The ideas of the Bashkortostan clergy about spiritual and moral enlightenment

Insufficient attention is paid to spiritual and educational activities as non-religious socially oriented activities of religious organizations in modern research, although spiritual educators have a high need to develop competencies in the field of spiritual and educational activities. Considering the relevance of the issue, the work presents the results of a scientific study with ministers of religious organizations of the Republic of Bashkortostan to identify their ideas about spiritual and moral education. The study was conducted within the framework of the project “Competence Center “We Enlighten”: comprehensive support and development of spiritual and moral education” with the assistance of the Presidential Grants Foundation. A survey on current issues of spiritual and moral education demonstrated that for the Bashkortostan clergy the priority in educational work is the spiritual and moral direction. Spiritual and moral education, unlike the education and missionary work, has a unique goal and original content. One category of respondents characterizes spiritual and moral education from a secular point of view, the others do from a religious point of view. The clergy does not yet have a common opinion on this issue. Servants (staff and volunteers) of religious organizations of the Republic of Bashkortostan feel the need to master methods of spiritual and moral education.