Fundamentalism and rigorism in Orthodox Christianity: the case of contemporary Russia

Abstract

Since the last socialist years and especially the end of the Soviet Union, the importance of Orthodox Christianity has greatly increased in contemporary Russia. Religion is once again an integral part of public life, plays a major role for identity issues and is entangled with the political sphere in a variety of ways. In addition, it is important to underline that within Orthodox Christianity the fundamentalist circles are gaining ground and have a growing influence on society as a whole. Here a specific feature of Orthodox Christianity is visible, which emphasizes continuity with the early Christian Church. This is a very orthodox content of fundamentalism which is called rigorism and indicates that Orthodox Christianity perceives itself as the only legitimate heir of the Apostolic Church. For this reason, special emphasis is laid on preserving this tradition. Specifically, this is illustrated in this article, which is based on two ethnographic field studies in the Russian Federation, by describing the conflict of a company with a monastery and by referring to so-called “traditional moral values” and their relation to family issues. Traditional moral values are becoming increasingly important in the area of the family. Although there are convergences with other conservative religious communities outside the Russian Federation, joint efforts remained problematic and are rejected until today, especially by fundamentalist groups within the Russian Orthodox Church. As a result, a number of goals and aims could not be implemented despite ideological convergences and the rejection of the dominant liberal model.