Economic Ethics of Russian Spiritual Christians-Molokans in the Light of Modern Realities

The author examines the features of the economic ethics of Russian spiritual Christians-Molokans, analyzes the connection between people's religious views and economic behavior. The novelty of the work consists in an attempt to systematize the elements of the Molokans' economic ethics, to explain the reasons for their formation from a religious and sociological point of view in their relationship, to show that the analysis of their progressive experience is useful in the formation of a new economic ethics in modern Russia. The author lists the factors that led to the formation of the Molokan economic ethics based on biblical texts. Among these factors, he singles out: the lack of asceticism, rejection of religious mysticism and faith in oneself, the combination of agricultural labor with other types of activity, the predominance of the personally free population, the rejection of equal land use, the high level of literacy of the Molokans, the deprivation of many civil rights, the equality of men and women in the family, the lack of a mandatory fasting schedule and a large number of holidays, migrant activity, the habit of high adaptability to changing living conditions. The author explains why the Bible was a practical guide for the economic activities of the Molokans, but did not become one for the Orthodox population. He argues that the books of the Bible contain advice on almost all elements of economic ethics, but in order to put them into the basis of economic activity it was necessary to know the Bible perfectly, in pre-revolutionary Russia it was possible only for a small part of the literate population. Therefore, it was within the framework of this sect in Russia that economic ethics was formed as an integral set of views on the correct management of the economy. The author concludes that since in our time the Bible is the publicly available primary source of faith for all Christians and its economic recommendations are universal for the entire believing population, Christian economic ethics, due to the common source of faith, can only be one, despite the many dogmatic differences and contradictions between Christian confessions and sects.

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