Approaches to the study of Marxism in European religious studies and in Russian philosophy of the Silver age

The article discusses various approaches to the interpretation of Marxism in Russian and Englishspeaking philosophy. The use of comparative methodology makes it possible to draw parallels between the two fundamentally different traditions of the religious thought, conceptualizing the phenomenon of Marxism in its own way. The European tradition is represented by the works of Joachim Wach, Paul Tillich, Arthur Grill, David Rudy, Ninian Smart, John Smith, while the Russian philosophy of the Silver Age is represented by Evgeny Trubetskoy, Nikolai Berdyaev, Pavel Novgorodtsev, Pyotr Struve. Both traditions acknowledge the secular character of Marxism. The reasons and consequences that led to a change in the defining criterion of quasi-religiousness of Marxism are analyzed. Based on the study of the obtained data of the two philosophical traditions, are drawn conclusions, that demonstrate the contradictory nature of Marxism. A hypothesis about the syncretic nature of Marxism as a quasireligion is put forward.