The Molokans are a Russian Spiritual Christian sect that evolved from Eastern Orthodoxy in the East Slavic lands. Their traditions, especially dairy consumption during Christian fasts, did not conform to those of the Russian Orthodox Church, and they were regarded as heretics. The term Molokan is an exonym used by their Orthodox neighbors. Members tend to identify themselves as Spiritual Christians.

Spiritual Christianity is the group of belief systems held by so-called folk Protestants, including non-Eastern Orthodox indigenous faith tribes and new religious movements that emerged in the Russian Empire. Their origins are varied: some come from Protestant movements imported from Europe to Russia by missionaries, travelers and workers; others from disgust at the behavior of Orthodox priests, still others from the Bezpopovtsy Raskolniks. Those influences have mixed with folk traditions resulted in communities that are collectively called sektanty (sectarians). Such communities were typically documented by Russian Orthodox clergy with a label that described their heresy such as not fasting, meeting on Saturday (sabbatarians), rejecting the spirit, body mutilation (castigators), self-flagellation, or suicide.