Религиозный рационализм как фактор развития старообрядческого предпринимательства

Religious Rationalism as a Factor in the Development of Old Believers⁹ Entrepreneurship

The analysis of historical sources of Old Believers’ origin, presented in the article, has shown that it was the religious rationalism that became the key factor in the religious system's impact on the formation and development of Old Believers’ entrepreneurship. Strict logic and the consistency of deductions, gradually replaced portents, miracles and mystic knowledge as arguments of the Old Faith' genuineness. An important element of religious rationalism was the recognition of a possibility of criticism and a new interpretation of confessional texts. Widely spread confessional creative work was strengthened by constant polemics with oppressors, the necessity of comprehending the new position of the faithful in the unfriendly environment. Transformation of religious rationalism into social rationalism, intensification of Old Believers' confession, and conversion of confessional activism into social activism was accompanied by the process of confessionalization of social practice and formation of worldly asceticism.