ТHEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE IDEOLOGEME “KYIV IS A NEW JERUSALEM”

Abstract

Introduction. An objective of writing this article is to outline basic theoretical and methodological foundations of religious studies and philosophical analysis of the ideologeme “Kyiv is a new Jerusalem”. Analysis presumes observance of the fundamental methodological principles of modern academic religious studies: principles of objectivity, humanity, tolerance, detachment from any confession, duality. Objectivity of a researcher in this case involved a well-balanced approach based on real historical documents that must be interpreted with no political or religious influences of a researcher’s position. The principle of objectivity of knowledge is closely related to the principle of detachment from any confession. Interpretation of texts where an ideologeme is recorded involves principles of unity of historical and logical, historicity, integrity and consistency, inexhaustible authentic meaning of a text and continuity of tradition. The principle of methodological pluralism meaning an appeal to several religious studies concepts: comparative, evolutionary and anthropological, phenomenological, hermeneutic, semiotic etc. We believe it is necessary to do a comparison and synthesis of achievements of philosophical and theological as well as historical and philological approaches. Development of a methodology of each philosophical and religious studies research involves and analysis of its terminology base as well as the body of notions. In modern Ukrainian scientific literature, the expression “Kyiv is a new Jerusalem” has different terminology definitions: and idea, a theory, an ideologeme, a mythologema, a construct, a concept. The Article examines meaning of these notions and their relations to the subject matter of the study. Religious studies definition of terminological and notional body of the research makes it possible to prove understanding of the narrative phenomenon being researched exactly as an ideologeme.