ABSTRACT
Religious groups in the Soviet Union were heavily suppressed and had little room to maneuver in the public sphere, becoming all but invisible. With religious observance and practice limited to close circles of friends or families, one could speak of the ‘domestication’ of religion. Religious expansion does not end with the intensification of affiliation and practice or with the attraction of new adherents. As Bourdieu correctly emphasizes, there is a clear tendency in religious groups to educate newly attracted adherents. Before the revolution in 1917, Orthodoxy was the state religion and clearly served educational purposes. Consequently, most education in Russia was provided by religious institutions such as monasteries, Orthodox schools and seminaries. The fall of the Soviet Union, its ideals and educational prerogatives led to uncertainty, irritation and confusion in the educational sector. As in other sectors of post-Soviet society, the highly centralized system of education collapsed, giving way to local initiatives and interpretations.
