The Crimes and Punishments of the ‘Enemies of the Church’ and the Nature of Russia’s Desecularising Regime1

Following a longstanding sociological tradition, this paper looks at reactions to nonconformity in order to understand the nature of social norms. In particular, it explores the patterns and scope of intolerance towards the perceived ‘enemies of the Church’ in order to understand social norms emerging in post-atheist Russia. Utilising the ‘social drama’ approach, the paper offers a comparative case study of increasingly repressive reactions by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and state to two art exhibitions at the Sakharov Museum and anti-clerical publications by a blogger in Karelia, along with an in-depth analysis of the recent (2012) Pussy Riot action at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow and the resulting trial and punishment of three of the band’s members, as well as of a variety of events that have followed this initial action. We then utilise national and cross-national representative survey data to suggest that these repressive reactions were congruent with an intolerant public sentiment towards opponents of the ROC. Ultimately, we draw on Durkheim’s dialectic of norm and deviance, work on disciplinary modalities of power by Foucault and Agamben, desecularisation analysis and social identity theory to argue that the severe punishment of the perceived ‘enemies of the Church’ and the popular support for it reflect the crystallisation of a new normative system brought about by the desecularising regime in Russia, a regime which is characterised by a symbiosis of the ROC and the state.     

Ethnodoxy: How Popular Ideologies Fuse Religious and Ethnic Identities

Popular beliefs conflating ethnic identities with particular faiths can lead to marginalization of religiously and ethnically “other” and fuel ethnoreligious conflict even in secularized societies. Despite their importance to ethnoreligious conflict and coexistence, ideological conflations of faith and ethnos have previously received little scholarly attention. We fill the gap by introducing the concept of ethnodoxy: a collectively held belief system that rigidly links a group's ethnic identity to its dominant faith. We theorize this phenomenon at three levels: macro (the interplay between religion and ethnonational identities), micro (construction of ethnoreligious identities and imagined communities viewed from a social identity theory perspective), and meso (the nature and functions of popular ideologies and religiosities). Subsequently, ethnodoxy is conceptualized as an ideal‐typical syndrome of six component beliefs. We further operationalize and verify the concept using representative national survey data from Russia. Findings show ethnodoxy's extent, coherence, dimensionality, and associations with religious and ethnic intolerance.     

The Social Dynamics of Russia’s Desecularisation: a Comparative and Theoretical Perspective1

This article approaches Russia’s desecularisation from a comparative and theoretical perspective. For this purpose, it applies to the Russian case a conceptual framework designed for comparative studies of the world’s many counter-secularisations, and as a result it offers a theoretical model to explain the social dynamics of Russia’s desecularisation. The model reveals a chain of causal links extending from initial conditions for desecularisation at the end of the Soviet era to the formation of the current desecularising regime and to its likely collapse leading to a new phase of desecularisation. The model attributes the contradictory and inconsistent outcomes of Russia’s religious resurgence to its prevailing pattern of desecularisation from above. It shows why desecularisation from above rather than from below prevailed, and why its strategies included the formation of ethno-religious church–state hybrid monopolies, religious protectionism, ethnicisation of faith and cultivation of nationalistic, undemocratic and intolerant ideologies. The model also explains why and how the current desecularising regime has slowed down religious growth and mobilisation from below. Furthermore, since the current desecularising regime exists in a symbiosis with the political and ideological regime of Putin’s Russia, the former shares the vulnerabilities of the latter. Building on rational choice theory, the article predicts that Russia’s present desecularising regime will become unsustainable and ultimately collapse. Its fall will be followed by a much more competitive and unpredictable desecularisation from below, which has so far been largely suppressed. In conclusion I outline a research agenda derived from this theoretical model.     

新的发展模型和价值观念问题

今天,当代文明的发展正处于某种转折点上。这样的想法并不新颖。历史学家、哲学家和社会学家们都曾经提出过这样的论断。只要人类受到了日益恶化的全球性危机的威胁,发展战略就必须改变,这是显而易见的。不过,这里却会出现下列问题：这样的战略变化应当由什么内容构成呢？一般说来,当人们针对这个问题提出各种答案的时候,     

Religiosity and Tolerance in the United States and Poland

Survey research shows important links between religion and tolerance in the United States. Yet it is not known to what extent its findings have broader, cross-national relevance. This article compares religious influences on political tolerance in the United States and Poland. Despite the marked political and cultural differences between their national contexts, data from the NORC GSS and Polish GSS reveal similar patterns of religious influences. Both in the United States and Poland, intolerance appears to be linked primarily to theocratic beliefs, that is, to a political correlate of religiosity rather than to its essential components, such as religious commitment and participation that have weak direct effects only on tolerance of atheists, and weak indirect effects on other dimensions of tolerance.     

A Report from the U.S.S.R.: The Problem of Providing Employment to Secondary School Graduates

This article gives an account of the steps taken by the U.S.S.R. to provide employment for its secondary school graduates.