Social capital and religiosity in Russia: Analysis from the “donor” and “recipient” perspective
The article discusses the dynamics of various indicators of social capital in Russia and the relationship of social capital with religiosity and socio-demographic factors. The analysis is based on national representative surveys “Orthodox Monitor” (1500 respondents, 2011) and “Religion and Church” (1549 respondents, December 2020). We define social capital as involvement in social support networks. We differentiate between several types of resources, and distinguish the position of “the donor” and “the recipient” (Забаев, Орешина, Пруцкова, 2014). Indicators of social capital from the “recipient” include the size and composition of the social support network. Compared to 2011, the structure and size of the social support networks in 2020 turned out to be quite stable. The types of resources are evaluated via a modified “Resource Generator” method, which includes 18 different resources that can be combined into four broad categories: personal support, personal skills, prestige and education related resources, and financial skills / employment opportunities. Indicators of social capital from the “donor” perspective include the provision of household assistance, material assistance, and moral support. Compared to 2011, Russians have become more likely to act as “donors” of social capital in all three domains. There is also a significant decrease in the proportion of “hard to answer” option in all items. The COVID-19 pandemic has sharply raised the issue of inclusion in social support networks, both from the “donor” and the “recipient” perspective. Even if people were not included in the provision of care and did not receive help from others, at least they began to think about it, and this topic turned out to be more relevant for people in 2020. In the “Religion and Church” survey, religiosity was measured via a modified “Centrality of Religiosity Scale” proposed by S. Huber. Linear regression models show a significant relationship of various indicators of social capital with the intellectual dimension and the social component of religiosity. Among socio-demographic indicators, age, financial situation and having a paid work play a significant role in the formation of social capital.
Figures
Prutskova, E. V., Zabaev, I. V., Markin, K. V. (2022), “Social capital and religiosity in Russia: Analysis from the “donor” and “recipient” perspective”, Research Result. Sociology and management, 8 (2), 39-59. DOI:
10.18413/2408-9338-2022-8-2-0-4
While nobody left any comments to this publication.
You can be first.
Barsukova, S. Yu. (2005), “Network Exchanges of Russian Households: Experience of Empirical Research”, Sociological Studies, 8, 34-45. (In Russian).
Bourdieu, P. (2002), “Forms of Capital”, Journal of Economic Sociology, 3 (5), 60-74. (In Russian).
Vrublevskaya, P. V. (2016), “Сirculation of children' items in Christian Orthodox Parish: Observations to the gift exchange theory”, Researches inReligious Studies, 1 (13), 103-27. (In Russian).
Gradoselskaya, G. V. (1999), “Social Networks: Private Transfers Exchange”, Sociological Journal, (1-2), 156-163. (In Russian).
Zabaev, I. V. (2011), “Sacred Individualism’ and the Community in Contemporary Russian Orthodoxy”, in Agadjanian, A. and Rousselet, C. (eds.), Prihod i obshhina v sovremennom pravoslavii: kornevaja sistema rossijskoj religioznosti [Parish and Community in Contemporary Orthodoxy: The Root System of Russian Religiosity], Moscow, Ves' Mir, 341-354. (In Russian).
Zabaev, I. V., Oreshina, D. A and Prutskova, E. V. (2014), “Social Capital of the Russian Orthodox Christianity in the Early 21st Century: Applying Social Network Analysis”, State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide, 32 (1), 40-66. (In Russian).
Karpich, Y. (2021), “The Political Choice of Orthodox Believers in Russia: Strengths and Limitations of Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Research” Russian Sociological Review, 20 (2), 48-69. (In Russian).
Knorre, B. K. and Murashova, A. A. (2021), “In the Beginning Was the Word; Will a Number Be in the End? Orthodoxy and Anti-digital Protest in Russia: From the 1990s to the Coronavirus”, Mir Rossii, 30 (2), 146-166. (In Russian).
Kublitskaya, E. A. and Nazarov, M. M. (2019), “Dynamics of religiosity in contemporary Russia according to research in the capital region”, Vestnik Rossijskoj akademii nauk, 11 (89), 1120-1127. (In Russian).
Lebedev, S. D. (2020), “Virtualization of Religious Communities as a Key Tool to Understanding the Evolution of Sociological Concepts of Religiosity”, Concept: Philosophy, Religion, Culture, 4 (3), 85-104. (In Russian).
Lebedev, S. D. and Blagoevich, M. (2014), “Institutional and Personal Identification of Orthodoxy in Russia and Serbia”, Chelovek, (3), 107-111. (In Russian).
Malakhov, V. S. and Letnyakov, D. E. (2019), “The Russian State in the Religious Sphere (or National Secularism)”, Mir Rossii, 28 (4), 49-67. (In Russian).
Oreshina, D. A., Vrublevskaya, P. V., Zabaev, I. V. and Pavlyutkina, E. L. (2018), «Partnerskij prihod»: Sotrudnichestvo svjashhennikov i mirjan v razvitii social'noj dejatel'nosti v prihodah RPC v nachale XXI veka [“Partner Parish”: Cooperation of Priests and Laity in the Development of Social Activities in the Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Beginning of the 21st Century], Moscow, Izd-vo PSTGU. (In Russian).
Pavlyutkin, I. V. (2020), “Dynamics of religious commitments of young people in Russia”, Research Result. Sociology and Management, 6 (3), 153-183. (In Russian).
Alexseev, M. A. and Zhemukhov, S. N. (2015), “From Mecca with Tolerance: Religion, Social Recategorisation and Social Capital”, Religion, State and Society, 43 (4), 371-391.
Allport, G. W. and Ross, M. J. (1967), “Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5 (4), 432-443.
Coleman, J. (1990), Foundations of Social Theory, Cambridge, MA.
Faulkner, J. E. and de Jong, G. F. (1966), “Religiosity in 5-D: An Empirical Analysis”, Social Forces, 45 (2), 246-254.
Gaag, M.V-D. and Snijders, T. A. B. (2005), “The Resource Generator: Social Capital Quantification with Concrete Items”, Social Networks, 27 (1), 1-29.
Glock, Ch. Y. (1962), “On the Study of Religious Commitment”, Religious Education, 57 (4), 98-110.
Huber, S. (2009), “Religion Monitor 2008: Structuring Principles, Operational Constructs, Interpretive Strategies”, in Rieger, M. (ed.), What the World Believes: Analyses and Commentary on the Religion Monitor 2008, Gütersloh, Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, 17-51.
Huber, S. and Huber, O. W. (2012), “The Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS)”, Religions, 3 (3), 710-724.
Inglehart, R. and Norris, P. (2004), Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide, Cambridge, UK; New York, Cambridge University Press.
Kaasa, A. (2015), “Culture, Religion and Social Capital: Evidence from European Regions”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 35 (11/12), 772-794.
King, M. B. (1967), “Measuring the Religious Variable: Nine Proposed Dimensions”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 6 (2), 173-190.
King, M. B. and Hunt, R. A. (1975), “Measuring the Religious Variable: National Replication”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 14 (1), 13-22.
Portes, A. (2000), “Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology”, in Lesser, E. L. (ed.), Knowledge and Social Capital: Foundations and Applications, Boston, Butterworth-Heinemann, 43-67.
Prutskova, E. V. (2021), “Social vs. Individual Centrality of Religiosity: Research in Religious and Non-Religious Settings in Russia”, Religions, 12 (15), 1-18.
Putnam, R. D. (2001), Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York, Simon & Schuster.
Sapin, M., Joye, D. and Wolf, C. (2020), “The ISSP 2017 Social Networks and Social Resources Module”, International Journal of Sociology, 50 (1), 1-25.
Schneider, J. A. (2006), Social Capital and Welfare Reform: Organizations, Congregations, and Communities, New York, Columbia University Press.
Schulte, D. and Cook, L. (2020), “Faith-Based Welfare Provision in Russia.” In Miguel, G. and Manuel, P. Ch. (ed.), Faith-Based Organizations and Social Welfare: Associational Life and Religion in Contemporary Eastern Europe, Cham, Springer International Publishing, 37-57.
Stark, R. and Glock, Ch. Y. (1968), American Piety: The Nature of Religious Commitment, Berkeley, University of California Press.
Swart, I. (2017), “Social Capital, Religious Social Capital and the Missing Element of Religious Ritual”, Religion & Theology, 24 (3-4), 221-249.
Unruh, H. R. and Sider, R. J. (2005), Saving Souls, Serving Society: Understanding the Faith Factor in Church-Based Social Ministry, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
Wuthnow, R. (2006), Saving America: Faith-Based Services and the Future of Civil Society, Princeton, Princeton University Press.
Zasanska, N. (2019), “New Producers of Patriarchal Ideology: Matushki in Digital Media of Russian Orthodox Church”, ESSACHESS - Journal for Communication Studies, (12), 99-128.
Статья подготовлена в рамках проекта «Социальная работа Русской Православной Церкви: факторы развития и проблема институционализации» при поддержке гранта Президента Российской Федерации на развитие гражданского общества, проект № 20-1-037307