Decree of April 17, 1905 «On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance” and Christian proselytism in Kazakhstan at the beginning of the twentieth century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the little-studied aspect of the state-confessional policy of the Russian Empire in relation to the Muslim population of Kazakhstan at the beginning of the twentieth century — Christian proselytism. On the basis of archival documentary sources and materials of periodicals, the point of view is substantiated that with the publication of the imperial Decree of April 17, 1905 «On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance”, the policy of Christianization of the Kazakhs continued under the conditions of the intensification of the Muslim movement. The article describes the methods of Christianization used by Orthodox missionaries among the Muslims of the region. Organized Christian proselytism evoked a response from Muslims in the form of active propaganda of the Islam ideas among Russian peasant settlers, which led to the conversion of Christians to Mohammedanism. The authors analyzed and revealed a set of reasons and factors for the transition to other religions of both Christian and Muslim population of the region: the difficult financial situation of the migrant peasants, the mercantile interests of enterprising people, family and household circumstances, personal motives of a person, and others. After the issuance of the Decree, there were cases of converting to Islam by Russian population. Such cases were perceived as undermining of the authitory of the Orthodox Church and the Russian government by Christian missionaries which contributed to their increased activity.