Annotation of the results obtained in 2022
A relevant study of ‘family-religion’ interrelation in Russia, as well as the strength and character of this relation, presupposes the analysis of the factors that moderate the link in question. Research work in the reporting period focused on the following moderators or ‘third’ variables: social capital and environment, religious socialization, relational competences (virtues), religious practices. Social capital, environment and religious socialization The way embeddedness into strong and weak ties determines the marriage and family life perception has been reflected in the research on young Russians’ pathways to marriage (Alekseeva 2022). The stage of spouse search is characterized by the importance of weak ties as they enable to enhance acquaintances for extensive search. Further stages of getting married, however, presuppose formation of new affinity relations, which may turn into strong ties (meeting each other’s parents). With strong tie formation, the number of weak ties decrease as those getting married start to focus on family ties more. The research has shown that strong ties may have particular importance in the young Russians’ marriage trajectories, because the degree to which meeting the parents-in-law is significant for a person is connected to the way relationships in his or her new family are perceived. The research on the interrelation between religiosity and marriage values and norms among young married Russians (N=1000) accounts for the fact that social religiosity metrics in statistical analysis are better that individual ones (Alekseeva 2023, Mir Rossii). Researchers usually state the absence of the relation in hand for the majority of Post Soviet countries, which have undergone forced secularization. However, religiosity indices with social components (the feeling of unity with the parish community, the priest communication frequency), contrary to individual scales, elucidate the link between religiosity and various values better, and the research paper underpins this thesis (social religiosity metrics demonstrate greater correlation with marriage norms and values). Therefore, marital norms and values are more likely to be connected to person’s social environment than to their individual religiosity. The social context effects have also been studied during the religiosity and fertility relation analysis on a macro-level (Prutskova, Pavlutkin, Borisova 2023). The role social context and, particularly, religious socialization play in the interrelation between Christian religiosity and the number of children has been analyzed based on 3 waves of the World Value Survey data (1999, 2008, 2018) in 39 countries. The results have confirmed the hypothesis that moderating factors of the social context strengthen the link between the two parameters in hand, so there is now an explanation for the weak tie between religiosity and fertility, which Post Soviet countries with Orthodox population domination are characterized by (Zabaev, Kostrova 2023). Firstly, religious socialization may influence childbirth and family life via religious doctrines people learn and perceive. Secondly, religious socialization may function through the institutional influence mechanisms, moderating the link between desired and actual number of children. Finally, specific social network forms with the help of religious socialization, as the latter makes family involve in parish community life (communication with the priest and other families in parish). Such involvement becomes the source of informational, emotional and material support, which is significant on the stage of family transition to several children. Virtues as the source of values and relational competences in marriage The significance of the ethical dimension (virtues) of souses’ interaction in marriage was also explored. In the framework of seminars ‘Marriage images in the philosophy of family’, some key texts important for contemporary marriage and family perception were discussed . Thus, the Christian marriage peculiarities have been found. On the one hand, both Aristotle and Christian apologist (John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian) consider marriage as the union where each spouse should improve in virtuous (righteous) life. On the other hand, the list of these virtues differs among various authors (social justice vs. unity). Particular Christian virtues are operationalized and tested in social science family studies today. However, scarcely can we meet such research papers in Russian social sciences, which should be changed in future. The relation between religiosity, marriage experience and relation competences (virtues) have been tested on the case of married Orthodox respondents (Pavlutkin, Goleva 2023). The distinction between institutional (normative) and relational influence religion has on marriage has been drawn on a theoretical level. In framework of relational dimension, ethic and virtues (humility, forgiveness, self-sacrifice) are discussed as marital life stability sources. As social sciences state, detachment from ‘I’ in favor of ‘We’ provides the spouses’ mutuality. The qualitative spouse survey (N=583) has demonstrated that respondents in general rate the detachment from “I” in marriage statements as rather low and the independence in marriage statements as rather high. The greater marriage experience and religious service attendance frequency are, the higher distancing from ‘I’ in marriage is and the lower independence in marriage turns out to be. Relational view on the role religion plays in marriage enables to uncover the layers hidden under structural and institutional models as such a view gives instruments for the marital life ethics analysis. Not only can theoretical and methodological development of relational outlook help explain divorce rate in Russia, but it also can open the opportunities to develop Russian family relationships. Ethical dimension was also reflected in the study of the way religious Russians use an Orthodox online dating platform. Based on the interview data, the paper discusses the way informants combine both practical (economic) and substantial (ethic) arguments in the spouse search strategies (Alekseeva 2023, Sociological review). On the one hand, the dating platform makes spouse search similar to choosing a ‘product’ on a market. On the other hand, Orthodox perception of marriage presupposes understanding of marriage as associated with faithfulness (once and for life), unity, value consensus and the paramount importance of the God’s will in choosing a spouse. The contradiction stated can be overcome with what informants explain in the categories of ‘self-control’ and ‘fight with temptation’. The informants find it possible to be proactive while searching for a spouse (online as well as offline), yet they believe the result of the search rests upon the God’s will. One more topic in the framework of the project is the women’s religious practices connected to reproductive technologies (Krikhtova 2023). The informants of the study were women who have problems with child conception and birth. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used to uncover the child ‘appropriation’ practices in the context of new reproductive technologies. To ‘appropriate’ means to ‘affirm the connection to a child, his or her status as a family member as well as woman’s status as a mother’, so the kinship ties are built in this process too. It was also found that women rethink some religious rituals and symbols guided by the wish to fill ‘mechanical and biological’ medical approach with meaning.

 

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Annotation of the results obtained in 2021
In the reporting period, the research team of the project "The Paradox of Interrelation between Religion and Family in Modern Russia" progressed in four thematic areas. The first one – parameters of the relationship between religion and fertility. The second – factors of differentiation of marriage styles and qualities. The third – young Russians’ mating and marriage strategies. The fourth – family, work and religion in pandemic times. In addition, a regular seminar was held to discuss philosophical and religious readings on marriage, which have become significant for social sciences in the context of studying the family of modern society. The aim of the regular seminar is the reconstruction, comparative analysis and operationalization of ideas relevant to understanding different types of cohesion between family and Christianity. Parameters of the relationship between religion and fertility Within the framework of the first thematic area, a review of scientific research was prepared, which examines the factors mediating the influence of religion on fertility over the past decades in different regions of Europe, the USA, and Canada. One of the conclusions of the article is that the influence of religion on demographic processes is explained not only by the strength of social institution but also by the reliability of communication of values and the significance of the "culture" of childbirth for an individual's identity (Zabaev I., Kostrova E. "The Russian paradox of religion and fertility. Specification of the problem and development of an explanatory hypothesis", 2022). I. Zabaev, E. Kostrova and M. Goleva (2022) in the article "Self-realization and children: spatial metaphors of everyday life in the narratives of Russian women" continued the discussion on the values and childbirth. Authors analyzed the interrelation between the value of self-realization and spatial categories. According to the theories of the Second Demographic Transition and value shifts, self-realization is associated with the desire for constant self-development and could be considered as an obstacle for childbearing. Analyzing interviews on family topics with Russian women, authors found that categories of childbirth and self-realization are also interconnected with a spatial narrative (three spatial metaphors were identified: journey, logistics, home). The results obtained allow us to offer arguments for reconsidering the discussion about childbearing (people without children "against" people with many children). The symbolic meaning of the interrelation of religiosity and fertility illuminates in the context of reproductive (medical) problems faced by spouses who want to have a child. The different meanings of this connection were investigated by T. Krihtova on the example of various religious practices used by respondents who dream of having a child (qualitative and quantitative methods). Factors of differentiation of marriage styles and qualities Within the framework of the second thematic area, patterns of marriage relationships and their interrelation with orientations on different number of children were studied. One of the conclusions of I. Pavlyutkin's article "How the Sense of Community Arises in Marriage: The Logic of Mutuality in the Narratives of Women from Large Families" (2021) is that women consider a family with many children as desirable one if their husbands are involved not only in household duties but also in marital relations. In families where spouses manage to maintain reciprocity (community in marriage), despite the growing workload and vulnerability of the mother, and the temporal and spatial asynchrony between spouses, the perception of new births turns out to be positive. Preliminary testing of the hypothesis on the interrelation between marriage patterns and the expected number of children on quantitative data (online survey conducted within the framework of the grant) also shows that the importance for respondents of the qualities of marriage associated with community increases the expected number of children in the family (O. Borisova). Young Russians’ mating and marriage strategies The third topic was aimed at determination of factors differentiating young Russians’ strategies of finding a spouse and getting married as well as at testing hypotheses about the role of family ties and markers of religiosity for this differentiation (P. Kalinovskaya., N. Emeliyanov). The topic is relevant for the research project as it is necessary to explain the high divorce rate in the initial years of marriage: for example, it may be caused by specific attitudes towards marriage and the approaches to finding a spouse. Based on the results of literature review and the discussions of the research design, a special questionnaire was developed for testing the hypotheses relying on data. The results of this study are planned to be discussed and published next year. Family, work and religion in pandemic times The fourth topic was devoted to assessing the social well-being during the period of self-isolation regime caused by the spread of coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Based on the developed by research team questionnaire and the data of an online survey conducted in the spring of 2020, an analytical report was prepared, which formed the basis of a monograph published this year. (Goleva M., Melkumyan E., Pavlyutkin I., Prutskova E. Family, Work and Religion in the Period of Self-isolation: According to the 2020 Online Survey. Moscow: PSTGU, 2022). The analysis of distributions on the key variables showed differences in the perceptions of the pandemic and the lockdown, in assessments of the quality and dynamics of family relations, in assessments of employment and daily home life, as well as of religious life during the period of self-isolation. Variables of religiosity also showed the significance in assessing the qualities of family relations and family integration. The results obtained elucidate the need for a deeper analysis of the consequences of social isolation in context of social and economic differentiation of the population and the perception of social inequality. All in all, during the first year of project implementation, members of the research team: • Prepared three articles (published or accepted for publication by leading Russian social sciences journals); • Published a collective monograph; • Made seven presentations at scientific conferences; • Created two questionnaires for quantitative research of marriage and fertility; • Developed a seminar program on philosophical doctrines about marriage; • Organized twenty seminars for the discussion the theory and philosophy of marriage, as well as the methodology for the study of marriage and fertility.

 

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