The problem of alcoholism cannot be solved by administrative methods, Religious leaders of Russia believe

In Moscow, with the support of the Health Committee on the Protection of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the All -Russian Conference "The Concept of Alcohol Policy of Russia: Problems of Effective State Regulation" was held. The fact that in the description of the goals of this event in the cabinet language sounds as "discussing the main problems of state alcohol policy and approaches to their decision", turned the lives of millions of people into hell. If we imagine that behind each figure below is a real person and his family, then the disaster caused by drunkenness gains the scale of the popular tragedy, which was once hidden behind an optimistic party rhetoric, now it is skillfully masked by advertising glamor.

In Russia, 2 million 369 thousand people made a medical diagnosis "Alcoholism" (of course, the good half of the strongly drinking people in these doctors did not get). Since 2000, the incidence of alcoholism has increased by more than 14 %, but the most sad thing is that the alcoholization of society has been very “younger” in recent years - today out of every 100 thousand teenagers (up to 14 years) 17 have already been noted by the diagnosis of alcoholism.

The state, no matter how it declares its readiness to fight such a phenomenon as drunkenness, of course, is cunning. Get rid of even 5 - 10 % of Russians from addiction to the cursed (not to mention the fact that half the population of the country has stopped drinking or, do not bring the Lord, all Russians) and the budget of the great power will leak. It is clear that the state is not interested in the generally degradation of the people from extreme forms of alcoholism, it is more profitable for him that Rabila drain was moderately, "culturally", but at the same time, economic interest requires that everyone would drink. Therefore, any measures organized by power either to "regulate" alcoholism, or to combat it, will always be a farce and will not bear any real fruits.

Naturally, it will not help millions of people with alcoholism and state medicine. Yes, and how can she help if among the neuropathologists themselves there are not only moderately drinking, but also alcoholics. The very view of this problem among modern humanity, to put it mildly, is quite strange. Making a difference between "cultural drinking", drunkenness and alcoholism, we give indulgence to drink alcohol, slyly silent, even in moderation, but a constantly drinking person, becomes dependent on alcohol. It’s just that his illness is still in an early, even medicine of the not yet identified stage.

The last refuge of people completely exhausted by the green serpent often becomes, perhaps, only a religion, which is able to cure even alcoholics and drug addicts hopeless from the point of view of medicine. However, as you know, not all denominations today boast of the fact that their flock observes sobriety that applies to the believer. And for a certain part of religious leaders, the requirement for the children of God is not very high.

The correspondent of the "World of Religions" website addressed Russian figures of five world religions with questions about what is the cause of alcoholism and whether it could be defeated by administrative methods, and also asked to tell in what relations with hoppy drinks their spiritual tradition is.

The secretary of the department of external church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate on the relationship between the Church and Society Mikhail Dudko: we do not have a categorical ban on wine, we have a ban on drunkenness if we talk about the deepest causes of alcoholism, then they lie in a mystical, spiritual field. An alcoholic is not able to pray, as it should, is not able to lead a holy righteous life. Moreover, in the Holy Scripture it is said that the drunkard of the Kingdom of God does not inherit. Therefore, the spirit of anger makes every effort so that a person is obsessed with this passion of wine drinking. Of course, drunkenness has the reasons for social, personal, but all of them, in my opinion, are secondary.

Without a doubt, the problem of sin - and alcoholism, without doubt, is a sin - with administrative methods - it is impossible. A sin or rejection of it is each time a personal choice of each of us. Of course, you can help a person make this or that choice, and here, of course, conferences, medical care, and consultations of psychologists, and the help of the family, and especially people who had similar problems in the past are important. All this is very important. But each time, the decision - to follow the path of sin or abandon it - the person himself will take when he remains alone with himself and alone with God.

An important role in overcoming this disease is also able to play a church, a confessor who can help a person make the right choice. But this choice, unfortunately, or fortunately, is not made once and for all. It occurs every time a person has the opportunity to break the will of God, break the commandments and slide into the abyss of lawlessness. And we make this choice every day and every hour, this is a matter of all life - it is not only about alcoholism, but also about other vices. Wine in Christian culture itself is a very high symbol. No wonder during the sacrament, we accept the blood of Christ under the guise of wine. We know the practice of the ancient evening of love, on which wine was also used. We remember that Christ made a secret evening, and during it there was also wine on the table. We do not have a categorical ban on wine, we have a ban on drunkenness. There is a measure that no one should cross, there are indications of how much you can drink the wine on a particular holiday. This measure is strictly installed even for monks.

General Secretary of the conference of the Catholic bishops of Russia Igor Kovalevsky: the Catholic Church does not introduce the dry law for its believers, we urge to be prudent and use alcohol in accordance with the measure

It is impossible to solve the problem of alcoholism exclusively by administrative methods, although it is still necessary to use the administrative resource. First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the moral measurement of this problem.

The causes of alcoholism can be very different. It is important, nevertheless, to make a difference between drunkenness and alcoholism. Alcoholism is a serious disease, comprehensive therapy is needed here. Moreover, in this therapy, religious organizations can play a large role. The Catholic Church, for example, has in this area a certain experience in working with people who suffer from alcohol dependence. If we talk about drunkenness, then this is, first of all, social and moral. And here the administrative resource can be useful for eradicating this vice.

There is a wonderful Greek proverb: "Wine is a good, bad head." The Catholic Church does not introduce the dry law for its believers, we urge to be prudent and drink alcohol in accordance with the measure. It is clear that it is very individual for each particular person. Naturally, it is unacceptable to drink alcohol to those who are prone to alcoholism. We also urge to limit or completely refuse to drink alcohol during Great Lent . This appeal of the Church is aimed at the good of man, but we are not talking about the complete exclusion of alcohol from human life, wine is the gift of God and they need to use it correctly as every gift.

Chairman of the Russian United Union of Christians of the Gospel (Pentecostal) Sergey Ryakhovsky: Our sermon should be modern, understandable to young men and women who are sitting on a needle or drink

Alcoholism, like drug addiction,, unfortunately, has not only the social reasons for which they try to write off our common misfortune. There have always been social problems in Russia, but in the West, where the material standard of living is much more prosperous, there are the same problems: drug addiction, abortion, demographic crisis. So the matter is different.

As a church person, I believe that the whole complex of these problems, including alcoholism, is a challenge that is today abandoned by the secular world of the Church, religion in general. A secular society, which gives rise to all these troubles, awaits that believers and priests will answer this today? In Russia, the social situation is especially deplorable, and this should unite us all, and not to divorce us on different sides of the barricades in an attempt to decide which religion is more important. Not only various religious organizations should unite, but all the healthy forces of society, and then we will be able to overcome drunkenness and drug addiction. I do not want to use the word “struggle”, we have already fought a lot, it should be the universal overcoming of severe public illness, help, educational activity, preaching of holiness and moral values, support for those who have become a victim of alcohol or drugs. Our sermon should be modern, understandable to young men and women who are sitting on the needle or drinking soundly.

If we try to solve this problem only by administrative methods, which, of course, are partly necessary, then we will only touch on its tops, but the root will remain. It is necessary to give an opportunity to help in solving this problem religious, highly moral, an example should be given, first of all, priests and believers. Without a positive example of a modern, living person in which life is hit with a key and who lives in agreement with moral values, we will not cope with this misfortune. The experience of the unconvinced recluse, plunged only in themselves, will not be convincing for young people. Soon a meeting of the Council under the President should take place, where the issues of social partnership of the state, business and church will be resolved. It is about enable the church to realize oneself in the social sphere.

If we talk about the attitude of the Pentecostals to alcohol, then it may seem to someone that we are a little overdoing, but we have such a thing as a dry law. Someone likes it, or not like it, but in Russia we have a huge number of rehabilitation centers for drug addicts and alcoholics. People who get rid of narcotic or alcohol dependence can not say that by becoming Christians, they will be able to drink a little, because with this we pushes them on the same drunken path. So our position is very clear - we are against drinking alcohol.

Head of the Science Department of the Spiritual Administration of the European part of Russia Farid Assadullin: a hangover syndrome in the actions and affairs of many august persons and state husbands, there is Kainov Printing Russia

The addiction to alcohol is a purely Russian tradition that originates from very ancient times and, by and large, the question of why people drink should be addressed to Prince Vladimir, whom you can’t resurrect now. It was he who at one time made a choice. When he was offered various religions and the Bulgarian shepherds began to talk about the advantages of Islam, he replied that "in Rus' there is fun to drink, it could not be without it."

Neither severe church laws, nor well -known party alcoholic measures, alas, the attitude of the Russian person towards alcohol has not changed to the traditions of this popular joys. In addition, I believe that a hangover syndrome in the actions and affairs of many august persons and state husbands, there is such a Kaina seal of Russia that has prevented and prevents our state for many years and centuries from taking a worthy place under the sun of history.

Of course, no one will go to declare a dry law, but in any case, there should be some reasonable limits regarding alcohol. For example, in the USA there is a ban on the use of even beer in present places for young people under twenty years old. First of all, you need to keep under strict control the outlets where alcohol is sold.

Islamic canons forbid a person to use everything that can cause some kind of alcohol intoxication-this applies to alcohol and drugs. I think that Islamic experience in this sense is very useful, but it, unfortunately, is not in demand. Islam with its example already helps many people to cope with addiction to alcohol, at least those who are serious about religion, limit the use of alcohol.

Unfortunately, in Islam , not everyone strictly adheres to this ban on alcohol, it is unconditional only for a believer rooted in the religion of Muslims. Many ethnic Muslims are only on the way to true faith and, what is sin there, they drink, especially in the regions.

Chairman of the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities and Organizations of Russia (Keror) Rabbi Zinoviy Kogan : in Judaism, it is not forbidden to drink, even vice versa, in order to separate everyday life from the holidays, a person must drink a little

I believe that drunkenness is the trouble of our godlessness. Each meal should be a sacrifice for a person. We must treat food and drink, as a salvation of life, its lighting. It is not for nothing that there is a tradition of toasts, we have a tradition of blessing. That is, a person touches the guilt for the consecration of life, and not in order to get drunk. Getting drunk is a sin. And we must explain this to people. It is impossible to forbid drinking, in history, as we all remember, there were already such precedents, but they did not bring the expected results.

However, there are spiritual traditions, for example, Muslims who perfectly cost a demon of alcohol. This is not least contributed to the fact that they have strong large families, so we all have something to learn from Muslims. But even if people are not able to completely abandon alcohol, then there should be a culture of its use. A person should always be sober, drinking - this does not mean to get drunk, in this matter, as you need to know the measure in any other. Naturally, no prohibitions will solve this problem, people will drink surrogate.

Today, in my opinion, the conditions for the cultural consumption of alcohol are created in Russia. People have the opportunity to do business and now you will already see less on the streets of drunk young people, now it is already nonsense. But once it was a rule with us, they all drank from hopelessness, all sorry for the alcoholics. However, if a person has a business, or even if he has a car, then he will not look into the glass again - you won’t get drunk drunk. It is necessary to create normal living conditions, build cottages, roads, make cars - if everyone will drive by car, then he will have no time to drink.

In Judaism, it is not forbidden to drink, even vice versa, in order to separate weekdays from the holidays, a person should drink a little. In this case, we are talking about a glass of good wine, which an adult drinks with a blessing.

The permanent representative of the Buddhist traditional Sangha of Russia in Moscow Sanzhai Lama: people who are traditionally related to Buddhism should not drink, but, unfortunately, in those regions where Buddhists live, drunkenness is also common

People drink, first of all, because of their weakness, without withstanding the negative circumstances of life. Not everyone is able to bear the burden of everyday problems that fall to the share of Russians. At one time, we lived in a planned economy, everyone necessarily worked, and now in the regions many people are left without work, there is mass degradation - alcohol, drugs are used more and more. Therefore, people, first of all, need to give work, while normally paid. In order to solve the problems of alcoholism, an integrated approach is necessary, both spiritual and socio-economic. It is necessary to solve many issues accumulated in various fields, especially in family life, in education. Now, after all, there are a lot of homeless people in the country, so everyone has a lot to work in this area.

We are trying to solve this problem, carry out a variety of events, attract young people to a healthy lifestyle, organize sports competitions - jumps, fighting competitions, etc., encourage the winners of the prizes.

People drink regardless of formal belonging to a particular faith or religion. People who are traditionally related to Buddhism should not drink, but, unfortunately, in those regions where Buddhists live, drunkenness is also common. After all, the laity do not engage in spiritual practice, but those who follow the path of spiritual self -improvement do not drink alcohol. He, like drugs, dumms the consciousness and consequences of this impact, as you know, are the most sad.

President of the Center for Society of Consciousness of Krishna in Russia (Tsoskr) Bhakti Vigyan Gosvami : the root can be pulled out only by making a person happy here and now, saving him from the need to resort to some artificial means of searching for joy

The only cause of alcoholism, like any other form of drug addiction, is the suffering that a person experiences. Relying for the help of alcohol or drugs, people are trying to compensate for these suffering in such a surrogate way. Ultimately, they drink and use drugs, because they do not find happiness in this world and do not see the point in life. Having stupefied in one way or another, a person tries to forget about his oppressed meaninglessness, the absurdity of existence.

Разумеется, проблему алкоголизма только лишь административными методами не решить, что подтверждается огромным историческим опытом – когда в России всякий раз пытались ввести какое-то подобие сухого закона, то это лишь увеличивало доходы тех, кто производил спиртное нелегально. Безусловно, должны существовать жесткие ограничения на рекламу спиртного, в противостоянии пьянству и наркомании обществу должны помогать СМИ. Но, поскольку корни этой проблемы лежат гораздо глубже, нежели внешние, видимые социальные факторы – бедность, безработица и т.д., – то решить ее можно, только дав людям смысл жизни. Корень это проблемы можно вырвать, только сделав человека счастливым здесь и сейчас, избавив его от необходимости прибегать к каким-то искусственным средствам поиска радости. Это возможно лишь в том случае, если человек обретает высокую цель. Самой же достойной целью в жизни человека может быть только возвращение к Богу – то, что обязана давать людям религия. Она должна делать нас счастливее, помогая понять, как нужно жить, чтобы достигнуть своего высокого предназначения – вернуться в Царство Бога.

У нашей религиозной традиции нет никаких отношений со спиртным, любые формы наркотического опьянения запрещены людям, которые хотят практиковать тот или иной вид йоги, ту или иную форму духовной практики. Духовная практика, к какой бы религиозной традиции она не принадлежала, не совместима с алкоголем или с любыми наркотиками, которые затмевают разум, тогда как для молитвы, для обращения к Господу нужна полная ясность сознания.