Concerning the development of the Chechen religious mentality

The research analyzed the mentality-related characteristics of the religious consciousness of the Chechens. The paper revealed that the primary sensual thinking served as an epistemological impetus for the generation of the initial phenomena of religious consciousness. The study of the Chechen religious mentality implied the investigation of the cultural and historical environment of its development. An attempt was made to analyze a set of determinants of modern Chechen religious mentality. The research examined the pagan components and moral principles of the Chechen culture which affected this ethnic group’s worldview transformed by the Islamization of Chechen society. The analysis of the mentality of the Chechens allowed the author to discover the traditional nature of their social life. A combination of religious and traditional types of thinking has led to the mixed mentality which determines the mind specificity of modern Chechen society.