Kublitskaya, E. A., Nazarov, M. M. (2026), “Religiosity and social beliefs of the population”, Research Result. Sociology and Management, 12 (3), 205-226. DOI: 10.18413 ...

Òåêñò ñòàòüè íà ñàéòå æóðíàëà URL: https://rrsociology.ru/journal/annotation/4173/ (äàòà îáðàùåíèÿ 23.06.2026)

Abstract

The article presents the results of sociological research of social perceptions in groups with varying degrees of religiosity. Special emphasis is placed on the study of attitudes towards civic values, which are an important factor in the consolidation of society in the context of global instability and growing challenges to Russian statehood. The methodology and methodological solutions are based on the understanding of religiosity as a multidimensional property of an individual or a group in terms of adherence to religion and fulfillment of its precepts. The operationalization of the concept of the level and degree of religiosity is carried out through the use of complex indicators of consciousness and behavior. The empirical basis of the work is based on representative studies conducted in the regions of the Russian Federation between 2008 and 2025. The six most common values of consolidation included security, freedom and human rights, social justice, patriotism, public order, and national pride. Moreover, in groups with varying degrees of religiosity (among church-going believers, non-church-going believers, those who vacillate between faith and disbelief, and non-religious individuals), there was no statistically significant difference in relation to most of the values. The difference mainly relates to the value of patriotism – an increase in the share of acceptance of the value is observed as the degree of religiosity increases. The priority of Russian citizenship also increases as the degree of religiosity (of “churched” believers) increases. Three-quarters of respondents said they were satisfied with the Russian political system, or they advocated for gradual reforms to address its current shortcomings. The differences between confessional and non-religious groups concerned those who shared the idea of the need for radical changes in this area. Non-believers were the most focused on this, while Orthodox believers were the least focused. The stability of society is related to citizens' assessments of their life prospects. A significant majority of respondents evaluated their future (both on a personal level and at the national level) in terms of confidence and hope; anxiety and hope were equally prevalent. Approximately one-tenth of the respondents shared assessments of uncertainty and hopelessness. Moreover, in the Orthodox religious group, such assessments were significantly less common than in the non-religious and non-believing groups. The article examines the views of groups with religious and non-religious self-identification on the contribution to the country's development, starting from the statesmen of the last period of autocracy, the Soviet period, and ending with the post-Soviet period of history. The article concludes that the contrasting of the Soviet period with other periods of Russian history, which is often evident in contemporary media discourse, does not contribute to social consolidation.