Гуманитарный вектор (Jul 2020)
Ontological and Socio-Psychological Foundations of Religious Addiсtion: Toward a Problem Statement
Abstract
The article presents the situation with the position of religion in modern Russia, which is characterized by contradictions. On the one hand, secularization has led to a lack of reliability and meaning for many people, on the other – the increased impact on people of various religious structures that promise stability and adaptability in the modern world. Religiosity as an individual quality is the unsolved problem. In sociological and socio-psychological studies, the marker of religiosity can act as a subjective self-identification, and involvement in religious practices as an objective characteristic of life, which under certain conditions becomes a manifestation of addictive behavior. Psychological science and modern psychiatric research distinguish chemical and non-chemical addictions. The article presents the materials of a sociological study, which confirms the tendency to increase religiosity among employees of the internal affairs bodies. In the course of developing a socio-psychological mechanism for the formation of religious addiction, we used the analysis of philosophical and socio-psychological literature, which reveals the theoretical foundations of religious addiction and structural and dynamic modeling. As a result of the conducted scientific analysis, the concept of “religiosity” is operationalized and “internal” and “external” religiosity are distinguished. The definition of non-chemical addiction is given and its main forms are highlighted. The article presents a model for the formation of external religiosity as a variant of non-chemical addiction, the essence of which is the human need to satisfy the need for security. A person in search of relieving tension and anxiety, having certain individual and personal characteristics, chooses external religiosity as the first adaptive psychological protection. Further, a pathological connection with the religious essence is established, with the help of which the needs of the individual are met, since religion in this version is a means for solving their problems. Previously adaptive defense becomes an addictive behavior model. External religiosity as a variant of dependent behavior leads the individual to establish a self-supporting system, which can lead to alienation from society and complete loneliness in the real world as well as diminishing of personal responsibility.
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