Axiological and cultural specifics of the interpretation of the concept of "sin" in modern Catholicism (on the example of digitized sermons of the Russian Catholic clergy)

Abstract

The object of the study is the process of communication of social groups, considered from the point of view of its value bases. The subject of the study is the conceptualization of the concepts of "sin" in the (digitized) sermons of Russian Catholic pastors, which are texts that are precedent for the environment of Russian Catholics. The purpose of the work is to establish the dominant trends in the interpretation of the concept of "sin" that exist in this community. To achieve this goal , the following tasks were set: 1) identify specific religious groups whose discourse analysis will clarify the existing interpretations of this concept; 2) select a relevant methodology that allows you to begin analyzing these interpretations; 3) correlate the results obtained with the basic text that establishes framework interpretations (in this case, it will be the catechism of the Catholic Church). The research methodology is based on the application of a comprehensive philosophical and cultural method based on axiological, anthropological and hermeneutic approaches. Content analysis and discourse analysis are used as specific methods. The scientific novelty of the work consists in establishing the possibilities and limits of the axiological "extensibility" of the concept of "sin" on the example of specific materials with a potentially wide audience (in addition to representatives of the community of Russian Catholics, any Internet users can enter it). Introducing the concept of "sin" as one of the cultural constants of Christianity as a whole, the considered sermons broadcast its stable canonical interpretations. There were no value reversals associated with possible responses to the transformation of social relations and the reflection of this process in the value consciousness of the authors of the studied sermons. At the same time, as a result of the scientific analysis of the collected material, unexpected results were revealed. Firstly, the sema "sin" is relatively rare in the digitized sermons of the Russian Catholic clergy. Secondly, while maintaining a negative assessment of sin, there is practically no meaningful analysis of this concept. Instead, a constellation of concepts built around "love" and "mercy" becomes a conjugate semantic field.