The article analyzes the transformation of forms of religious communication against the background of the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus, that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the advanced opportunities offered by the virtual space, various religious organizations and individual leaders have the opportunity to acquaint all users with their religious doctrines. But if in ordinary times the virtual religious space often functioned as an "addition" to the real religious space, then in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it became almost the main channel for broadcasting religious teachings and ideas. In this regard, the capabilities of the virtual environment made it possible to search and experiment. For some people this can lead to a deeper understanding of their religious traditions and practices, while for others it can open up completely new ways of worshiping God, generating a variety of new ideas and trends. The closure of prayer facilities during the coronavirus pandemic has forced most religious institutions around the world to communicate with their followers online, and most of the self-isolated believers have also turned to virtual space in order not to interrupt their religious practices. By itself, virtual religious activity is not a new phenomenon, but in a crisis situation it has become an adequate substitute for real religious activity, making it possible to maintain the epidemiological situation and curb the outflow of the flock, adjusting their religious rituals to the new conditions. On the example of some religious institutions operating on the territory of Russia, it was revealed that during the period of restrictive measures in the country, some forms of religion have undergone significant changes and accelerated digitalization.

In the modern world, religious identity continues to be one of the most important markers of a person's place in society. However, it is no longer just a mandatory prescribed identity, but actively transgresses under the influence of numerous problems of the modern world. By transgression of religious identity, the authors of the article understand its transformation, both in the direction of changing the level of religiosity as the confessional affiliation. This transgression is associated with a number of social factors – globalization, constant migration processes, value changes, and active spiritual search. With the advent of virtual space and virtual identity, there is another vector of transgression – towards the virtualization of religiosity. The main purpose of this article is to identify and systematize the main problems, related to the influence of virtual religious space on the transgression of religious identity in the real world and the formation of a new type – virtual religious identity. The main method is complex analysis. The article shows that problems with virtual religious identity begin at the categorical level, since they reflect the diversity of vectors of transgressive processes. In modern society, the transgression of religious identity is becoming a frequent phenomenon and variable, since a modern person can change both their religious affiliation and the nature of their religiosity several times during their life. But only virtual space offers unlimited possibilities-from the creation of new religious virtual associations to the appearance of many new fantasy religious identities. The main problem of further development of virtual identity will be the transformation of the level of sacredness, which will either lead to further secularization of the virtual religious space – or to the search for new forms of virtual sacredness.

The issues of collective, cultural or, in some cases, religious identity have become an important factor for both confessional and societal security since the end of the last century. Such studies focus on specific societal communities or specific social spaces. The present article studies the student youth of the Russian part of the Caspian Sea region and focuses on the influence of the level of religious identity on the confessional security of student youth in the Russian part of the Caspian Sea region. The starting point was regional studies of the past 10 years carried out by experts from the Republic of Kalmykia, Republic of Dagestan and Astrakhan Region. The purpose of this article is to identify the level of confessional security of the Russian student youth in the Caspian Sea region. For this purpose, sociological research was carried out in November and December 2020 among students of higher educational institutions in the Russian part of the Caspian Sea region (N – 732). Primary sociological information was obtained through a handout electronic questionnaire using the Survey Studio service. The sampling error was up to 3%. The research tools and matrix were developed by the authors. A fairly high level of students’ religiosity was revealed in the course of the study, mainly due to Dagestan and Kalmykia. The main factor in the formation of religious identity was the human and institutional factor, manifesting itself most clearly in Kalmykia, and the virtual one – in Dagestan. The study results showed that the youth of the Caspian Sea region is in tune for tolerance but does not feel sufficient reciprocal tolerance at both the national and regional levels. They consider their own educational institutions having the highest level of tolerance. Though they do not recognize the societal future of religion as a systemic regulator, the vast majority of students, both believers and non-believers, recognize it as a kind of guarantor of security.

This study examines the activities of Protestant religious denominations in the Northern Caspian region in the virtual space.

The article is devoted to the research of the Old Believer creeds activities in the space of virtual networks. The Old Believer movement is rather conservative, selectively adopting modern technologies and new means of media communication. They vary from the official websites of religious organizations to community members' groups and pages on various social networks. A separate aspect of the study is the analysis of various communication channels between Old Believers in virtual space. The main methodology of this research aspect is the content analysis of thematic sites (both official and unofficial), and pages and groups on social networks. In the course of the study of the Old Believers' activities in the space of virtual networks, we came to the conclusion that the cultural and religious identification of the Old Believers is carried out according to a scheme that has not practically changed since the 17th century. However, under the influence of new media, the Old Believer institute of prohibitions, which allowed them to maintain their religious and cultural identity all this time, undergoes various modifications. For Old Believer communities scattered throughout the world, the transition to virtual space means the formation of a new structure of cultural and religious identity. Due to this, there is a continuity of the material accumulated by generations through virtual communication channels that are new for them. The future couples are increasingly finding each other through online dating services. Clergy have the opportunity to conduct their proseletic activity in the space of virtual networks.