«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «POLITOLOGIYA. RELIGIOVEDENIE»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «POLITICAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION STUDIES»
ISSN 2073-3380 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Political Science and Religion Studies». 2026. Vol 56

A Review of the Activities of the Main Religious Institutions in Russia in the Field of Physical Education and Sports

Author(s)

S. S. Brykova 1 

Banzarov Buryat State University, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation

Abstract
The article analyzes the attitude towards physical culture and sports (the PCS) of the main religious institutions in Russia at the modern postsecular stage. Relations, especially with sports, are historically contradictory: at the pagan stage, sacred significance, then displacement, and then coex- istence. Now sport is a part of the social missions of Russia's most popular religious institutions. We analyzed the activities of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia (BTSR), the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), and the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Russia (SBMR) in the field of the PCS. There are common features there: support for national sports, physical culture, and mass sports. The modern stage and all the above-mentioned institutions are characterized by the recognition of the development of physical and spiritual qualities. However, they also revealed some different features. So, the article compares the attitude of popular religions in Russia towards sports through competitions held under their auspices. As a result, it was concluded that a dialogue of religions is necessary to strengthen national unity, and sport is suitable for this. For example, through competitions where teams are formed from representatives of different faiths.
About the Authors
Brykova Svetlana Sergeevna, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economic Theory, State and Municipal Management, Researcher, Center of Socio-Political Studies “Alternative” Banzarov Buryat State University 24a, Smolin st., Ulan-Ude, 670000, Russian Federation e-mail: s8yckova@yandex.ru
For citation
Brykova S.S. A Review of the Activities of the Main Religious Institutions in Russia in the Field of Physical Education and Sports. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Political Science and Religion Studies, 2026, vol. 56, pp. 115-133. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2026.56.115 (in Russian)
Keywords
religion, sports, physical education, Russian Orthodox Church, Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia, Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, philosophy of religion.
UDC
316.7
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2026.56.115
References
  1. Abdulkarimov S.A. Sport v kulturno-istoricheskoj retrospektive: mezhdu sakral'nym i profannym [Sport in cultural and historical retrospect: between the sacred and profane]. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie [Ethnographic review], 2007, no. 4, pp. 161-169. (in Russian)
  2. Berseneva T.P. Sovremennyj sport: fenomen kulturnogo psevdomorfoza [Modern sport: the phenomenon of cultural pseudomorphosis]. Vestnik Kemerovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta kultury i iskusstv [Bulletin of the Kemerovo State University of Culture and Arts], 2021, no. 55, pp. 62-69. (in Russian)
  3. Brykova S.S. Transformaciya sociologicheskikh podkзhodov k izucheniyu fenomena sport v trudakh otechestvennykh uchyonykh [Transformation of sociological approaches to the study of the phenomenon of sport in the works of Russian scientists]. Skif, 2023, no. 10, pp. 204-208. (in Russian)
  4. Grechko A.S., Torgovkina N.S. The cult of the body and physical perfection in religious representations [The cult of the body and physical perfection in religious representations]. Health is the basis of human potential: problems and ways to solve them, 2007, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 66-69 (in Russian)
  5. Danilov V.L., Sinyakov O.V. Religioznye i sportivnye organizacii: osnovnye aspekty vzaimodejstviya [Religious and sports organizations: the main aspects of interaction]. Vestnik Omskoj pravoslavnoj duxovnoj seminarii [Bulletin of the Omsk Orthodox Theological Seminary], 2019, no. 2. pp. 69-76. (in Russian)
  6. Yelaev A.A. Buryatskij narod: stanovlenie razvitie, samoopredelenie [The Buryat people: formation, development, self-determination]. Moscow, Chance Publ., 2000, 349 p. (in Russian)
  7. Kadetova N.V., Zueva M.V. Sport i religiya [Sport and religion]. Izvestiya Yuzhnogo federal`nogo universiteta. Texnicheskie nauki [Proceedings of the Southern Federal University. Technical sciences], 1998, no. 3, p. 180. (in Russian)
  8. Sviderskaya M.I. Pontormo i Mikelandzhelo: tragediya tvorchestva. Saga ob Ippolitove, Vazari, Pontormo i Florencii pozdnikh Medichi [Pontormo and Michelangelo: the tragedy of creativity. The saga of Ippolitov, Vasari, Pontormo and Florence of the late Medici]. Iskusstvoznanie [Art History], 2018, no. 4, pp. 10-55. DOI: 10.24411/2073-316X-2018-00034 (in Russian)
  9. Simonov K.V. Religious foundations of modern sports [Religious foundations of modern sports]. Innovacionnye processy v nacionalnoj ehkonomike i socialno-gumanitarnoj sfere [Innovative processes in the national economy and the socio-humanitarian sphere]. Proc. of Intern. Sci. and Pract. conf., January, 31, 2018. In 3 parts. Belgorod, AASR Publ., 2018, part 3, pp. 157-160. (in Russian)
  10. Sitnikov A.V. Metody izucheniya religii v socialnoj teorii P. Burd'e [Methods of studying religion in P. Bourdieu's social theory]. Vestnik Rossijskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Seriya: Sociologija [Bulletin of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Series: Sociology], 2017, no. 1, pp. 38-50. (in Russian)
  11. Sunik A. Rossijskij sport i olimpijskoe dvizhenie na rubezhe XIX-XX vekov [Russian sport and the Olympic movement at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries]. Moscow, Soviet Sport Publ., 2004, 764 p. (in Russian)
  12. Shumskoj A.V. Filosofskie razmyshleniya o sporte Khose Ortegi-I-Gasseta [Philosophical reflections on sports by Jose Ortega Y Gasset]. Vestnik VGU. Seriya: Filosofiya [Bulletin of the VSU. Series Philosophy], 2021. no. 3, pp. 149-157. (in Russian)
  13. Alpert R. Religion and sport: an introduction and case studies. New York, Columbia University Press, 2015, 209 p.
  14. Putney Clifford. Muscular Christianity: manhood and sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920. London : Harvard University Press, 2003, 300 p.

Full text (russian)