Humanities & Social Sciences 4 (2016 9) 960-970 ~ ~ ~ УДК 294.321+261.8 Religion and Cultural Interaction in the Republic of Buryatia Darima D. Amogolonova and Marina M. Sodnompilova* Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies SB RAS 6 Sakhyanovoi, Ulan-Ude, 670047, Russia Received 20.01.2016, received in revised form 18.02.2016, accepted 04.03.2016 The paper discusses the processes of interaction between religious groups and institutions in post soviet Buryatia in the context of a religious revival in Russia. <...> The authors argue that swift return of religiosity from periphery to the center of social practices results rather from the ideological reasons then radical worldview change. <...> Religious belonging as the principal marker of ethnocultural identity promotes growing interest in Buddhism and Shamanism among Buryats, while ethnic Russians feel their deep ties with Russian Orthodoxy. <...> Simultaneously, common regional cultural text that has been created for centuries still supports a kind of syncretic belief that is maintained by indistinct religious representations. <...> Introduction The return of religion in socio-cultural practices of post soviet space gave birth to numerous questions concerning politics, ideology, social and individual consciousness and values. <...> Or, on the contrary, transition from the offi cial ideology of atheism to desecularization practices is nothing then a new ideological campaign? <...> We simply study the religious revival in Buryatia that is a Darima D. Amogolonova and Marina M. Sodnompilova. <...> Religion and Cultural Interaction in the Republic of Buryatia territory of cultural interaction. <...> It is interesting to analyze both religious practices and their functional context taking into consideration the role of religion in ethno-social identifi cation. <...> The problem is topical from various points because religion has become a substantial element in social processes from politics up to interpersonal relations. <...> Materials and Methods In the paper, we employ fi eld materials of our own including questioning, qualitative interviewing, observation and participation in religious rituals and worshipping. <...> In addition, we used mass media materials including Internet and writings of the religious leaders. <...> The research methods are based on the latest in religious studies, theoretical developments sociology of religion, and social anthropology. <...> E. Gellner expressed the most common idea of secularization as following <...>