Vol 15, No 2 (2024)
About the Issue
Tradition in Russian Modernity
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):8-12
8-12
Topic of the Issue: Sociology of Religion
Research of religion in the context of modern secularisation: search for an approach
Abstract
The article examines some issues in the scientific debate about modern secularisation and post-secularity, which has been going on recently among Russian researchers of religion. As a participant in this discussion, the author accepts the discussed thesis about the need to revise some previous interpretations of religion and form new methodological guidelines that correspond to the real state of religious communities in the modern world. At the same time, the article criticises the use of references to the judgments of authoritative foreign researchers as a convincing argument to prove the reality of the so-called post-secular society. The author acknowledges that the idea of postsecularity can be one of the elements of scientific discourse about the modern transformation of religions. But this idea is not convincing when compared with refined theories of secularisation, that even today have sufficient empirical evidence. Turning to methodological issues, the author proposes a number of hypothetical provisions regarding the research approach to the modern state of religion. Particular attention is paid to two situations. The first of them, according to the author, is the determining influence on religious organisations of a modern secular state - in these conditions, the religious life of society is forced to integrate into state policy, becoming subordinate to the main goals of this policy. Therefore, the study must take into account, first of all, the secular context of the existence of religious associations. The second situation is related to the first; it consists in the marginalisation of the doctrinal content of religions and its noticeable replacement by external confessional markings as a sign of civic identity, with the diffusion of the doctrinal foundations of religious traditions. The author concludes that due to secularisation, the religious environment, either forced or willing, masters the languages of secular culture and politics, speaks these languages and therefore becomes more understandable - not only for researchers, but also for itself. For a scientific approach, this opens up the prospect of understanding the secular existence of religions.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):13-27
13-27
The problem of assessing the religious composition and level of religiosity of the population of countries and regions
Abstract
The article identifies the main problems of the theory and practice of collecting empirical data, on the basis of which one can build objective judgments about the level of religiosity of the population and its religious composition. The advantages and disadvantages of a sociological survey, population census data, and official data provided by religious organisations as sources of this type of information are considered.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark (ELCD) is chosen as an example. It is considered by the author as a constructive example of a majoritarian religious organisation, reflecting over the dynamics of several decades quantitative data on the number of adherents and the degree of activity of their religiously determined behaviour. In the regional aspect quantitative data on the absolute and relative number of participants in religious ceremonies, on the registration of births, marriages and deaths, etc. are reflected. Information on the number of baptisms, confirmations, weddings, funeral services is provided at the level of individual dioceses of church-administrative units at the regional level. Based on the obtained results, territorial differences in the level of religiosity of Danish residents are recorded. The minimum indicators characterise the capital region with a high share of migrants – representatives of non-traditional cultures in the population structure. At the same time, the high degree of religious activity of ELCD adherents distinguishes the territories of mainland Denmark remote from the administrative center (Viborg, Aalborg, Ribe).
The results of the analysis of initial data concerning the total number and share of baptisms, confirmations, church marriages and funeral rites performed in the ELCD in recent years confirm the general secular trends characteristic of the population of Western and Northern European, primarily traditionally Protestant countries. Official statistical databases of religious organisations, recording both membership in them and participation in religious sacraments and rituals, are positioned as the most representative source of initial information for solving the problem of identifying the religious structure of the population and determining the level of its religiosity. The considered example of collecting and processing information is effective, but at the national and regional levels it is implemented only in cases where the model of religious-state relations provides the appropriate tools.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):28-45
28-45
Features of the religious consciousness of Nizhny Novgorod students
Abstract
The article analyses the structure of religiosity among student youth. As the empirical basis serves the online study of the Russian Society of Sociologists 2022 “Cultural heritage and connections between generations” (9,751 university students, Russian citizens living in various regions were surveyed). The multinationality and multiconfessional nature of the Russian people is reflected in the distribution of answers from respondents living in different regions of Russia. Therefore, from the total population of respondents, we identified 1699 (or 17.4% of the total) who are students at universities in the city of Nizhny Novgorod. The purpose of this work was to identify the significance of the regulatory function of traditional religions for young people. The conclusion has been made that the ideological searches of students are formed by the technological structure corresponding to the 21st century: a significant portion of respondents are critical of the content of traditional religious teachings, without having formed convictions in this direction. Hence they either show belief in the unknown supernatural, or indifference in one form or another, or identification of oneself as an atheist in the absence of sufficient grounds for this in the form of religious knowledge. Without being confined within the framework of traditional Russian religions, most students are aware of the cultural importance of traditional values, of which religion remains a significant element.
Author's question: “Our countries are multi-religious. Do you share the opinion: “God is one, but religions are different”?” allows to measure not only the depth of faith in the truth of the religion with which the respondent identifies himself, but also the subconscious readiness for interfaith dialogue. Self-identification among those who share their values and lifestyle is important for respondents. According to these principles, a “social circle” is formed, the space of which is “set” by such coordinates as the level of education, material wealth, age, nationality, and confession. A decrease in the importance of religion as a factor ensuring the strength of family ties and the choice of a life partner has been revealed. At the same time, the importance of religious rituals that mark the stages of a person’s life is declining. To compare and substantiate conclusions, the results of sociological studies that are similar in topic or empirical object of study are used. Empirical data allow the authors to conclude: among Nizhny Novgorod students, a respectful and indifferent attitude towards traditional religions remains, against the backdrop of a decrease in the personal significance of religion as a social institution.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):46-60
46-60
The sociovital nature of religiosity in the everyday life of the Don Cossacks
Abstract
The Cossacks are traditionally associated with the social stronghold of the Russian Orthodox Church, with a group of the most righteous champions of the Orthodox faith. However, the Don Cossacks went through a long historical path before they found themselves in the bosom of the Mother Church and became its modern defenders from unrighteous attacks. Faith for the Don Cossacks initially represented a broader concept of life than just a religious feeling, extending into mental models of behaviour, often being fixed exclusively in material objects, expressed in a rather situational pilgrimage. In the historical everyday life of the Cossacks, a rationalistic attitude towards religious faith, which is not typical for other social groups, can be traced. Such pragmatism stemmed from a special military type of religiosity, initially formed on the frontier territory of the Wild Field, where the origins of the Russian Cossacks were laid, from where through the centuries the Cossacks carried their noble attitude towards God and the Christian faith.
They had their own historical road towards the Orthodox church, much longer and more controversial than that of other groups of the Russian population, but this makes its final results no less significant. “The Second Sun of the Don” - the Ascension Military Cathedral in Novocherkassk - is historically the second of the three Patriarchal Cathedrals in modern Russia. But it was rivaled in architectural splendour and interior decoration by the St. Nicholas Old Believer Cathedral, which reflected by its very existence at the beginning of the twentieth century the strongest positions of the Old Believers on the Don, and in the church the service was led by the Old Believer Archbishop John Kartushin. Among the Don Cossacks, heterodoxy also became widespread, and among its historical examples, spirit bearers stand out, and today Kalmyk Cossacks remain committed to the Buddhist (Lamaite) religion. However, despite the existence of various variants of religious faith among the Don Cossacks, the positions of the Russian Orthodox Church today are dominant and unshakable on the Don.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):61-80
61-80
Patriotism and Russian Soft Power
Theoretical constructs and experience of empirical analysis of patriotism in modern Russian sociology
Abstract
The article studies a theoretical and methodological analysis of the works of Russian sociologists involved in the study of patriotism. The purpose of the theoretical research work is an attempt to develop a methodological apparatus for constructing a specific sociological study of patriotism in modern Russian society through systematisation of key approaches to the interpretation of the concept of patriotism, analysis of typologies of this phenomenon and comprehension of existing methodological developments in empirical studies of patriotism.
The initiating step of immersion in the designated discourse was an appeal to the definitions of patriotism. An analysis of the works of Russian sociologists made it possible to identify four groups of definitions similar in content, where patriotism is understood as an emotional feeling, a social feeling, a value and a state resource. The variety of interpretations of patriotism gives rise to a variety of typologies of patriotism, identified in the course of research reflection. Of methodological interest is the classification of patriotism proposed by prof. I. A. Khaliy within the framework of the activity-activist paradigm. The authors of the article, referring to the wide variability of types of patriotism, pay special attention to false patriotism as an independent phenomenon, reflected in the discourse of sociological science.
The conducted theoretical research allows us to formulate the author’s definition of patriotism. Patriotism is understood as an individual’s feeling of his entry into some supra-individual unity, that performs identification and integrative functions and is represented in 1) attitude, i.e., the emotional side of this entry, 2) awareness, i.e., understanding of this identification as a value, and also 3) activity, i.e. defending it in the form of actions aimed at protecting the components of unity common to all its members.
The complexity of operationalising the concept of patriotism lies not only in the diversity of research approaches, but in the understanding of patriotism in the mass consciousness of modern Russians as multivariate and ambiguous, that is reflected in the available body of empirical material. The analysed methodological foundations of empirical research allow us to conclude that the application of the axiological approach is promising in the sociological study of patriotism with the addition of its aspects of identification and sociocultural components, based on the definition of patriotism as a value significant to the individual and focused on the interpretation of patriotism in the consciousness of the individual through understanding the reasons for the formation of one or another of its forms.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):81-97
81-97
Russia in the modern world: the potential of soft power
Abstract
The article is devoted to a comprehensive description of the conceptual, institutional and technological aspects of the Russian strategy for building up and using so-called soft power. The authors proceed from the fact that the future of Russia as a world power depends significantly on its ability to generate and increase impulses of soft power. The article describes the dynamics of the process of reformatting Russia's soft power potential, starting from the collapse of the USSR in 1991 to the present day. The authors point out that the current state of the Russian Federation, being a successor state of the USSR, inherited the main components of the latter’s soft power, including its authority in the field of science and culture, the status of one of the founders of the UN, an extensive network of connections in the intellectual and political elites of various countries etc. However, the changes that took place in the country in the 1990s significantly influenced the image of Russia in the perception of the population of other countries, as well as the Russians themselves.
The article demonstrates that, contrary to the provisions and conclusions arising from the concept of soft power developed by the American political theorist J. Nay, the policy of rapprochement with the “civilised world” carried out in the 1990s did not lead to an increase in Russia’s influence, but rather had the opposite effect. In fact, this influence has dropped to historic lows. And only from the beginning of the 2000s, in parallel with the strengthening of the political foundations of Russian statehood, the situation began to change for the better, and the process of restoring those factors of “soft” influence that Russia could use began. The article provides a detailed overview of the main components of this process; based on empirical data, it characterises the relationship between positive and negative opinions about Russia in different countries and on different continents. The authors also provide recommendations for improving the strategy for the formation and use of soft power in modern Russia. In particular, in this regard, the authors of the article draw attention to the key importance of a comprehensive elaboration of images of the future and the conceptual foundations of the theory of socio-historical development, corresponding to the multifaceted challenges of the 21st century.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):98-114
98-114
Problems of Education and Upbringing in Modern Russia
Involvement of modern parents in practices related to children
Abstract
Using data from the 30th wave of the “The Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey - Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE)”, the involvement of modern parents in raising children is analysed. Involvement practices are presented in the form of a construct that includes: preparing lessons, attending parent-teacher meetings, reading, playing sports, visiting a doctor, spending vacations, creative activities, additional classes in school subjects, and studying information about care and education. The analysis is carried out taking into account three groups of indicators: family (number of children and the presence of other relatives in the family), individual indicators of parents (education, length of time spent at work) and individual indicators of children (gender, age). A fairly high level of parental involvement and significant differences in the indicators of mothers and fathers are shown - the involvement of fathers is rather complementary in nature. Physical activity with children is the only type of practice in which fathers participate almost equally with mothers. The nature of the transformation of practices as the child grows up is analysed.
It is noted that if the child’s younger age requires the involvement of at least two adults, then starting from school age, most practices are assigned to only one of them, while vacation is a practice in which parents most often participate jointly. The contribution of other relatives is assessed. It has been shown that the presence of grandparents in the household significantly reduces the workload of mothers. An increase in the number of children in a family has virtually no effect on the level of involvement in general, but it changes the structure of its practices, while the level of involvement of other relatives decreases. The greatest influence on involvement is exerted by the individual indicators of parents, especially education - a mother’s higher education increases the number of hours devoted to children; Most of parental time is spent preparing lessons with children, which in turn affects academic performance. It is noteworthy that the number of hours parents work is positively related to the level of involvement. The conclusion is made about the stability of maternal and vulnerability of paternal involvement.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):115-131
115-131
Professional and educational orientations of students as an indicator of subjectivity in the field of higher education (on the example of universities in Nizhny Novgorod)
Abstract
The subject of research in this article is at the intersection of problem areas of subjectivity and the state of higher education in modern Russia. The authors strive to solve a twofold problem. Contextually, in a philosophical and sociological perspective, using the concept of “subjectivity indicator” and outlining its semantic boundaries, instrumentally link it with certain empirical methods and the factual data obtained from them related to the study of students’ professional and educational orientations. The area of subjectivity considered in this article borders on the lower level with the area of mediation, and on the upper level – on the personal area. The authors provide arguments in favour of the fact that sociological tools can be correctly applied to the study of subjective, but not personal qualities. The nature of the error when measuring the level of subjectivity in individuals and in social groups is also clarified. In the field of higher education, the level of subjectivity is determined by a combination of indicators from two components: faculty and student. The professional and educational orientations of students, according to the authors, can be considered as a reliable indicator of subjectivity in a given social group. For the empirical basis of the article a field study conducted at universities in Nizhny Novgorod has been used.
Using a questionnaire survey, we studied the motivations of students at leading universities in the city regarding obtaining higher education, choosing a university and the direction of training, as well as preferences regarding their future field of activity. As a result of the analysis, five groups of students with different motivational guidelines were identified. Three groups with a clear, fully realised vocational and educational strategy: with a focus on the demand for the profession in the labour market, on the advantages of higher education as such, on the realisation of their own abilities and inclinations (the latter is defined by the authors as an “authentically subjective group”). And two groups - with a vague, not quite consciously built professional and educational trajectory (with a drift from the pole of subjectivity to the pole of mediation). As a result of the study, a conclusion was made that the level of subjectivity among modern students is not high enough, and the social reason for this insufficiency is indicated.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):132-150
132-150
Transformation of Socio-Cultural Tradition in Russian Regions
Life positions of Tuvan youth: variability of sociocultural subjectivity
Abstract
The article presents the results of a study of the life positions of Tuvan students in the areas of kinship and legal relations. The theoretical and methodological foundations of the study consisted of the provisions of the concept of self-regulation of youth life activity and the data of Tuvan studies, that determine the unique meaning of the cultural space of Tuvan youth. For the empirical basis of the study materials from focus groups with ethnic Tuvan students (2022) were used. The results of the analysis confirmed the high importance of family ties for the majority of Tuvan informants. Based on the semantic basis of the attitude of young Tuvans to the phenomenon of employment of “their kin”, traditional, modern and hybrid life positions are identified. The authors emphasise the ambiguity of hybrid life positions, that promote conflicting ideas such as professionalism as a criterion for selecting candidates for a vacancy and the preference of relatives in a simulated situation of selecting applicants for a position, specific expectations of support from relatives. Latent inconsistency manifests itself in the form of idealisation of potential interaction with relatives on employment issues. It is assumed that this is a not entirely conscious attempt by young people to hide deep-seated predispositions to use the “family ties” resource behind a demonstration of their commitment to modern requirements for the employment procedure and suitability for the position. In relation to the practices of mutual assistance of relatives, in addition to the above-mentioned types, a position is highlighted, expressed in the assumption of living at the expense of a rich, successful relative, based on the deviant meanings of dependency and consumerism.
It was revealed that the life positions of Tuvan youth in the field of law reflect all-Russian trends. The positions of law-abiding youth are based on instrumental meanings (ensuring order, security) and the inevitability of punishment, while positions of lawless youth are based on deviant meanings, the essence of which is manifested in disrespect for the law, and legal infantilism.
Positioning the state as a dishonest partner is used to justify non-compliance with legal norms in interaction with it. Legal infantilism and legal ignorance of some Tuvan students, as well as some other Russian students, liberalisation of consciousness regarding the legal behaviour of other people that goes beyond the social norm, update not only the institutional regulation of legal education and upbringing of youth and children, but also a systematic change in reality in the field of ensuring the rule of law. In relation to the legal behaviour of other people, active (interested) and passive (indifferent) life positions are identified.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):151-173
151-173
Representation of traditional everyday practices of the small indigenous Evenki people in the social network “VKontakte”.
Abstract
This article is devoted to the problem of representing the everyday practices of the small indigenous Evenki people in the social network “Vkontakte”. As a result of the work, the everyday practices of the small indigenous Evenki people, represented in the social network VKontakte, were identified and categorised. The work presents a developed content classifier that represents the everyday practices of the small indigenous Evenki people. The classifier of content topics developed during the study can be used as a basis for further similar studies.
The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the work is the first to study the topic of representing the everyday practices of the small indigenous Evenki people using big data analysis methods. The results of the analysis were compared with J. Meyer's theory of cultural standardisation as one of the consequences of globalisation. The conducted research allowed us to conclude that the everyday practices of the Evenks are actively represented in the communities of the social network VKontakte. Each of the categories of everyday practices of the Evenks - life, leisure and work - is represented on the social network VKontakte in approximately equal shares: 31%, 34% and 35%. In addition, everyday practices were classified in terms of their locality or globality and the percentage of posts belonging to each class was calculated - 47% local and 53% global.
The results obtained during the study do not correspond with J. Meyer’s theory about the consequences of globalisation: the Evenks do not lose touch with their local culture and identity, reconstructing it in the content of social networks. Thus, the analysis of the content of Evenki online communities showed both the presence of a request for the Evenki to preserve their identity and traditional way of life, and their inclusion in the practices of the global modern world, which does not correspond to Meyer’s theses about the absorption of local everyday practices by global culture.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):174-189
174-189
Reflecting on the Readings
Experience of museum sociology: museums and society
Abstract
This text contains a brief summary of the contents of the monograph and the authors’ reflections on the museum from a sociological and historical perspective based on its text. The work discussed in this review presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of the activities of the Russian Museum (St. Petersburg) over 25 years in its correlation with the broad social and historical context. The monograph also makes an attempt to go beyond classical studies of museum audiences, that come down primarily to constructing a socio-demographic portrait of the visitor and are often limited to it. The monograph under review contains an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the museum and society, not only from the position of the museum itself, which is typical for most museum studies, but also from the point of view of the audience, and, most valuable, from the position of the state. Using the example of a study of visitors to the Russian Museum, V. N. Koziev and E. V. Potyukova seek to identify the influence of changing political and social landscapes on the evolutionary trajectory and mechanisms of functioning of museum institutions in different historical periods.
The authors of the review critically examine the methodology underlying the study, but emphasise a number of valuable provisions of the monograph for the social sciences that require further study and development. Noteworthy is the hypothesis put forward in the monograph that the configuration and distribution of artistic capital in society to some extent coincides with the demographic structure of museum visitors, which, although it has a number of limitations, outlines the line of the presented research. Given the noticeable lag in the domestic practice of sociological study of museum audiences and the museum itself as a social institution from the Western body of research practices in the field of museum affairs, the monograph under review deserves close attention from researchers, since it not only answers, but also poses new research questions. Further study of museum practices and museum audiences would make it possible to identify the features and trends in the development of museums in modern Russia in the era of widespread digital technologies and museums searching for their purpose in modern conditions.
Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. 2024;15(2):190-201
190-201