RUSSIAN MISSIONARIES ON RELIGIOSITY OF AMERICAN SOCIETY (LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURY)

The article presents an analysis of the religiosity of the American population as perceived by Russian missionaries of the Aleutian and Alaskan (later - Aleutian and North American) dioceses in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is based on primary sources from Russian and American archives - missionaries’ reports, travel books, and publications. The authors analyze their perceptions of the phenomenon of American religious consciousness as a whole, as well as the specific religious mindset of various groups that tend towards the Orthodox faith - Slavs, Greeks, Russian immigrants, Aleuts and other tribes from Alaska. The article demonstrates that Russian clergy were keen observers of the moral and religious qualities of their congregations and used this knowledge in their missionary work. They were realistic about the opportunities for promoting the Orthodox faith in American cultural milieu and the obstacles to intercultural religious dialogue. Observations by more sophisticated Russian clergy also have certain ethnographic value, as they present a cross-section of American religious consciousness during the transition from a secondary agrarian republic to a world-class industrial power.