Putin wants to add a text about God to the Constitution of the Russian Federation: how religion and politics are connected in the USA

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed adding an amendment to the Constitution that mentions God, says Alex Grigoryev for "Voices of America".

Photo: Shutterstock

So far, the amendment looks like this: “The Russian Federation, united by a thousand-year history, preserving the memory of our ancestors who passed on to us the ideals and faith in God, as well as the continuity of the development of the Russian state, recognizes the historically established state unity.”

If approved, Russia will have the first Basic Law, based not only on the opinion of the people, but also on the divine will.

Previously, under Putin, the Soviet text of the anthem was revised in a similar way. Russia was called “preserved by God.”

And as in America

The founding fathers of the American state were people of the XNUMXth century, that is, sincerely believers. They created two legal documents on the basis of which the United States was formed and developed. In the Declaration of Independence - a proof of the right of Americans to a violent change of power - there are several references to God who granted a person rights that no earthly ruler has the right to take away.

The text concludes: “And with a firm confidence in the protection of Divine Providence, we pledge one another to support this Declaration.”

And in the US Constitution there is no mention of God, but there are provisions for the separation of religion from the state. The main law of the United States does not interfere with the Almighty in earthly affairs: it is assumed that he granted people rights, and people are able to independently decide how to deal with these rights.

However, in all but four US constitutions, there are references to God, the Creator, the Lord, the Most High, or the Lord of the Universe. Some state constitutions even prohibit unbelievers from holding public office. However, this prohibition is almost never applied in practice.

The tradition of mentioning the gods in legal documents is as old as human civilization. This is a way of sacralizing state power, emphasizing that all power is from God and changing it is contrary to the divine nature. In the XNUMXst century, regimes fearing such changes are not sure of the support of their own peoples.

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What else Putin proposed to change in the Constitution

New Presidential Amendment Package Bi-bi-si) entered the State Duma on Monday evening, like the first version of the bill. The document has already been discussed at the Duma Council - the deputies accepted it with approval, the speaker of the lower house, Vyacheslav Volodin, told reporters.

The document itself has not yet been published in the Duma's database of bills, but its contents have been partially disclosed by Volodin himself, his assistant Anastasia Kashevarova, and Duma vice speaker Peter Tolstoy. Apparently, Putin decided to take into account the proposals that have been put forward by members of the working group he created over the past month.

The Basic Law will clarify the status of marriage. This is proposed to be done in Article 72, which concerns what is “under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation” and its regions.

“Protection of family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood; protection of the institution of marriage as a union of a man and a woman,” this is the wording proposed to state one of the points of this article.

“Today we all accepted with approval the presidential amendments on the family, what it is, that it is a union of a man and a woman. A family is a husband and wife,” Volodin commented on Putin’s proposal.

Article 67 of the Constitution will be supplemented by an amendment “on historical truth”: “The Russian Federation honors the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland and ensures the protection of historical truth. “Belittling the significance of the people’s feat in defending the Fatherland is not allowed.”

In this article, Putin also proposed adding a clause stating that the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the USSR on its territory, and the most important asset of the country is children, for whom the state creates conditions for “raising patriotism, citizenship and respect for elders” and “spiritual, moral, intellectual and physical development."

In addition, the amendments contain a proposal to prevent “actions aimed at alienating part of the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as calls for them.”

The President also asks to include in the Basic Law a mention that the republics of Russia have the right “to establish national languages ​​as state languages ​​along with Russian.” At the same time, the Russian language will have the status of “the language of the state-forming people.”

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“Putin is like a mirror for Russians”

If Putin’s amendments are approved, it will be possible to talk about the end of the revision of Boris Yeltsin’s legacy, the head of the “Political Expert Group”, political scientist Konstantin Kalachev, told the BBC.

“There was Yeltsin’s Constitution, now it’s Putin’s. These amendments reflect the views, ideas and values ​​of our president, who considers it necessary to consolidate the status of marriage as a union of a man and a woman and to stop attacks on historical truth - as he sees it. Many will throw up their hands and be surprised, but there is only one editor-in-chief - the main thing is that he likes it,” he believes.

According to the political scientist, the proposals made “look strange and eclectic”: “It turned out to be a vinaigrette. It turns out that our ancestors bequeathed to us both faith in God and the ideas of communism. But Putin is like a mirror for most Russians. The majority will not see anything strange in the amendments, will agree with them and support traditional values,” Kalachev is sure.

Political scientist Grigory Golosov believes that the way the process of changing the Constitution is taking place speaks of the “chaotic nature” of the process.

“The initiators of these constitutional amendments care least about consistency and logic. Yet this is the main thing in this process. The constitution should not be a set of principles, but a working document, he told the BBC. – In reality, they are all, to one degree or another, ideological in nature. Since the same Constitution specifies the state as free from ideology, I do not find these changes appropriate.”

According to the expert, the authorities believe that the changes proposed by Putin “will be accepted with consent by the Russian political class and voters.”

Political scientist Ekaterina Shulman, associate professor of the department of public administration at the Institute of Social Sciences of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, saw in Putin’s proposals an attempt to re-invent the all-Russian vote as “a referendum for faith, the Russian people and traditional values, against same-sex marriage and juvenile justice.”

“No one proposed same-sex marriage, juvenile justice is not about that at all, and the Russian people will not feel better, but apparently this is the idea,” she wrote on her Facebook.

Elena Lukyanova, a doctor of law and a specialist in constitutional law, told the BBC that she didn’t even see the point in discussing the amendments: “The whole procedure is so broken that it’s impossible to say anything meaningful.”

“Amendments are pouring in as if from a tattered basket. The proposals that have been made now contradict the first and second chapters of the Constitution,” she believes. According to the lawyer, the decision to consolidate provisions on historical truth, God and the status of the family in the chapter on the federal structure also does not stand up to criticism.

In the event that the state-building committee approves Putin’s new amendments, they will be included in the main presidential bill - its second reading will be held on March 11. After the third, constitutional reform should be approved by the Federation Council and two-thirds of regional parliaments.

After that, the president will send a document to the Constitutional Court, which will check whether it complies with the provisions of the 1st (on the foundations of the constitutional system), 2nd (on the rights and freedoms of citizens) and 9th (on amendments) chapters of the Constitution.

If the Constitutional Court does not find violations, the document will be submitted to a nationwide vote. In the event that the majority of Russians support the amendments, Putin will issue a decree on the official publication of the new version of the Constitution, and the amendments will take effect immediately.

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