Milena Benovska

Orthodoxy has achieved a large scale revival in Russia following the collapse of Communism. However, paradoxically, although there is a high level of identification with Orthodoxy, there is in fact a low level of church attendance. This book, based on in depth ethnographic fieldwork, explores the social background and moral attitudes of the "little flock" of believers who actively participate in religious life. It reveals that the complex moral beliefs of the faithful have a disproportionately high impact on Russian society overall; that among the faithful there is a strong emphasis on striving for personal perfection; but that also there are strong collective ideas concerning religious nationalism and the synergy between the secular and the religious.

Driving Forces and Moral Quests

Orthodox Revivalism in Russia

Klaus Roth

The historical upheavals in Southeast Europe since the early 20th century brought about deep transformations of people's everyday lives and their life courses. The concept of ‘life course’ enables the understanding of human lives within their socio-cultural and political contexts, stressing agency and people’s everyday experience. Balkan contexts invite for analyses that bridge political and social changes and their influence on individual life courses. The papers discuss problems such as family life and parenthood, ages and ageing, life-cycle rituals and the artistic expressions devoted to them. The authors present manifestations of the social differentiation and cultural multiplicity under post-socialist or post-colonial conditions – from developing contemporary global life styles among the emerging urban middle class to the ghettoization of some social or age groups. This volume focusses on developing family cultures, on experiencing socialization and age, on ‘old’ and ‘new’ life cycle rituals and their artistic representations in contemporary Southeast Europe.

Milena Benovska

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