Role of religion in national policy of the Republic of Tyva: the analysis of government programs (2013-2020)

The article deals with the role of religious institutions in government programs relating to national policy of the Republic of Tyva over the 2013 to 2020 period. We have considered the way in which the interaction of governmental and religious institutions is presented in the documents, and its correlation with the actual policy of the regional authorities. To compare the state of affairs on paper with facts on the ground we used the method of the contextual method, as well as the theoretical analysis of laws, regulations, and strategic documents. The empirical basis for research was the Constitution of the Republic of Tyva (2001), Law of the Republic of Tyva No. 253 "On Freedom of Conscience" of April 1, 1995, the Concept of National Policy of the Republic of Tyva (1998), as well as regional programs in the field of national policy over the 2013 to 2020 period. Great significance of religious organizations as one of the subjects of national policy along with the authorities and public organizations was spelled out in the program of 2013-2016. In the programs of 2014-2020 there is a narrowing of the sphere of influence of religion on public life. Religious institutions are assigned the role of objects that need to be monitored by the authorities in order to avoid incitement of religious extremism. At the same time, the contribution of government programs to the development of the ethnocultural sphere in the republic is growing in dynamics. We suggest that the discrepancy between the fixed role of religious institutions in program documents and their actual impact on ethnocultural processes reflects the all-Russian tendency, when a separate model is proclaimed by law, but a cooperative one is actually implemented.