Research On Religion » Russian Orthodox Church

Bradley Murg on Russian Orthodoxy after the Soviet Union

tonygill — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 08:00:49 +0000

Following seven decades of a repressed existence, the Russian Orthodox Church has re-emerged following the collapse of the Soviet Union to assert itself in the nation’s culture and political landscape. Bradley Murg, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington and adjunct faculty of political science at Seattle Pacific University, details what has happened with the Orthodox Church since 1991 and its emerging role in politics under Vladimir Putin. Brad’s extensive travels in Russia, and indeed throughout the world, brings a special comparative insight into this topic.

Following a few introductory remarks about Brad’s globetrotting, we look at how the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) emerged from Soviet domination after 1991. Under a relatively laissez faire religious environment, the first thing the ROC hierarchy focused on was the reconstruction of church buildings. The onslaught of foreign missionaries into the country became a major concern of the ROC as well, and Patriarch Alexis II and Metropolitican (later Patriarch) Kirill looked towards the new Russian state to prevent this “spiritual poaching,” that eventually led to the passage of a law in 1997 definining historical Russian faiths (including Orthodoxy, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism) and significantly restricting foreign confessional activity. This discussion leads Tony to inquire about the hierarchical structure of the ROC, what a “patriarch” is, how the ROC relates to the Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul), and how Metropolitan Kirill became Patriarch Kirill.

We then move to a discussion of church-state relations and how the ROC hierarchy has attempted to achieve a level of “symphonia” harkening back to Byzantine times when religious and secular rulers partnered to support the health of the nation. Brad lists the number of benefits that the ROC has received from this newly-crafted “symphonic relation” including access to teach religion in public schools, the ability to view legislation in the Russian Duma (parliament) before it goes public, and support on a number of social issues including marriage, fertility, and gay rights. This leads our discussion in the direction of how Vladimir Putin is interacting with the ROC, including some details about Putin’s own religiosity. Putin’s use of the ROC as a means of state’s legitimation then becomes the focus of our conversation.

Tony asks Brad how effective a religious legitimation strategy would work for Putin given a long history of religious suppression and the seemingly “atheistic” nature of Russian culture. We then dive into a sociological examination of the religiosity of the Russian people, and look at whether Orthodoxy is just an “ethnic marker” or whether it has some real spiritual meaning. Brad provides some interesting data on cultural shifts that may be taking place among the Russian population, including amongst the young folks in society. He then explains how Putin is attempting to expropriate the social trust average Russians place in the ROC to help bolster his own trustworthiness among the population.

Our conversation moves towards an extended discussion on how the ROC has played into Russia’s including the issue over gay rights and the Olympics, but also looking at affects on policy towards Syria and relations with the World Council of Churches. We conclude with looking at how the ROC has fared with respect to cultivating religious belief within the Russian population and Brad’s broad reflections on what he has learned from examining the Russian religious environment in comparison to other places he has roamed around the world. Recorded: September 12, 2013.

Allison Pond on Being a Mormon Missionary

tonygill — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:00:11 +0000

What is it like to be a young missionary in a foreign country that is undergoing major religious and legal changes? Allison Pond, an editorial writer at the Deseret News (Utah) and formerly with the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, recounts her days as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Russia from 1997 to 1998. Mormons are well-known for their missionizing activity around the world, so we explore the preparation, training, experience, and results of such missionizing work. Allison begins by describing her spiritual upbringing in the LDS Church and reveals that she never thought of mission work until volunteering for a youth program while at BYU. She then discusses the process for being selected as an LDS missionary, which includes an interview with a local bishop. We inquire as to whether her work teaching English in Moscow played a role in her being selected for her to missionize in Russia. Following this, we look at how Mormons, who are mostly young adults at the time, are trained in the Missionary Training Center and what goes on during the first few weeks in the field. We discuss language training as well as preparation for hostile situations. Allison then tells us what it was actually like to be in the field, especially the anxiety she felt on the first day and how this dissipated over time. The typical routine of a missionary is discussed and we also focus on what is like to be a female missionary, considering that roughly 80% of all Mormon missionaries are young men. We then discuss the changing religious scene in Russia and what complications that may have played in the mission trip. Russia, which experienced the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, initially allowed a great degree of religous freedom leading to a rapid influx of foreign religions. By 1997, the Russian Orthodox Church was pushing back with intensified rhetoric against foreign missionaries and with legal changes that made it difficult for such folks to operate. Allison closes with some reflections about what she learned while on her sojourn and provides a bit of “looking back” advice for people considering missionary work, be it for the LDS Church or any other faith. Recorded: January 6, 2012

Catherine Wanner on Religion in Russia

tonygill — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:00:58 +0000

How successful were the leaders of the Soviet Union in eradicating religion? Are the countries of the former Soviet Union experience a religious revival? Catherine Wanner, associate professor of history, anthropology, and religious studies at the Pennsylvania State University, recounts the history of religion in Russia and the Ukraine from the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 to present. The Soviet Union’s policies aimed at secularizing society are discussed — from suppression to educational efforts to atheist organizations. Despite the brutal repression of churches (particularly the Russian Orthodox Church), Prof. Wanner shows how rulers such as Stalin, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev pursued rather pragmatic policies toward religious groups at times. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the general policies toward religion changed, initially allowing a number of missionary groups to enter. However, in 1997 a new law in Russia restricted what various religious groups could do. Prof. Wanner shares her thoughts on the Ukraine throughout the podcast as well. Find out whether these two countries are experiencing a religious rennaissance and what factors may be affecting the growth of belief and the future of disbelief. Recorded: May 11, 2010.