What Does Vladimir Putin Believe About God? The Religious Backstory in the Shadows of the Ukraine-Russia Battle By Billy Hallowell for Faith Wire
What does Russian President Vladimir Putin believe about God? That’s a fascinating question the world can’t answer “with any certainty,” according to Mark Tooley, president of The Institute on Religion and Democracy.
After all, there’s a difference between what Putin says and what he does — and there’s strangely a great deal of uncertainty and confusion intermingled with both.
“He had a devoutly Christian mother and has worn a crucifix around his neck for most of his life,” Tooley told Faithwire. “Certainly, he has embraced the patronage of the Russian Orthodox Church and used it to advance his own political purposes domestically and internationally, but that is a centuries-long tradition for Russia.”
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Tooley explained that Russian Orthodoxy, to the outside world, might seem to position Putin’s country to be in perfectly alignment with Western religious ideals, though fundamental differences between the cultures reveal stark incompatibilities.
Russia’s brand of Christianity
Rather than spiritual compatriots, the Christian faith seen in many Western countries is radically different from the Russian rendition of self-described, government-aligned religiosity.
Watch Tooley explain what Putin might believe, Russia’s religious background, and why Ukraine is in the crosshairs:
“Russia is a longtime nemesis to the West, precisely because of its version of Christianity,” Tooley recently wrote in a World Magazine article. “Russian Orthodoxy for centuries saw itself as guardian of the true faith in contrast to Western Catholicism and Protestantism. Moscow, according to this lore, is the third Rome, the seat of the true Christendom, after Constantinople and the Roman Empire.”
Tooley argued this ideology even permeated the Soviet Union, despite its anti-religious bent, and has colored certain aspects of how Russia views Ukraine today.
