Духовные основы патриотизма в русской культуре

Abstract

The article examines the essence and ontological foundations of patriotism as a moral principle. The content of all moral principles is determined by the highest moral values, the main of them being an ideal — the idea of certain perfection. The ideal has fideic nature — a person believes that someone or something has the highest value. As it develops, fideic consciousness acquires the status of religious consciousness, and in this case the concepts of morality receive religious justification. It entirely applies to patriotism. Its essence is most completely revealed in Orthodoxy, which proclaims love to be the main law of existence and asserts that true love always contains readiness for selfless sacrifice. The author compares patriotism with such externally similar phenomena as nationalism, chauvinism, racism, xenophobia and cosmopolitanism and comes to the conclusion that religious patriotism is always stronger and more durable than any other form of secular ideological patriotism, because its source is God Himself. Therefore, education in true patriotism apart from the spiritual and moral values preserved by traditional religions is impossible.