Orthodoxy beyond the walls of the church: A sociological inquiry into orthodox religious experience in contemporary Russian society.

摘要

Orthodox religiosity in Russia, like much of European religion, challenges scholars to broaden the range of experience being studied. Grace Davie and Daniele Hervieu-Leger, for instance, have put forward a "mobile model" of religiosity that stresses the social relations and emotional highpoints of spiritual activities such as pilgrimages. This stands in contrast to the "static model," in which regular church practices and familiarity with dogmatic teachings are emphasized.; This dissertation extends these new models for studying European religion by examining Orthodoxy in contemporary Russia. Orthodox religiosity in Russia provides an interesting context in which to examine the relationship between institutionalized Church practices and religious traditions beyond Church walls. The Church is open, tolerant and even supportive of various weakly-institutionalized religious activities taking place outside its own domain. Still, seventy years of Soviet marginalization of religion led to the emergence of non-churched or anti-church forms of religiosity, as well. Even "static" and "mobile" models do not capture what it means to belong and to be Orthodox in Russia today.; This study examines the many ways in which Orthodox people relate to the Church and to Orthodox traditions and ethics. The analysis is based on fieldwork conducted in Russia in 2002-2004 and survey data received in 2003 by the Institute GfK Fessel. While few Russians are frequent church attendees, this analysis demonstrates that non-attending Orthodox Russians are not opposed or indifferent to the Church. Rather, they are culturally oriented toward ideas and practices derived from the Church's tradition. They participate, for instance, in fasting, have an interest in the country's historical heritage, and prefer Orthodox holidays to secular ones. This extra-ecclesial religiosity is especially seen in the pilgrimages analyzed in this dissertation. I identify pilgrimage processions, organized pilgrimage tours, and the veneration of "traveling icons" as major types of religious activity "beyond the walls of the Church." By offering religious education and experience outside of the Church as an institution, pilgrimages demonstrate how Orthodoxy continues to form a community of believers.