the article, the element of the rule of law is not fully stated, instead it contains a reference to a specific article of the same or another normative legal act. In the blanket way of presentation, the element of the rule of law is expressed in the most general form, referring to other normative legal acts (without indicating a specific rule where missing information can be found), to certain branches of law, and even to "current legislation" (with a blanket presentation of the element of the rule of law, it remains indefinite).

In addition, many norms do not have an ideal three-element structure. Many norms of the Constitution, for example, the norms defining the competence of public authorities, contain only one or two elements: a hypothesis and a disposition, such a structure is typical for many regulatory norms, or one disposition (norms-principles), the norms of the Special Part of the Criminal Code contain only dispositions and sanctions - such a structure is typical for protective norms. Moreover, the dispositions of regulatory and protective norms to be applied, as a rule, do not coincide, it is unacceptable to mix them into one norm. In some cases, the missing element of the rule of law can be logically derived from other rules, which does not remove its uncertainty. In other cases, such a restoration is incorrect (for example, an authorizing, declarative, definitive norm cannot have a sanction).

Legal norms can be divided into types according to various criteria.

1. From the point of view of the subject of legal regulation (the content of the norm), legal norms are divided into norms of state (constitutional), civil, criminal and other branches of law. 2. According to the nature of the rules of conduct contained in them, legal norms are divided into authorizing, binding and prohibiting.3. By social purpose and functions - into constituent (fundamental principles), regulatory (regulating social relations) and protective (establishing responsibility for offenses).

According to the degree of certainty of prescriptions, they are divided into imperative (determining the behavior of the subjects under appropriate circumstances), dispositive (providing for the possibility of choosing a variant of the subject's actions) and recommendatory.

5. According to the source - constitutional, legislative, by-laws, contractual, customary, etc. 6. Legal norms that do not contain rules of conduct are especially distinguished: declarative (rules-principles), definitive (rules-definitions) and operational norms (rules-changes).

Legal norms have the following features:

Regulation of behavior - the rules of law regulate the behavior of people (as a rule, in relations with other people), the activities of organizations, they are rules of conduct.

The general character is the vagueness of the addressee. They regulate typical relationships and are designed for repeated use.

Obligatory - the rules of law are obligatory for all to whom they are addressed.

Communication with the state - legal norms are established or sanctioned by the state, if necessary, provided by state coercion.

Formal certainty - the rules of law, are fixed in the legal acts of the state and clearly fix the rights, obligations and prohibitions.

The first two features are common to all social norms, the rest are the hallmarks of legal norms.

1.2 Religious norms: concept, functions

In primitive society, each clan worshiped its own pagan gods, had its own "totem" - its own idol. During the period of unification of tribes, religious norms contributed to strengthening the power of “kings”, supreme (often military) leaders. The dynasties of new rulers sought to unite the tribes by common religious canons. Arthashastra had such significance in ancient india, the cult of the Sun and the god Osiris in Ancient Egypt, the cult of the patronage of the gods of the Greek policies, etc. There was a gradual adaptation of religious norms to consolidate the supreme power of the ruling tribes among the Maya and Incas, among the Scythians. This power was associated with its transfer from the gods and was fixed first by extending the elective term, and then - for life and hereditarily.

Religion is the regulator of public relations. The rules of conduct established by any religion are a special kind of social norms - religious norms, and not a component of morality, law, or any other social systems. Speaking of a religious norm, it should be borne in mind that a commandment, a rule of conduct, is only one of its constituent parts. In addition, the norm includes references to the sacred source of the rule of conduct and to supernatural means of ensuring it. The Bible, the Koran, the Talmud, and other “sacred” books are characterized by the “dispersedness” of the components of religious norms, the absence of individual sanctions in almost all of them, which gives rise to an unreasonable identification of the “verse”, which sets out only the rule of conduct, with the entire religious norm. Religious norms have all the necessary features of a social norm. Take, for example, the commandments of the biblical decalogue, which are given in various combinations in the Old and New Testaments as an important part of the "law of God." This is a categorical prohibition to worship several gods and idols, kill, commit adultery, steal and desire someone else's, bear false witness, the requirement to believe in one god, "observe the Sabbath day" and honor parents. All these are the rules of human behavior related to the spheres of religious worship, family and other public relations. The commandments prescribe very specific acts or refrain from acts condemned by religion. The religious norm has a general character, which manifests itself in the following.

Firstly, the religious norm acts as a scale, a standard for the behavior of believers in one or another situation, as an ideal of certain relations. Secondly, its prescriptions do not apply to a specific individual, but to a more or less wide range of people: to the followers of a given religion (members of a church, sect, sect) or to some part of them (clergymen, laity, etc.). Providing specific options for behavior in ordinary life situations, religious norms act on the will and consciousness of people, shape their social behavior and thereby regulate the relevant public affairs, manifested primarily in the actions or inaction of their participants. One of the specific features of these norms is that they also regulate such matters that are outside the scope of other social norms - relations that arise during worship.

Religious norms are most often authoritarian in nature, formulated as commands that must be done contrary to the requirements of all other norms, up to a direct prohibition to follow extreme ones (for example, limiting the act of blood feud by the norms of the Old Testament and Islam). Any religion, invoking the will supernatural powers and beings, asks from his own followers blind discipline, strict observance of their own prescriptions. Religious norms must be fulfilled, regardless of the inconsistency of their instructions with the views and desires of the believer. In primitive religions, the creators and guardians of religious prescriptions and prohibitions were considered totemic ancestors, spirits. Then deities act as a source of religious rules of conduct, and, in the end, in monotheistic religions, God. In "sacred" books different religions religious norms are formulated as divine commands. In the Bible, for example, they are called commandments, commands, charters, laws of God, their holiness is emphasized. church rules issued by theologians for concretizing the "laws of God."

But the relationship of religious norms with religious ideas and representations are not always visible. Not all religious prescriptions contain an indication of their sacred origin. In such cases, the presence of this connection is evidenced by special means of ensuring the fulfillment of religious prescriptions: the threat of supernatural punishment and the promise of merit from supernatural forces. The fulfillment of religious norms is also ensured by the punishments applied to the violator by the clergy - church punishment. With the emergence of the country and law, criminal punishment for religious crimes is added to this, and then unfavorable civil law consequences in cases of non-compliance with certain religious norms.

The function of "meaning" is the main function of religion as understood by Weber, Durkheim, and many contemporary sociologists of religion. Religion is what makes human life meaningful, it supplies it with the most important component of "meaning". This is due to the fact that “religion gives a picture of the world in which injustice, suffering, death, everything that makes life tragic and unsuccessful, crushes hopes, “breaks a fate that could be completely different”, all this turns out to have meaning and meaning in that perspective of “the last or ultimate reality” that religion offers in its picture of the world. If suffering and death matter, if a person knows what it is, then he has the strength to live, overcoming suffering. What makes a person strong is knowing why he lives. A person becomes weak, helpless, at a loss, "lost" if he feels emptiness, loses understanding of the meaning of what is happening to him. In the same way, life is meaningless if a person does not feel that he deserves his lucky lot, if he just happens to be lucky.

And in this case, life is also meaningless. If life loses its meaning, then this is perhaps the most terrible misfortune and something worse than death. The peculiarity of the religious view of the world, which makes it possible to cope with this threat, is that each individual event is considered as meaningful due to its connection with the general picture of the world in its ultimate, final meaning.

Religious worldview is expressed in value concepts, i.e. focused on showing what certain events mean human life in the light of understanding the ultimate goals and aspirations. Religion can cope with this function if it is not only focused on individual psychological impact, but also contributes to the maintenance of collective identity. Religion helps people understand who they are by showing the significance of the group to which they belong among other people who inhabit our world. It helps people to realize themselves as a moral community, held together by common values ​​and common goals. This unifying and self-defining function of religion is especially strong in pre-industrial societies. American sociologists of religion believe, for example, that today, in a pluralistic American society, not one of traditional religions unable to fulfill this role.

By sacralizing the norms and values ​​of society, religion also contributes to its stability. Religion fulfills this function by establishing norms that are useful for a given social structure and create the conditions for a person to fulfill moral obligations. Since these prohibitions are still violated by people, most religions have ways to restore and maintain the desire for observance of obligations - purifying and redemptive rites that can defuse, remove guilt or increase it.

According to the prominent modern sociologist P. Berger, religious norms ensure the stability and strength of human existence, giving it a certain meaning. Religion is, as it were, a “sacred veil”, sanctifying the norms and values ​​of human life and thereby guaranteeing the social order and stability of the social world. Drawing certain conclusions, we can say that religious norms are the rules of behavior for believers, which have developed on the basis of ideas about God and the behavior that pleases him. This group of social norms is fixed in holy books Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists - the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, in oral traditions. The norms of religion regulate the relations of believers within the framework of the church or other religious organizations, the procedure for performing religious rites. For example, religious norms include: the obligation of a Muslim to pray five times a day, the obligation of an Orthodox Christian to fast.

2. Law and religion in Russia

Speaking about the implementation of the principle of secularity (secularity) of the state in Russia, one should not be limited to a formal analysis of laws, and even more so an analysis of constitutional principles. Russia is to a rather small extent a state of law, so the practice of law enforcement is only distantly related to the law. On the other hand, one should not ignore the fact that basic legal norms provide a reference point from which practical deviation is measured.

Russia is a state with a rigid separation model of state-religious relations. The constitution emphasizes not only the purely secular nature of the state, but also contains a rather rare provision on the equality of religious organizations before the law. On the whole, one can say that the Russian constitution is one of the most secular among comparable countries.

By the early 1990s, both the elite and most of the citizens were very little religious, although the majority were already interested in religion. Hence the text of Art. 14 of the Constitution. The basis of modern Russian secularism was and is precisely the mass non-religiousness.

By 1997, the state was already increasingly striving for control over public life, including religious life. Society's concern about totalitarian sects, which are unusual for most religious associations, also had an effect. But overall, the 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations proved to be no less secular than the 1990 law, although more discriminatory.

Since then, the authorities have increasingly turned to Orthodoxy and, to some extent, to other “traditional religions” in search of support for their legitimacy, seeking to use it to construct their own version of national identity. The state, concerned about Islamist terrorism, is trying to support and regulate large traditional Muslim organizations. At the same time, the real, not inspired by the authorities, public interest in issues related to religion is growing noticeably. The social activity of the religious organizations themselves is growing, first of all, the Russian Orthodox Church and, to some extent, the Council of Muftis of Russia. As a result, there is a feeling that our country is no longer as secular as its legislation, and this suggests a modification of the legislation.

A rather serious experimental test of the degree of secularism of society and the state, the influence of religious leaders was the ongoing struggle over the introduction of the course "Fundamentals of Orthodox culture"(OPK). But the state apparatus as a whole, from the Government to school directors, either rejected the wide introduction of this subject, or treated it coolly. The OPK is indeed moving into schools, but rather slowly. But the bureaucracy, in terms of its values, is not so significantly different from the average statistics. Thus, we have a fairly objective criterion for determining the degree of secularity of society as a whole and the ruling bureaucratic stratum.

In the discussion about the teaching of the EPC, in fact, the inviolability of the principle of "separation of the school from the Church" is discussed, using the wording Soviet law. This principle is absent from the 1993 Constitution, but is included in the Law “On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Organizations” as a direct consequence of the principle of secularism of the state: article 4 of the law states that “the state ensures the secular nature of education in state and municipal educational institutions". Article 5 of the law is formulated in such a way that the right of everyone declared in its paragraph 1 "to receive a religious education of their choice individually or jointly with others" is limited to home or confessional education.

In the discussion that arose in 2001 about giving a legal status to the concept of "traditional religion", supporters of such a measure tried even more unsuccessfully to reinterpret the principle of equal rights for religious organizations. Formally, this constitutional principle remained unchanged, but the authorities, represented by a number of their bodies and individual figures, partly went towards the supporters of fixing the special status of “traditional religions”, and again in the form of interpretation of legal norms.

The state conducts practical cooperation with the leading organizations of "traditional religions", mainly with the Russian Orthodox Church (not counting the Muslim and Buddhist regions, where Muslim or Buddhist norms have an equal or higher status). It is these organizations that receive support from the state.

It would be wrong to explain the obvious inequality of religious associations only by the religious xenophobia of officials, although it certainly exists. It would also be wrong to agree with the version of the leaders of the "traditional religions" themselves, that state support is proportional to the number of believers. The number of believers does not lend itself to any state accounting and is the subject of constant discussions, but the state support is clearly not the same over the verifiable number of religious organizations.

The main mechanism for changing the interpretation of legal norms is attempts to change the basic social values ​​and priorities accepted in society, that is, those that state and public leaders refer to. It is precisely this path that the Russian Orthodox Church is following - and it is precisely after Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) and his deputy Vsevolod Chaplin that many secular authors and even statesmen later repeat certain ideas.

The "right to identity" in today's Russia is gradually penetrating into legal consciousness. This happens along with the ubiquitous spread, from the Academy of Sciences to the Church, of the "civilizational approach", substantiating, in particular, not only the admissibility, but also the necessity fundamental difference of the Russian legal system from the norms of international law, since the latter is formed on the basis of the legal culture of the West.

The defense of the “right to identity” has been one of the main arguments in the controversy about the teaching of religion in schools. And the documents developed in the Ministry of Education in 2002 actually used these concepts.

Penetrates the "right to identity" and law enforcement. For example, in the summer of 2005, the organizers of the well-known exhibition Beware of Religion! in the Sakharov Museum were found guilty of inciting hatred on religious and ethnic grounds, although the exhibits of the exhibition, if they incited hatred, then not towards people, as required by the modern disposition of Article 282 of the Criminal Code, but towards Orthodoxy as a cultural and religious phenomenon. The criminal court punished two people, protecting, in essence, not the rights of some people, but religious feelings, that is, the “identity”, of an indefinite group of people. The court could consider that the individual right to freedom of expression is less important than the protection of some other people from insult, and close the exhibition; such a decision would be quite common in the Russian and European legal tradition. But it was not about insulting any specific people, since until the moment of the destruction of the exhibition, almost none of those who could be offended had seen it. The court recognized as a criminal offense precisely the attempt on shrines, that is, on the religious identity of those for whom these shrines are precisely shrines. A long and active public controversy surrounding this case has shown that such considerations are by no means uncommon in public opinion, and in the opinion of officials and even lawyers.

Modern Russia was constituted as a strictly secular state with a separation model, but ten years later it became noticeable that an increasingly significant part of society was striving to soften this model. Such a desire can be justified by appeals to historical traditions, or maybe by a reference to the “return of religion” taking place on a global scale. Moreover, gradually the first argument, which is subjected to very thorough criticism, gives way to the second, which is more difficult to criticize: after all, the “return of religion” to both private and public life is indeed observed, in particular, in Russia.

2.1 Place of legal norms in the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation has the form of a legal state. The main function of the executive power of the state is the implementation of legal norms. Legal regulations have importance in the life of society. By themselves, legal norms are certain prescriptions and rules for the behavior of people in society. We can say that legal norms provide order in the life of the state and society. All legal norms regulate certain forms of relations: family, civil, administrative, etc. All legal norms are combined into laws that society must comply with. But in most cases, legal norms in the Russian state are not implemented, there are many violations of legal norms.

Each person should have their own idea of ​​knowledge of the law. However, a distinction must be made between professional knowledge of the law and ordinary knowledge. Even lawyers do not always know all the legal material. In addition, in practice, a citizen is not faced with the need to know all legal norms without exception. In order to build one's behavior in accordance with the law, in most cases it is enough to know the requirements of morality, understand the social purpose of legal norms, and also know the basic rights and obligations established by the constitution and other laws. There is, for example, no need for a general knowledge of the qualifying signs that distinguish theft from robbery or robbery. Another thing is important: everyone must be clearly aware of the inadmissibility of appropriating someone else's property or infringing on the personality of another person.

Knowledge of laws plays the role of a stimulus for lawful behavior only when it acquires personal meaning for a person, when he is interested in this knowledge and expresses readiness in accordance with the requirements of law. In other cases, the socially significant role of such knowledge is at least not indisputable. This is evidenced by numerous sociological studies conducted in our country, according to which offenders often know legal norms no worse, and sometimes better than other citizens. That's why required element legal culture of a citizen - a respectful attitude to the current legal norms, following their requirements.

Legal norms are usually assessed positively by the majority of the population. A positive attitude towards law is based on the recognition of its social value. Citizens are in solidarity with the requirements of the law, which serves the interests of everyone. A person's confidence in the necessity, validity and fairness of laws, respect for them become an integral part of his personal convictions. He develops a readiness to perceive all new laws as necessary, justified and fair. Gradually, a habit is formed not to think every time about why the law should be obeyed. A person takes the requirements of legal norms for granted. The habit of observing legal norms becomes an internal need for him. But not everyone who considers this or that norm wrong becomes a violator of the law. The reasons that induce a person to comply with the requirements of the laws in this case are very different. For example, law-abiding behavior may be associated with fear of punishment.

Every person, every person must have a sufficiently high level of legal awareness, know the laws of the country in force (ignorance of the laws does not exempt a person from responsibility for their violation), observe, execute or use these laws. Knowledge of legal regulations alone cannot give the desired effect, have convictions in the necessity, usefulness, expediency of laws and other legal acts, internal agreement with them, correctly understand one’s rights and obligations, freedoms and responsibilities, one’s position in society, norms of relationships with other people, fellow citizens, and exercise legal activity. They must purposefully and proactively carry out activities to suppress offenses, counteract lawlessness, maintain law and order and law-abiding society.

As a result, we can say that Russia is a very large and complex state in which a lot of problems arise. And every time they become more and more. Therefore, the state constantly needs to create new legal norms regulating certain social relations. All legal norms apply to an indefinite circle of persons and they must be binding on all. The main role of legal norms in the life of society lies in the law-making of the authorities, which creates the rule of law, dictates the rules that society should use. But it cannot be said that without legal norms there would be no state and order itself. Many societies create their own legal order by subordinating religious norms.

2.2 Place of religious norms in the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation is a multinational state. Accordingly, there are many different religions and religious associations in it. By themselves, religious norms regulate the spiritual and social life in accordance with the religious prescription of a particular denomination. There are many religious norms in Russia. And they don't play last role in the life of the whole society.

Religious norms appeared a very long time ago, since a person began to realize himself as a person and think about what surrounds him. Surrounded by the same man unknown forces, the forces of nature, to compete with which man was clearly beyond his power. But their knowledge was still too imperfect to rationally explain the reason for this kind of failure. Instead, they gave them an irrational, distorted, fantastical explanation. That is why man considered these unknown forces powerful and attributed to them an unearthly, divine essence. It should be seen in the fact that religious norms that prescribe the rules of behavior through the prism of the divine principle were addressed to people and streamlined their behavior.

In the future, religious norms were replaced by legal norms. But despite this, religion has not lost its significance. IN modern state religion and law complement each other. Religious norms play a spiritual role in modern society. By adhering to these norms, a person realizes why and how he lives. What place does he occupy in society and what functions should he perform. Fulfilling all religious norms, a person will also strive to fulfill legal norms. For example, a person will not commit a crime, not because he adheres to state laws, but because he is afraid of punishment in eternal life. Religious norms have a moral character.

2.3 The relationship between legal and religious norms in the Russian Federation

Religious norms are the rules established by various religions and binding on believers. They are found in religious books ( Old Testament, New Testament, Koran, Sunnah, Talmud, religious books of Buddhists, etc.), in the decisions of meetings of believers or clergy (decisions of councils, boards, conferences), in the works of authoritative religious writers. These norms determine the order of organization and activities of religious associations (communities, churches, groups of believers, etc.), regulate the performance of rituals, the order of church services. A number of religious norms have a moral content (commandments ). There were entire epochs in the history of law when many religious norms were of a legal nature, regulated some political, state, civil law, procedural, marriage and family and other relations. In a number of modern Islamic countries, the Koran (“Arabic code of law”) and the Sunnah are the basis of religious, legal and moral norms that regulate all aspects of a Muslim's life, defining the “right path to the goal”.

In our country, before the October armed uprising, a number of marriage and family and some other norms recognized and established by the Orthodox Church were an integral part of the legal system. After the separation of the church from the state, these norms lost their legal character. In the first years of Soviet power, the application of the norms of Muslim law was allowed in some regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus. At present, the norms established by religious organizations are in contact with the existing law in a number of respects. The Constitution creates the legal basis for the activities of religious organizations, guaranteeing everyone freedom of conscience, including the right to freely profess individually or jointly with others any religion or not profess any, freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them. Religious associations may be granted the status of a legal entity.

They have the right to have churches, prayer houses, educational establishments, cult and other property necessary for religious purposes. The norms contained in the charters of the relevant legal entities, which determine their legal capacity and capacity, are of a legal nature. Believers have the opportunity to freely perform religious rites associated with marriage, the birth of a child, his coming of age, with the funeral of loved ones, and others. However, in connection with these events, only documents obtained from civil registry offices or other government bodies authorized to issue such documents. Some Religious holidays officially recognized by the state, taking into account historical traditions. However, the difficulty lies in the fact that secular state, where there are many religions that celebrate different holidays and dates, it is almost impossible to officially designate religious holidays common to all believers and non-believers. Common between legal and religious norms: Religious norms - the formation of a good correct behavior of a person. Religious norms, as well as legal norms, are fixed in documents - religious books. These norms can act as sources of law.

For example, the Muslim legal system, canon law in Germany. Religious and legal norms are universal, they apply to all social relations. Legal and religious norms are aimed at regulating relations between people. Religious norms, like law, are a system of norms or rules of conduct. This is not a random set of random norms, but a strictly verified, ordered set of well-defined rules of behavior. Like any other system, it consists of interconnected and interacting elements.

The system must be internally unified and consistent. The connections that arise between its individual structural elements - norms - as well as the norms themselves should be aimed at performing certain functions, at achieving common goals. Any system of norms or rules of conduct is based on objective and subjective factors. Among the objective factors, the same type of economic, political, social and other conditions are distinguished that contribute to the creation and functioning of the system of norms. Religious norms are established by society. Law is a system of norms established or sanctioned by the state. Creating the rules of law, the state acts through its authorized bodies, or by transferring some of its powers to the publication of certain normative legal acts by non-state bodies or organizations. It is very difficult to trace how religious norms are created. As a rule, their spokesman is a person who either founds this religion, for example, Jesus, Mohammed, or is an iconic figure in a particular religion. Law always expresses the state will as the basis of law, which embodies the will of a class, ruling group, people, society or nation. The world experience of the existence and functioning of the state and law suggests that the will of those in power is expressed in law.

Law is a system of norms or rules of conduct that are generally binding. General obligatoriness means the indispensable fulfillment by all members of society of the requirements contained in the rules of law. It arises along with the rule of law. Along with it, it develops and changes. And simultaneously with the abolition of the act containing the rules of law, it ceases. Religious norms are also obligatory for believers. But there are exceptions, which are specifically mentioned, for example, a sick person may not fast. The right is protected and ensured by the state, and in case of violation of the requirements contained in the rules of law, state coercion is applied. Religious norms are provided by the church, and only in a number of theocratic states can state coercion be used.

3. Attitude to other moral religious norms

Orthodox Church teaches that all people are created by God in His image and are related to each other. An example of how to treat a person of a different faith with love is given to us by many holy fathers. For example, Saint Photius of Constantinople had friendly relations with Caliph al-Mutamid, and St. Peacock of Nolan maintained the same relationship with the pagan Avsonius. The Orthodox Church is guided by such examples of the holy fathers in her attitude towards the followers of other religions. But at the same time, it should be understood that respect, mercy and personal disposition, which Orthodox Christian shows a person a different faith, does not mean agreement with the beliefs that this person shares.

Sometimes the opinion is expressed that the followers of different religions have the same moral principles. In a number of cases, this is indeed the case, which is not surprising, since the moral feeling embedded by God in human nature is expressed in similar moral norms. One can recall, for example, the condemnation of debauchery and debauchery, common to almost all religions, the desire for marital fidelity, the prohibition of the unjust taking of human life, the rejection of lies, and so on. At the same time, recognizing the coincidence of many external moral principles, it is impossible to recognize the idea of ​​the complete identity of Christian morality with the morality of other religions. In addition, the internal justification of moral norms in other religions is often given in a fundamentally different way than in Christianity. According to the Orthodox understanding, the highest moral ideal, which gives a person eternal salvation, is achievable only in Christ, thanks to His grace, and not only the personal merits of a person. Moreover, the highest, evangelical morality does not exist autonomously, but grows out of Christian faith, from the experience of life in Christ and real communion with God. At the same time, Orthodox Christians believe that every person, having in himself the image of God, is endowed with a moral sense capable of distinguishing good from evil. All moral teachings known to mankind are based on interpretations of the moral sense. However, in the process of people's departure from God-given morality, ethical ideas arose that diverged from those that Christians revere as true. For example, some religions allow double standards of morality for "us" and "them", some allow the unjust taking of human life, forced compulsion to believe, and so on. But still, in our time, the view and attitude of society towards other religious norms is not good. There is oppression and infringement of the rights of other religious organizations. To a greater extent, this is due to different views on understanding the essence of God. And everyone thinks that he is right.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say that legal and religious norms are of great importance for society and the state. They have certain similarities and certain differences. Religion denotes the position of a person in the universe, which determines the meaning of his existence, and law considers only the relationship of people among themselves. Many examples can be cited showing how much less legal consciousness affects a person than religion. A person with the proper level of legal consciousness may well proceed with any laws in his own interests, being sure that he will avoid punishment. religious man looks at it differently: by violating laws, commandments, moral principles, he harms his soul, deprives himself of grace. That is: Religion gives a strictly differentiable system of values, changes the attitude of a person. Law does not affect the inner life of a person, but only regulates his external relations. Similarly, religious and legal norms are the rules of human behavior and are binding on them.

And it can also be noted that legal norms are mandatory norms in the state. Religious ones are not obligatory, but they ensure the morality of society. Morality, on the other hand, influences human behavior in society, which leads to a better implementation of legal norms by people.

List of used literature

1. Constitution of the Russian Federation. 1993

3. "Perception of religious norms by everyday consciousness." Article by L.G. Lunyakova. Page address www. Pravo.ru/ffec/html/.

4. "Law and Religion". Article. www. lekcii. ru/pravo/teorapig/9html/.

5. "Law and social norms". Article. www.ido.rudn.ru/ffec/juris/html/.

6. Bogarova S.N. “The role of public associations in the protection of human rights”. Bulletin of the Moscow University, Moscow, 1997.

7. Dmitriev Yu.A. "Theory of State and Law: Lecture Notes", 2007, Moscow, ed. Eksmo.

8. Marchenko M.N. "Problems of the theory of state and law", ed. Prospect, Moscow, 2009.

9. Popova A.V. "Problems of the theory of state and law", ed. Peter Press, St. Petersburg, 2009.

10. Yakushev A.V. "Religious Studies", Moscow, ed. Prior, 2007.

11. Yablokova N.P. "Theory of State and Law: Lectures", ed. Norma, Moscow, 2009.

They are understood as the rules established by various religions. They are contained in religious books - the Bible, the Koran, etc. - or in the minds of believers who profess different religions.

In religious terms:

defines the attitude of religion (and therefore believers) to the truth, to the surrounding world;

the order of organization and activities of religious associations, communities, monasteries, brotherhoods is determined;

the attitude of believers to each other, to other people, their activities in “worldly” life are regulated;

the order of religious rites is fixed.

Protection and protection from violations of religious norms are carried out by the believers themselves.

Law and religious norms

Law and religious norms can interact with each other. At different stages of the development of society and in different legal systems, the degree and nature of their interaction are different. Thus, in some legal systems, the connection between religious and legal norms was so close that they should be considered religious legal systems. These can include Hindu Law, in which the norms of morality, customary law and religion were closely intertwined, and Islamic law, which, in essence, is one of the sides of the religion of Islam.

During the Middle Ages in Europe were widespread canon (ecclesiastical) law. However, it never acts as a comprehensive and complete system of law, but acted only as an addition to secular law and regulated those issues that were not covered by secular law (church organization, rules of communion and confession, some marriage and family relations, etc.). At present, in most countries, the church is separated from the state and religious norms are not connected with the rule of law.

Corporate regulations

Corporate norms are rules of conduct created in organized communities that apply to its members and are aimed at ensuring the organization and functioning of this community (trade unions, political parties, clubs of various kinds, etc.).

Corporate norms:

are created in the process of organization and activity of a community of people and are adopted according to a certain procedure;

apply to members of this community;

ensured by the foreseen organizational measures;

are fixed in the relevant documents (charter, program, etc.).

In programs there are norms that contain the strategy and tactics of the organization, its goals.

In the charter contains rules that:

conditions and procedure for acquiring and losing membership in an organized community, the rights and obligations of its members;

the procedure for reorganization and liquidation of an organized community;

the competence and procedure for the formation of governing bodies, the terms of their powers;

sources of formation of funds and other property.

Thus, corporate norms have a written form of expression. In this they differ from the norms of morality, customs and traditions, which exist mainly in the public and individual consciousness and do not have a clear documentary consolidation.

The documentary, written form of expression of corporate norms brings them closer to law, legal norms. However, corporate norms, in contrast to the norms of law:

do not have a universally binding law;

are not subject to government coercion.

Corporate norms and local legal norms should not be confused: charters of enterprises, commercial and other organizations, etc.

The latter are a kind of local regulatory legal acts that give rise to specific legal rights and obligations and are protected from violations by state authorities. In case of their violation, it is possible to contact the competent law enforcement agencies. So, in case of violation of the provisions of the constituent documents of a joint-stock company, for example, the procedure for distributing profits, the interested entity may appeal the decision in court. And the adoption of a decision in violation of the charter of a political party is not subject to appeal in court.

Religious norms are a variety of social norms established by various religious denominations, and obligatory for execution, professing one or another faith. They are contained in religious books (Old Testament, New Testament, Koran, Sunnah, Talmud, religious books of Buddhists, etc.), in the decisions of meetings of the clergy (decrees of councils, conferences, etc.), as well as in the works of religious writers. These norms regulate the performance of religious rites, the order of church services, the organization and activities of religious communities, churches, groups of believers, etc. A number of religious institutions (commandments) have a moral content.

History knows entire epochs when religious norms played the role of law, regulated political, state, civil law, marriage and family and other social relations. The separation of legal norms from religious ones occurred when they began to distinguish between "crime and sin." This distinction was worked out in Roman law.

In some Islamic countries, even today the Koran and the Sunnah are the basis for regulating all aspects of the life of Muslims (Saudi Arabia, etc.).

In the Republic of Belarus, the norms established by religious organizations come into contact with law in a number of social relations. The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus (Article 31), the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Freedom of Religion and Religious Organizations” create the legal basis for the activities of religious organizations, guaranteeing everyone freedom of conscience, including the right to freely profess individually or jointly with others any religion or not to profess any, freely choose, have and spread religious beliefs and act in accordance with them. As of January 1, 2001, 26 religious organizations were registered in Belarus. Of these, 80% of believers consider themselves Orthodox. In the Republic of Belarus, Christmas is declared a public holiday: for Catholics - on December 25, for Orthodox - on January 7, since they make up the majority of believers in the republic.

Law in the civilized world has a negative attitude towards pseudo-religious organizations, in particular, to occult religions and totalitarian sects that suppress the individual and turn a person into a blind executor of the will of the “master”, “teacher” and the pseudo-preachers of faith in God behind them.

The difference between law and religion is obvious. Religious norms apply only to believers of a certain denomination. For example, the prescriptions of the Koran are for those who profess Islam, etc. The mechanism of action of religious norms is also different, which prescribe to behave, referring to the highest authority - God, and legal norms are norms established and guaranteed by the state.

Religious associations may be granted a certain status fixed in their statutes. On the basis of normative acts they may have churches, prayer houses, educational institutions, cult and other property necessary for religious purposes.

Believers can freely perform religious rites related to marriage, childbirth, funerals, and others, but they have no legal significance.

According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, Christianity remains the most widespread religion in the world. Between 1900 and 2000, the number of Christians on a global scale increased from 555 million (32.2% of the then population) to 1.9 billion (31% of the population). During the same period, the number of Muslims increased from 200 million (12.3%) to 1.2 billion (19.6%). Of the other religions, Hinduism is the most widespread - 811 million, Buddhism - 60 million, Sikhism - 23 million and Judaism - 14 million.

The similarity of legal norms and religious norms has practically the same features as the similarity of legal norms and moral norms, and is expressed in normativity (a set of certain norms that are a model, the scale of people's behavior); universality (these norms apply to public relations); commonality of law and religion (in the normative-value criteria of lawful and unlawful).

At the same time, there are fundamental differences between law and religion. The prescriptions of a particular religion apply only to persons professing a particular religion. On the other hand, the modern law of European countries has been largely influenced by Christianity. For example, the equality of men and women was enshrined in law thanks to the ideas and norms of the New Testament. Currently, a number of Muslim countries widely use Sharia law in the practice of regulatory regulation. The influence of religious norms on law is clearly seen in the analysis of the structural elements of modern legal systems (Anglo-Saxon, Romano-Germanic, Slavic, Muslim, etc.). It is now customary to distinguish families religious law where religious norms and values ​​act as the main sources of law, there is a close interweaving of legal provisions with religious rules, legal acts are of secondary importance, law is largely based on the system religious obligations, the divine origin of law is recognized.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience" guarantee in Russia freedom of conscience and religion, equality of confessions, the possibility for believers to replace military service with alternative civilian service. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes criminal liability for obstructing the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience and religion. At the same time, the legislation prohibits the activities of totalitarian sects and occult religions that suppress the individual. In accordance with the law “On Public Associations”, there is a rule prohibiting the activities of religious organizations if it is associated with manifestations of violence against a person and other harm to life, health, or with inducing citizens to refuse to perform civic duties. Participation in the activities of such religious organizations is a criminal offense.

Religious norms, religious (spiritual) power in the world have not ceased to influence society and state power. At present, for example, constitutional monarchies largely use individual religious norms and traditions, even at the level state law. British law recognizes the monarch as both head of state and head of the Church, not to mention the fact that in many countries of the world certain religious holidays are also considered public holidays. The Church is allowed to participate in general social activities. In Greece, for example, the status of the Church is regulated at the constitutional level, the special position of the Orthodox denomination is fixed in comparison with others, the religious text of the oath of the head of state is established, etc. In most countries of the world, and above all in Muslim states, religious norms are one of the main sources of law .

More on the topic 4. Law and religious norms.:

1. 2.3. Corporate religious norms as a social regulator.
2. §1. Primary information about the state and law Public power and social norms in the tribal system