Russia Gets Religion
Slate‘s Joshua Keating reports on the state of the Orthodox Church in Vladmir Putin’s Russia. Despite rising number of Orthodox Christians and Putin’s commitment to the faith, “The blurring of the line between church and state in Russia, what critics call an attempt to turn religion into a branch of the government, has alienated many former believers.” Alexey Malashenko, chairman of the Religion, Society, and Security Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said, “Now, I feel like if I enter a church I’m becoming a member of Yedinaya Rossiya [the ruling United Russia party].”