William James wrote that one of characteristics of a religious state of mind is its seriousness. I'll quote: For common men “religion,” whatever more special m

William James wrote that one of characteristics of a religious state of mind is its seriousness. I'll quote: For common men “religion,” whatever more special meanings it may have, signifies always a serious state of mind. If any one phrase could gather its universal message, that phrase would be, “All is not vanity in this Universe, whatever the appearances may suggest.” I myself can compare this with the cultural state of Soviet Union. It was a very atheistic country on the surface; yet the art, the cultural scene, the newspapers, the cinema; the school education; the public forums (they existed in the form of letters to newspapers); everything was imbued with that idea that there are serious things, not everything is vanity. It wasn't dull or dark; it was very reviving, in fact, because it gave you the foundation, something firm to stand upon. There were fantastically funny comedies (I wish I could find modern comedies like that) but there was also seriousness. I still remember some journal pieces of that time that, I admit, formed me as a person. An essay about a relatively minor crime, for example: two women were bitten by guard dogs. Yet somehow it rose to your place in life; your approach to what life is; you and your responsibility for how you live. And these themes were everywhere. Until 1991.