Promotion Of Traditional Values Research Articles

The Promotion of Traditional Values through Films and Television Programmes: The Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox Encyclopaedia Project (2005–2022)

On 26 May 2011, the Russian People’s World Council issued a document entitled The Basic Values: The Fundaments of National Unity. The document, prepared by the Synodal Department for Church–Society Cooperation, provided a catalogue of 17 traditional values whose general framework was constituted by a combination of freedom, unity, patriotism, family, and devotion. At that time, the Moscow Patriarchate considered religious faith to be the foundation of traditional values and it continues to do so. The defence and promotion of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values were also central in the Russian National Security Strategy (2015); this was the case in the updated version of this document as well, put out in July 2021. Furthermore, they have been the core of the Moscow Patriarchate’s participation in the Council of Europe and of Patriarch Kirill’s speeches about the war in Ukraine. Finally, on 9 November 2022, The Foundations Of State Policy For The Preservation Of Spiritual And Moral Values was approved. This framework permits us to understand the strict interplay between the Church and the State in the Russian Federation and to see why it is important to refer to the concept of post-secularism when talking about the role of religion in post-Soviet Russia. Proceeding from the Abstract, the present paper aims to analyse this interplay in a specific sector of visual culture: the cinema and television industries. Manuel Castells highlighted the relevance of cultural values in the age of information and the connection between the values and social mobilization that follows it. He pointed out that the Internet has become a way to render this connection predominant, inevitably leading to the development of social movements and networks that have a religious basis. This is unquestionably true; surveys conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (OJSC «VCIOM») and by Nevafilm Research confirm that a high percentage of Russians watch films not only at the cinema or on television (especially the older generations) but also on the Internet (as far as the younger generations are concerned). The importance of this market is also confirmed by the success of the cinema and TV distributor Orthodox Encyclopaedia (2005); in the words of the philosopher Sergei Kravets, who, commenting on it during an interview published in 2006 by the website Sedmits.ru, declared that the expression “orthodox cinema” can be understood as a way to express Russian culture. He asserts that “the fact that today Orthodox films have begun to appear on the central TV channels testifies that Russian film producers and viewers have apparently begun to be aware of themselves as Orthodox, to feel that they are bearers of a special Orthodox culture. [..]”. At the same time, consideration should be given to the importance of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Minister of Culture’s condemnation of films such as Matilda or Monastery. In addition, it is important to consider that, according to a survey conducted in 2022 by the Levada Center, Russian people consider television the most reliable source of information (54%). The long-term implications of this tendency may have very important effects, not only in terms of its objectives but also in terms of the consideration that, after the beginning of the war, many Western film distributors withdrew their licenses from Russia. This paper will analyse “the effect of religion on the institutional system, the regulatory environment of the media and the public sphere” by studying the features of films and TV programs distributed by Orthodox Encyclopaedia, their relations with traditional values promoted both by the Kremlin and the Church, how these have contributed to strengthening the interplay between the Minister of Culture and the Moscow Patriarchate, and the impact this process has had on Russian society and Russia’s relations with the European and Western World in the 2005–2022 period. A list of the films and TV programs being discussed will be provided, and then statements about the project and reviews of the serials and films will be analysed. The analysis will be conducted mainly through the official sites of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin and by browsing the Integrum database.

Наступление нарциссической культуры: заметки на полях

The response to the article by P.A. Orekhovsky and V.I. Razumov “The Onset of Narcissistic Culture: Consequences for Education, Science and Politics” is not a fully analytical review. It represents the result of certain empathy and it is also an attempt to articulate some thoughts generated by the reflection of modern social reality. The reviewed article was only the trigger for starting this work. Associations and intuitions, which appeared after reading of this article, indicate that the material presented by P.A. Orekhovsky and V.I. Razumov was able to bring the consciousness of a modern man out of the “comfort zone”. This fact suggests that the material presented by these authors has high relevance, which immediately raises the relevance of all its reviews. Despite the fact that the article under consideration is more essayistic than scientific, the object of investigation is narcissistic culture in modern conditions, when, according to P.A. Orekhovsky and V.I. Razumov, postmodernism serves as a unique medium for its dissemination. The subject – some features of its influence on the human community, including its manifestations in our country. As a set of methods of research or consideration of the problem, we use a combination of general logical methods, the method of historical analogies, elements of a systematic approach, as well as elements of an approach to social phenomena from the perspective of reconstructed archaic consciousness, its principles and its values. The most general conclusions of reviewing the article by P.A. Orekhovsky and V.I. Razumov are that narcissistic culture is a relatively obsolete (do not mix it with ‘archaic’) variant of pathological social development. It gained new strength in the conditions of technological progress, the emergence (or rather, reproduction) of thinking, which in post-industrial society was defined as postmodern. During the recent political confrontation of social systems, it was used as an ideological weapon. It launched the processes that turned out to be poorly controlled and it can only be resisted from the standpoint of healthy conservatism and the promotion of traditional values.

Modern Dishes: How Are They Named and What Do They Tell Us about Culinary Trends?

Abstract This research aims to uncover linguistic and cultural features in dish names, also known as culinaronyms. The purpose of this study is to show how the culinaronym is structured, specifically to examine the link between the components of the name and its semantic diversification within the word. Additionally, this study will identify the characteristics of the culinary trends of an ethnic group based on the dishes of that language. The results exhibit that culinaronyms are created by linking, recreating, adding, and rotating its components. In addition, the modern culinary trend is gradually synching with the trend of developing life, the need for healthy living and the promotion of traditional values, combined with modern factors. The prospect that the topic will contribute to the study of culinary language, especially within the field of identifiers, is the idea that it will create a foundation for the study of culinary culture based on the linguistic features of dish names, and food of one nation or another.

THE TRADITIONAL HARBOUR – THE SYMBOL OF ROMANIAN IDENTITY

The Romanian traditional harbour is one of the basic elements of the material society, which developed at the same time with the Romanian people. Knowing the traditional suit allows understanding of the characters of the Romanian people's and it contributes to the definition of ethnicity. In recent years, the return to the ethnic motifs of the popular suit is considered as a necessity in the inspirational sphere, also as a cultural reference present within the fashion system. The ethnic elements are particularly important as a symbol and as an archetype in contemporary fashion. A stylized ethno shirt is an element of the continuity of traditional harbour and promotion of traditional values in a novel way. This work presents the results of a study on the analysis of the defining characteristics of the traditional clothing in the entire Romanian space and their valorisation in the contemporary costume. The folk clothing from the Romanian folkloric regions were analysed in detail following the categories: ornaments, colour chromatics and symbolism of the traditional harbour ornaments and we have presented the maps with the ethnographic areas according to the cuts of the shirts for women and men. We have identified the elements of the traditional clothing used in the modern ethno style clothing of contemporary designers. The results of the study were outlined in a collection of women's clothing products; the compositional and constructive solution presents ways of capitalizing on the elements of the traditional Romanian clothing in the wardrobe of the contemporary woman.

Antanas Smetona as Advocate of the Native Language

Antanas Smetona (1874–1944) was one of the most active promoters of the innate self in the early 20th century. His attention to the national heritage and the native language was directly related to the growth of the movement of national liberation at the turn of the 20th century, as well as the struggle for the democratic school and the rights of the native language. According to the author, the Lithuanian revival was more than just the retention of the parent language. Rebirth meant the rise from contempt, recognition by other nations, spiritual renewal, and promotion of traditional values.
 More than once A. Smetona wrote in the press about a difficult state of the Lithuanian language and the disrespect of Lithuanians for the native language. He blamed intellectuals (teachers, journalists, or authors of textbooks) for their indifference to language pollution and advised everybody to learn Lithuanian from dialects, fiction, and quality press. A. Smetona encouraged intellectuals to improve the native language and raised the idea of the reinstatement of the language section in the Viltis newspaper; he believed enthusiasts able to moderate it would appear. He repeatedly emphasised the issues of language standardisation and purification, as well as the related problems, formulated the functions of the Lithuanian Language Commission set up in 1911, and recommended theoreticians and practitioners to join efforts in the solution of the language standardisation issues.
 As the author cherished the idea of a free nation, he stressed that the system of education has to be of a national character, all the Lithuanians have to at least learn to read and to write Lithuanian: the tsarist government-established primary schools did not provide the skills, therefore, the author encouraged learning from the experience of secret schools. Under the then conditions, family or home schools were the only way out. However, it was necessary to write textbooks, primers, reading and writing books suitable for family schools, and to provide quality Lithuanian penmanship examples.
 A. Smetona responded to the state of the Lithuanian language in Lithuanian secondary schools and taught in Vilnius gymnasiums after his working hours in the bank. A. Smetona believed that Lithuanian intellectuals had to demand more from the authorities, to be more active, and proposed to set up a committee to deal with the issues of the Lithuanian language.

‘The Spiritual and Moral Foundation of Civilization in Every Nation for Thousands of Years’: The Traditional Values Discourse in Russia

The concept of ‘traditional values’ occupies the place of honor in public discourse in Russia today being one of the components of the new ideological narrative. The article is focused on the strategy of the promotion of traditional values by its secular and religious protagonists. It includes three thematic sections: (1) the analysis of the interpretation of the historical past and its place in the concept of traditional values; (2) the investigation of the role of ‘the West’ as ‘enemy’ in constructing national identity and defending traditional values; and (3) the examination of the opposition of universality and particularism with regard to traditional values. The author concludes that the concept of traditional values as a response to social and political challenges is promoted by secular powers and religious authorities for the ideological consolidation of Russian society, as well as for the recruiting potential allies on the international arena. At the same time, the noticeable presence of traditional values in public discourse indicates the thirst for reliable meanings in the process of the search for national identity.

The Response of Mainline Protestant Clergy Members to the Moral Panic Regarding Harry Potter

This article builds upon and expands an earlier research project on the moral panic that surrounded the Harry Potter books and movies from 1997 through the first decade of the twenty-first century. Soulliere focused on the publications and public pronouncements of religious groups and leaders, media, and research organizations linked together by “the promotion of traditional values and a conservative ideology as well as a Judeo-Christian worldview, primacy of the family, and emphases on biblical foundations and authority” (Soulliere paragraph 14), which he refers to as the Christian Right. The current study seeks to discover the degree to which, if any, this moral panic extended beyond the Christian Right into the pulpits of mainstream Protestant denominations.

Transforming classroom discourse: An inuit example

Abstract This paper presents primarily quantitative data regarding forms of classroom discourse and turn allocation that emerged from a larger ethnographic study examining Inuit classroom interactions and discourse patterns in three kindergarten and three first grade Inuit‐taught classrooms in three Ungava Bay communities. The focus is on the transformational effects of the incorporation of culturally‐congruous social interaction patterns and the promotion of traditional values on these two aspects of Inuit classroom conversations. A model of mainstream classroom interactions based on the work of Mehan (1979) is used as a point of comparison to illustrate the extent to which the transformation of discourse has occurred in these six classrooms.