Transformation of the national idea and religious historicism in the context of modernization

The article is devoted to the transformation of the national idea and religious historicism in the context of modernization. There are two particular subjects of research, which embody different forms of mythological perception of the history. The first one is the orthodox Jewish ideology and religious historicism in the European early modern period. The other is modern Slavic neo-paganism in Russia. Although both these subjects are far apart in time and space, they have a lot of similarities. These similarities can help us to reveal some interesting aspects of modern fundamentalism due to the values and functions of religious and mythological consciousness in national communities. One of these aspects is the irrational view of history realised in the idea of unconditional connection of the sacrificed national past with the present and the future. In the situation of globalization and modernization it prevents the society from disintegration and helps to overcome gaps of the historical continuity. When there is no more clearly defined ideology or the national idea is challenged by the development of culture, it forms values and forms of behaviour. In the situation of modernization it rejects the Western culture with its materialistic and atomistic style of thoughts. This perception of history accepts the spiritual and eternal way of thinking that characterises the East. Both orthodox Jewish ideology and Slavic neo-paganism in Russia promote ideas of spiritual superiority over the wealthy and secure, but "degenerative" West. Both of these forms of religious historicism have the messianic ideas of converting their spiritual advantages to change the future world. And there is one important difference between them in this context. While Jewish orthodoxies explain their Messianship by the idea of God's chosen people, modern Slavic paganists often use terms of blood, soil and linguistic superiority. Another special feature of both our cases is the marginal status of intellectual reformers of the national ideology. They save and destruct the tradition at the same time. They have to combine elements of established doctrines and adopt both Western philosophical and historical ideas and also social mechanisms for their legitimization. The creators of the new national mythology successfully use modern informational technologies. And we see how the phenomenon of the irrational view of history continues to evolve. It is not an archaic idea, but a necessary way for some societies to meet the challenges of time.

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