Yesterday 04:02 PM
(This post was last modified: Yesterday 04:53 PM by C C.)
Supernatural attraction rises and falls according to the current quality and security of life in this world (ergo, its maximum membership in the harsh past). Achieving universal atheism or complete mythlessness, accordingly, depends on procuring sustained utopia in this life. (Heh, the irony and undying quest of the secular faction of the humanities to prescribe and physically accomplish what representatives of some immaterial gods and sub-deities contingently promised.)
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Witchcraft & other occult beliefs surge in Russia as protection during dark times
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world...58910.html
EXCERPTS: Soldiers fighting in Ukraine are increasingly turning to the supernatural, seeking solace and solutions from figures like self-described witch Natalia Malinovskaya. Amidst the ongoing conflict and economic uncertainty, a growing number of Russians are being drawn to the dark arts.
[...] "Today's geopolitical and economic challenges in Russia and worldwide heighten anxiety, triggering a surge in mysticism," state pollster VTsIOM said in March as it published a poll showing that 85% of Russians had dabbled in magical practices.
"In such conditions, especially against the backdrop of military threats, belief (regardless of which gods are involved) turns into a tool of psychological defense," it said. Russian forces have been on the offensive in Ukraine for over four years, fuelling a deadly crisis that has damaged Russia's international standing, slowed the economy and driven up the cost of living.
Nearly half of Russians believe that some people may be able to predict the future or have magical powers, the survey showed, up from less than a third in 2019.
Demand for crystal balls and protective amulets more than doubled last year, while sales of aspen stakes - said to defend the owner from evil spirits - quadrupled, said Russian cash register operator ATOL, citing consumer spending data.
[...] The revival has its opponents. Last year, a group of lawmakers submitted a bill to ban adverts for services such as astrology and energy healing, warning that they can lead to the financial exploitation of vulnerable people. Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, backed the idea of a ban last year and in January decried the "mass manipulative influence" of fortune-tellers and psychics... (MORE - missing details)
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Witchcraft & other occult beliefs surge in Russia as protection during dark times
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world...58910.html
EXCERPTS: Soldiers fighting in Ukraine are increasingly turning to the supernatural, seeking solace and solutions from figures like self-described witch Natalia Malinovskaya. Amidst the ongoing conflict and economic uncertainty, a growing number of Russians are being drawn to the dark arts.
[...] "Today's geopolitical and economic challenges in Russia and worldwide heighten anxiety, triggering a surge in mysticism," state pollster VTsIOM said in March as it published a poll showing that 85% of Russians had dabbled in magical practices.
"In such conditions, especially against the backdrop of military threats, belief (regardless of which gods are involved) turns into a tool of psychological defense," it said. Russian forces have been on the offensive in Ukraine for over four years, fuelling a deadly crisis that has damaged Russia's international standing, slowed the economy and driven up the cost of living.
Nearly half of Russians believe that some people may be able to predict the future or have magical powers, the survey showed, up from less than a third in 2019.
Demand for crystal balls and protective amulets more than doubled last year, while sales of aspen stakes - said to defend the owner from evil spirits - quadrupled, said Russian cash register operator ATOL, citing consumer spending data.
[...] The revival has its opponents. Last year, a group of lawmakers submitted a bill to ban adverts for services such as astrology and energy healing, warning that they can lead to the financial exploitation of vulnerable people. Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, backed the idea of a ban last year and in January decried the "mass manipulative influence" of fortune-tellers and psychics... (MORE - missing details)
