The phenomenon of drug addiction in the interpretation of the Russian Orthodox Church

Drug addiction is a complex spiritual, political, medical, social and legal problem. Trying to solve it, the state is developed an anti-drug policy that includes a possibility for religious organizations to participate in the prevention of non-medical drug use and the rehabilitation of drug addicts. In 2012 the Church approved a document “On the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the rehabilitation of drug addicts” and actively developing social work. The Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On the Approval of the Strategy of the State Anti-Drug Policy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2030" calls on religious organizations to develop a position that will enrich the anti-drug ideology according to "traditional values" . This calls the Church the task of developing a theological argument about the dangers of drug use. In this regard, it seems relevant to analyze the theoretical and practical developments of the ROC in this area. The author of the article asks the questions: What are the legal and theological grounds for the ROC's approach to the problem of drug addiction? What anthropological ideas are used to describe the phenomenon of drug addiction? The first part of the article presents a systematization of theoretical ideas related to the topic of drug addiction, reflected in the church regulations of the ROC. The second part presents an analysis of the opinions of clergy and lay practitioners. The author comes to the conclusion that by developing its own approach, the Church remains in the field of the political, medical, legal aspects of the problem, which leads to the ideologization of the language in which the Church speaks about the problem.