Semantic content of the terms “Russian Muslims”, “Ethnic Muslims” and “Ethnic Neophytes” in the study of the phenomenon of “Religious Conversion” from a theologian’s perspective

The article is an attempt of theoretical comprehension of certain aspects of socio-psychological research, the results of which we presented in “Minbar” № 1, 2021. The study included tasks on understanding the reasons for Islam adoption by women in regions with Muslim minority, to identify the features of their adaptation to a new religious identity and to maintain the specifics and to form the solutions to the problems occurred. The ambiguity of certain terms encountered by us in the study of religious conversion prompted us to write this article.

In the first part of the article we considered the phenomenon of “religious conversion” from the perspectives of various scientific disciplines. Further, the terms often used in the study of religious conversion were analyzed and also their correctness, based on both compliances with the standards developed by D. S. Lotte and acceptance by believers, was assessed. In the second part of the article the semantic content of the terms “Russian Muslims” and “Ethnic Muslims” was corrected. We also proposed a new term – “Ethnic Neophytes” – to distinguish Muslims who are usually ascribed to a new and separate ethnic category being neophytes in fact, which can easily be proved by the fact of their families’ complete separation from religion in the second and further generations.

As a theologian specialist the author pays attention to the fact that in theological studies one of the standards of term applying should be the acceptance of the term by the believers of the very denomination where the term refers. Thus, the different term systems are acceptable for different theological studies within the field of diverse religions.

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