Theology as a scientific specialty of the master’s degree: problems and solution prospects

Introduction: The entry of theology into the educational sphere of modern Russia should already be considered as an accomplished fact, the fact is both academic and legal. Theology is included in the nomenclature of specialties of academic scientists of the Russian Federation, the passport of a scientific specialty is approved, in particular, "Orthodox Theology" (specialty code: 26.00.01), the work is in progress to open the corresponding dissertation council. In 48 higher educational institutions of the country, structural subdivisions of higher education institutions were opened, aimed at implementing teaching in this area.

A preliminary analysis of the existing master’s degree programs in theology showed that most of them are aimed at training theologians, religious scholars, art historians, experts, educators, teachers, counselors, social specialists, church officials, etc.

This article substantiates the relevance of introducing an alternative master's degree program in theology, developed at the Department of Philosophy and Theology at Minin University. The peculiarity of the program is that it does not give up the specifics of religious studies and the philosophy of religion that should be present in theological education, being its base. It is aimed at developing undergraduate competencies of research activities based on fundamental theological knowledge, the level and content of which is set by the development of science and technology of modern society. In addition, the program provides for the solution of three main problems caused by contradictions in the culture of the modern information society: 1) formation of the axiological subsystem of the culture of the modern young scientist based on traditional Christian values; 2) training of theologians who are able to participate in the development and teaching of theological disciplines at various levels and forms of education (supplementary, vocational, continuous, etc.); 3) integration of secular and religious education based on the research activities of the university.

Materials and methods: in the course of writing the article, empirical and theoretical methods of research on these problems were used, in particular: a dialysis method, a synthesis of practical learning experience, an analysis of educational and methodical and scientific literature, a method of historical comparison, a prognostic method.

Results: an analysis of existing master's degree programs in theology revealed that it is necessary to develop concepts for this type of education based on the integration of secular and religious education, rather than pushing out one another. The proposed model of the Master’s degree program in Theology and the “Orthodox Theology” training profile, which has been introduced at Minin University since 2019, is built on this principle. Its introduction is relevant because it is aimed at solving the main problems caused by the contradictions of modern information culture in society.

Discussion and conclusions: taking into consideration the development trends of Russian society in general and the sphere of domestic education in particular, the tendencies to an ever greater “turn” in the direction of traditional religious values can be traced. In this regard, the Russian pedagogical community is experiencing the need to train qualified personnel who professionally combine pedagogical methods and research competencies related to theological issues. It is necessary to continue working to increase the number of specialists, in particular, at the level of the magistracy, who are able not only to orient themselves in the basics of world religions, but also to professionally train these competencies the future young teachers who are able to instill in the younger generation basic moral values, to conduct promising research and development educational activities that meet the requirements of the information society.

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