Faith in God as constitutional principle: legal system novations in modern Russia

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of religious issues in the constitutional regulation of modern Russia. The author proves that while there is unquestionable respect for religious systems and unconditional recognition of the important role of religion in human history, including Russian history, every religious system has a mystical element at its core, while mysticism itself is alien to positive jurisprudence. Princes and tsars used religion in Russian state history to ensure obedience of subjects, but these times are in the distant past. Modern Russia, which raised several generations in an atheistic environment, has generally lost its organic connection with religion, and a large-scale revival of this trend could hardly be considered appropriate from a state-legal perspective. Religion in modern Russian society is also unable to fulfil a state and ideological mission. The constitutional amendments of 2020 ended up being more far-reaching than what the President of the Russian Federation had officially proposed when introducing the bill in the State Duma. The President’s restraint of initiatives, often not entirely reasonable, could be seen by participants in the rulemaking process as a kind of intransigence of the initiator of the amendments. In this regard, there has been an overly uncritical approach to constitutional law-making, the legal consequences of which are only beginning to emerge today and will continue to arise as legislative and law enforcement practice develops.