Association of Religiosity with Norms and Values. The Factor of Religious Socialization

Abstract

Contemporary sociology does not give a satisfactory answer to the question of what are the reasons for the weak influence of religion on norms and values observed in most post-socialist countries, including Russia. At the same time, in many countries religion has a significant impact on other areas of life. The issue of social factors and the mechanisms responsible for this effect becomes crucial for contemporary research. The knowledge of these factors is necessary for an adequate prediction of possible prospects for change in diff erent spheres of life in connection with a changing role of religion in public life and in the life of the population of a country. In this situation, it is not clear whether we should expect the growing influence of religion on society in Russia and other post-socialist countries, or, on the contrary, the decline of the impact in the regions where it still remains significant. One of the factors that influence the strength of association between individual religiosity and its consequences in the sphere of norms and values is religious socialization. Religion contains a set of attitudes, norms and values that are transmitted in the course of socialization. Religious socialization is a process of intera ction in which religious norms and values are transmitted from one generation to another, from group members to newcomers. The article discusses the problem of conceptualization of religious socialization and its application in the analysis of sociological data on micro- and macro- level.

Keywords

• sociology of religion
• religiosity
• Orthodox Christianity
• religious socialization
• agents of socialization
• values.