The social aspect of the Christian faiths’ activities in Belarus (the last third of the XIX - the beginning of the XX century) on the example of the fight against alcoholism
The subject of the article study is the study of social processes in the Russian Empire in the last third of the XIX - beginning of the XX century on the example of the struggle against drunkenness of the church organizations of Belarus. The author states that the Orthodox, as well as the Roman Catholic Church, never remained indifferent to the social problems of the population. The processes of modernization, urbanization in the last third of the XIX century led to a sharp increase in negative social phenomena, the transition to urban civilization, the destruction of the traditional foundations of society, actualized the need to develop a set of measures to combat alcoholism. The author conducts a brief excursion into the history of the formation of a sober lifestyle by the clergy of Belarus, which used various methods and means, the practical importance of which is still relevant today. This research is based on a number of scientific methods, including historical, systemic, comparative methods of scientific analysis. The novelty of this study is that the problem in question shows the inefficiency of administrative measures alone in the fight against drunkenness. The Russian and Belarusian authorities back in the late XIX - early XX century came to the conclusion that it is most expedient to combat drunkenness through moral influence on the population, including by resorting to the help of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.