THE EARLY STAGE OF THE RUSSIAN SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION AS EXEMPLIFIED BY THE STUDIES OF THE MUSLIM RELIGIOSITY IN THE MIDDLE VOLGA AREA
The article deals with sociological data about the religiosity of the Tatar population of the Middle Volga in the Soviet times. This research area is characterized in terms of institutionalization of sociology of religion. Some problems that have hindered the development of sociology of religion and its integration in the field of sociology are shown. The materials studied reveal the influence of Islamic modernism on religious practices and provide us with information about other reli- gious processes that took place among Soviet Muslims; they also testify to the important social functions of Islam in the life of Muslim Tatars.