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Popular Perceptions of the Relationship Between Religious and Ethnic Identities: a Comparative Study of Ethnodoxy in Contemporary Russia and Beyond

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Popular Perceptions of the Relationship Between Religious and Ethnic Identities: a Comparative Study of Ethnodoxy in Contemporary Russia and Beyond Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 8-2012 Popular Perceptions of the Relationship between Religious and Ethnic Identities: A Comparative Study of Ethnodoxy in Contemporary Russia and Beyond David M. Barry Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Race and Ethnicity Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Barry, David M., "Popular Perceptions of the Relationship between Religious and Ethnic Identities: A Comparative Study of Ethnodoxy in Contemporary Russia and Beyond" (2012). Dissertations. 52. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/52 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POPULAR PERCEPTIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC IDENTITIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ETHNODOXY IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIA AND BEYOND by David M. Barrv A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty ofThe Graduate College in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the Degree ofDoctor ofPhilosophy Department ofSociology Advisor: Vyacheslav Karpov, Ph.D. Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 2012 THE GRADUATE COLLEGE WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN Date June 20, 2012 WE HEREBY APPROVE THE DISSERTATION SUBMITTED BY David M. Barry ENTITLED Popular perceptions of the relationship between religious and ethnic identities: A comparative study of ethnodoxy in contemporary Russia and beyond AS PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy Sociology (Department) Sociology (Program) David Hartmann Dissertation Review Committee Member A ^^ Jerry Panfcnurs Dissertation Review Gommittee Member APPROVED Date o^r ^Un- Deanof^U/e GraduateCollege POPULAR PERCEPTIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC IDENTITIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ETHNODOXY IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIA AND BEYOND David M. Barry, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2012 The relationship between religion and ethnicity is well documented. However, previous studies have usually approached the relationship by focusing on the converging of two 'objective' social categories, religion and ethnicity. In doing so, the subjectivity, or the actor's own understanding of the interplay between religion and ethnicity is typically neglected. This study fills this gap by exploring popular- perceptions of group identities and the affiliation with imagined ethno-religious communities. To accomplish this, the concept of ethnodoxy, first developed by Vyacheslav Karpov and Elena Lisovskaya, is applied that captures the belief that affiliation to an ethnic group's dominant religion is essential for constructing and maintaining a group's identity. The empirical component of this study examines the scope ofthis belief system and how its beliefs correlate with people's socioeconomic characteristics as well as with other social, religious, and political orientations. The study of ethnodoxy focuses on post-communist ethnic Russians. The conflation of religion (i.e., Russian Orthodoxy) and ethnicity in Russian history makes this an ideal context. However, similar ethno-religious relationships are explored among other ethnic and national groups in Russia and beyond as well, thereby providing a comparative dimension to the analysis. Data from a Russian National Survey (2005) and several cross-national survey programs (i.e., International Social Survey Programme and World Values Survey) are used to test these relationships. Two major conclusions can be drawn from these analyses. First, the belief that an individual must affiliate with their ethnic group's dominant religion is wide spread and deeply embedded among most ethnic Russians. Moreover, there is evidence of such ethno-religious linkages beyond ethnic Russians as well, spanning different religious traditions, political economies, and socio-historical contexts. Second, belief in this specific ethno-religious ideology is associated with social, religious, and political orientations that emphasize intolerance, xenophobia, and protectionism. In sum, these findings support the usefulness of the concept of ethnodoxy as a valuable explanatory tool for understanding the popular perception of ethno-religious relationships and offer insight into the role ofreligion in modern society. Copyright by David M. Barry 2012 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my partner, Deanne Barry, and my son, Felix Barry, whose relentless patience and support throughout this process has allowed me to pursue my dreams in higher education. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Vyacheslav Karpov, my advisor and mentor, whose guidance and intellect have been essential throughout my academic journey. In addition, I would like to express gratitude for the other members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Elena Lisovskaya, Dr. David Hartmann, and Dr. Jeny Pankhurst for offering their time, effort, and expertise with this study. Finally, I would like to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for their enduring support throughout this entire process. All of these people have contributed to the development and success ofthis study. David M. Barry u TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii LIST OF TABLES x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 Studying the Relationship between Religion and Ethnicity: The Problem 1 Outline ofStudy 3 II. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION AND ETHNICITY: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 6 Classical Understanding 6 Contemporary Conceptualizations 7 Understanding Religion through Ethnicity 9 Preserving Ethnicity through Religion 11 Preserving Etlmicity tlirough Religion among Immigrants 12 Two Ways ofMaintaming Ethnicity through Religion 14 A Constellation ofEthno-Religious Constructions 16 Conclusion 18 III. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION 20 Religious Identity 22 Ethnic Identity 25 Ethnodoxy: Defining the Concept 26 in Table ofContents - Continued CHAPTER The ConflationofReligiousand Ethnic Identities 28 Ethnodoxy, Mass BeliefSystems, and Popular Religiosity 29 Ethnodoxy and Modernity 31 The Plausibility of Ethnodoxy 33 IV. CONTEXT: RESURGENT ORTHODOXY AND RUSSIAN IDENTITY AFTER COMMUNISM 35 Regulations on Religion in Russia: A BriefSummary 36 The Resurgence of Religion in Post-Communist Russia 39 Russian Ethnic and National Identity 42 Ethnodoxy in Contemporary Russia 44 Conclusion 47 V. EMPIRICAL TASKS AND METHODS 48 Main Hypotheses 48 Data 51 Variables 53 Ethnodoxy 53 Religiosity 56 Perception of Nation 58 Political Orientation 58 Social Attitudes 59 Religious Tolerance and Xenophobia 59 Ethnodoxy among Russian Muslims 60 iv Table ofContents - Continued CHAPTER Religion and Ethno-National Identity 61 Social Determinants 62 Statistical Techniques 63 A Note on Comparative Research Methods 63 Case versus Variable-Oriented Approaches 64 Issues ofFunctional Equivalency 65 Analyzing Comparative Data: Similarities versus Differences 67 Conclusion 69 VI. THE SCOPE AND STRUCTURE OF ETHNODOXY IN POST- COMMUNIST RUSSIA 70 Frequency Distribution of Adherence to Ethnodoxy 70 Underlying Themes of Ethnodoxy among Ethnic Russians 73 Conclusion 76 VII. THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF ETHNODOXY 77 Background: Social Determinants of BeliefSystems 77 A Social Profile ofAdherents to Ethnodoxy 80 The Relationship between Ethnodoxy and Modernity 84 Conclusion 86 VIII. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOSITY AND ETHNODOXY 90 The Role of Religion in Ethnodoxy 90 Hypotheses 91 Table ofContents - Continued CHAPTER Religiosity of Ethnic Russians 92 The Relationship between Religiosity andEthnodoxy 100 Conclusion 106 IX. ETHNODOXY AND PERCEPTION OF NATION 114 Conceptualization and Hypotheses 116 Perception ofNation among Contemporary Ethnic Russians 119 The Relationship between Perception of Nation and Religiosity 121 The Relationship between Perception of Nation and Ethnodoxy 122 Conclusion 125 X. ETHNODOXY AND POLITICAL LIFE... 128 Individual Political Orientations and Behavior 130 Attitudes toward Political Institutions and Democracy 132 Attitudes toward Political Institutions in Contemporary Russia 132 Attitudes toward Democracy in Contemporary Russia 134 Hypotheses 138 Frequency Distributions ofIndicators of Political Orientation 138 The Relationship between Political Orientation and Ethnodoxy 141 General Patterns 142 The Relationship between Political Support and Ethnodoxy 147 Conclusion 150 VI Table ofContents - Continued CHAPTER XL ETHNODOXY AND ATTITUDES TOWARD POPULAR SOCIAL ISSUES 154 Social Issue One: Attitudes toward Abortion 155 Hypotheses 158 Operationalizing Attitudes toward Abortion 158 Religion and Attitudes toward Abortion in Post-Communist Russia 160 Ethnodoxy and Attitudes toward Abortion in Post- Communist Russia 161 Social Issue Two: Acceptance ofHomosexuals 165 Hypotheses 170 Operationalizing Acceptance of Homosexuals 170 Religion and Acceptance ofHomosexuals in Post- Communist Russia 171 Ethnodoxy and Acceptance ofHomosexuals in Post- Communist Russia 174 Conclusion 177 XII. RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE, XENOPHOBIA, AND ETHNODOXY 182 Religious Tolerance in Contemporary Russia 182 Hypotheses 187 Operationalizationand Frequency Distributions ofReligious Tolerance 187 The Relationship between Religious Tolerance and Ethnodoxy 192 Xenophobiain Contemporary Russia 194 vii Table ofContents - Continued CHAPTER Hypotheses
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