The Role of Religion in Shaping the Socio-Cultural Identity of the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs

The purpose of this article is to study and determine the role of religion in the formation of the identity of the Kyrgyz and Kazakh peoples. A study was conducted on the development of the religious beliefs of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, and an analysis was made of how significant a factor religion was in shaping the identity of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz in the past. It was found that the majority of modern Kyrgyz and Kazakhs are adherents of Islam, while within their societies there continues to exist a range of beliefs, superstitions, and rituals associated with the pre-Islamic religious traditions of the nomadic Turks. In this regard, religious tolerance and rejection of religious fundamentalism are characteristic of the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs. At the same time, religion holds great significance for the identity of both peoples. During the period of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, the territories of present-day Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were colonised by ethnic groups of European origin. Therefore, by the time of independence, the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs did not constitute an absolute majority of the populations of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Adherence to Islam became one of the key markers of Kyrgyz and Kazakh identity, as the majority of representatives of European ethnic groups living in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were adherents of Christianity.