EXPLAINING A CHOICE OF DENOMINATION

Abstract

Though the data of the latest Russian census of 2002 are presently unavailable, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, mass media, and scholars agree that an increase in ethnic and religious diversity in Russian cities is evident following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. On the one hand, there is a high influx of migrants from regions which previously contributed little to the population of Russian megalopolises (such as the Northern Caucasus, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia), as well as from countries outside the former USSR. On the other hand, general interest in religion has increased because of declining economic conditions, the end of state atheist politics, and a loss of ideological reference points such as communism. This has led to the conversion of some St Petersburg residents to denominations that are non-traditional for their ethnic groups (Islam, Bahai, Buddhism, etc.). At the same time, some migrants have converted to denominations that are non-characteristic of their ethnic groups (mainly Greek Orthodox and various Protestant denominations). Religious mobility can generate problems. When a ‘deserter’ converts to a denomination that is not specific to her/his ethnic group, s/he commits a double ‘misdeed’, affecting not only her/his former religious group, but also a group of her/his ethnic origin. That is why members of the convert's group may react negatively to such a desertion, and these reactions can damage inter-denominational and inter-ethnic relations. This article is based on my exploratory analyses of viewpoints and religious histories of those who belong to the traditional denominations of their ethnic groups as well as of converts, and discusses correlations between their ethnic and religious identities.