Clifford Geertz, well known as the founder of "interpretative anthropology", is still not fully acknowledged within the field of Russian religious studies. His works, however, may be of interest

not just for his fieldwork methodology but also for the essential role of religion in Geertz’ social theorizing. His understanding of religion evolved, but in general he saw it as a net of meanings that allow people to transcend the everyday and to overcome existential finitude.

The article deals with understanding of religion within the theory of "autopoietic systems" of Niklas Luhmann. Religion acts as a continuous, renewable "control over the border with the unknown", as "a knowledge of the mysterious". Three typological and historical forms of religion are idenitified in Luhmann’s theory: the magical-mythological tradition of early societies; a dichotomous differentiation of "Great Tradition / little tradition" in the period of great imperial civilizations; and current forms of religiosity in modern and postmodern "differentiated society".