Beliefs of Tats

There are three religions among the Tats - Judaism, Shiism and Monophicism (of Armenian-Gregorian kind). In the North Caucasus the majority are Tats-Judaists (the so-called ?mountain Jews?); they live in the cities of Kabardino-Balkaria, Chechnya, Ingushetia, the cities and villages of Southern Dagestan. Tats-Moslems also live in southern Dagestan, mainly in the countryside.

The origin of Judaism among the Tats is still not clear. Traditionally it was considered that by the time Sasanids moved them to the Caucasus in the 5-6th centuries, tats were already Judaists. They adopted Judaism from the Jewish settlers from Judaca. Recently there appeared an opinion that Tats moved from Mydia were pagans and Judaizm penetrated them from Khazaria. In Khazaria it was officially adopted only in the 8th century. Islam penetrated Tats in the 7-8th century after Arabs conquered Transcaucasia and Derbent. In the 8-9th centuries Tats living next to Armenians adopted Christianity.

Tats were not the fanatic believers of any of the three monotheistic religions. When tats joined Russia, surprisingly this strengthened the positions of Judaism among them: they settled in the cities of the North Caucasus, got in touch with Russian and European Jews, received a possibility to teach educated rabbi. Before that Judaism existed among the Tats in a very strange form: like Karaims, they didn?t know Talmud and during the service they turned not to the East like all the Jews, but to the West.

Tats adopted shiit kind of Islam from Iran (through Azerbaijan), their language is related to Iran language. Beliefs of the Tats have much in common with the beliefs of the other nations of the North Caucasus, though religion is different.

Like the other peoples of Russia, during the last decade of the 20th century tats have their traditional religions revived: new prayer houses are built with the religious schools, mosques, the young people study in the religious centers. Tats? religious division doesn?t influence their national self-consciousness: Shiits, Judaists and Monophysites realize they belong to one nation.