Atheist Christopher Hitchens Spoke of the Strange Rise of Christianity in Russia just Months Before he Died

The rise of faith in Russia  – Why it Matters Today

http://www.pewforum.org/2010/10/12/can-civilization-survive-without-god/

A few months before is death Christopher Hitchens spoke about the strange rise of Christianity in Russia:

“The second of the two empires  that took part in this hecatomb of civilization in the name of their own religion, I mean the Russian one, shows real signs also of imperial nostalgia. ..Now you don’t have to use much of your imagination when you see at the (Russian) inauguration — when Putin wants to make someone prime minister, and when he says, how can he make himself czar again down the road — all these inaugural ceremonies are attended by black-cowled patriarchs swinging their incenses, demanding and getting in return privileges over other churches and other religions in Russia, restoring the same political and clerical balance, roughly, that did underpin Russian absolutism and autocracy until the great catastrophe of 1914. And that’s coming back, too, and I think we don’t pay anything like enough attention to this fusion of traditional great Russian chauvinism and police regime with the clerical bodyguard and prop and stay and ally that it’s appointed for itself. But so far, those are the only two empires (the other are the Moslum nations) that do show this sign of religious revival.”

Today we see that Vladimir Putin  goes to Church frequently, he kisses precious icons of the Virgin Mary and seeks political and moral counsel from the Russian Orthodox Clergy. Furthermore, to the surprise of many Americans, Vladimir Putin wears a Christian cross around his neck and, according to Putin, there is a “miraculous” story attached to the cross and therefore, he claims, he never takes it off. In a speech last year Putin said” “Many Euro-Atlantic countries have moved away from their roots, including Christian values,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a recent keynote speech. “Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in God and a belief in Satan. This is the path to degradation.”

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There has been much hand wringing and saber rattling by U.S. pundits over Putin’s annexation of Crimea and his support of rebels in eastern Ukraine, and much has been said of Putin’s KGB roots and his ruthlessness  but other than Christopher Hitchens few foreign policy “experts” have written about the strong religious beliefs of Vladamir Putin and importantly why it matters.

So do Vladimir Putin’s  religious beliefs matter?  The religion gap between Russia and the United States is beginning to widen. Russia recently passed anti-gay propaganda laws while the US Supreme Court has just legalized same-sex marriage.   In the United States religious participation was banned from an anniversary memorial service commemorating of of 9/11 victims while at the same time Evangelical Christians were excluded from a role in a memorial service  in Washington D.C. at the National Cathedral.

As religion is removed from the public square in the United States, the tax payers of Russia are financing a $100 million church restoration project and last year a public holiday was created to celebrate the founding of Christianity in Russia.

It remains to be seen how religious intrusions into Russian government affairs  impacts foreign relations but it is a consequence that should not be overlooked.

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