Communism overlooked the revolutionary potential of religion. I see a revolutionary potential in religion because religion not only idolizes values like redistribution,humility, selflessness and freedom but also that it’s a glue to collectivize society. It’s at odds with individualism. No wonder that one of the focuses of neoliberalism is to ridicule religion in a campaign like fashion. The themes of many comedy shows and art works has become ridiculing religion whether it is Christianity or Islam. Besides, different communities are witnessing growing, they even sound commissioned actually, atheist community in the cyber world.
Putin was wise enough to piously demonstrate his Russian Orthodox Church faith and to give his church the position it deserves in the society. It is a service not just for Orthodox Russians but also for followers of other religions as well. Identity in itself is ideology and Putin seem to have understood that very well. Putin’s ideology is essentially identity. No question that it could be taken in a bad light in the west and be a subject of media propaganda which is a nuclear power in itself.
So one of the challenges of different communities and nations the world over, I would say, is to effectively strategize to withstand propaganda both by way of countering it and by enhancing the power of their citizens to discern propaganda from information. The struggle is between collectivity and individualism. It’s society versus the individual. And the question is – is it society that matters most or the individual?
Video below reveals Putin’s attachment to his religon.