The Role of Religion in Strengthening Social Integration: Historical Aspect (Global Retrospective and Russian Experience)
( Pp. 207-214)
More about authors
Dubrovin Vladimir L.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.); senior researcher; Institute of Sociology – Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Moscow, Russian Federation
Институт социологии Федерального научно-исследовательского социологического центра Российской академии наук
Институт социологии Федерального научно-исследовательского социологического центра Российской академии наук
Abstract:
The purpose of the study is to examine the integrative function of religion in a historical context. Theoretical and methodological foundations of the study: The research is based on the functional analysis of religion, Robert Bellah’s concept of religious evolution, the functional analysis of ritual, and the concept of secularization. Results of the study. The study analyzes the main religious mechanisms of social integration within the context of the historical dynamics of religion, tracing the changes in these mechanisms throughout the evolution of human communities and forms of religion. It is noted that in secular societies, the integrative functions of religion are not entirely lost but have become more localized, concentrated within individual groups and communities. Religion continues to serve as an important element of cultural heritage and collective identities, even when the dominance of the Church is a thing of the past. Research perspectives. The prospects of the research are related to the social need and actualization of the scientific analysis of the role of religion in social integration, as a factor that increasingly influences the condition of social consciousness in modern Russia.
How to Cite:
Dubrovin, V.L. (2026). The role of religion in strengthening social integration: Historical aspect (Global retrospective and Russian experience). Sociopolitical Sciences, 16(1), 207–214. DOI: 10.33693/2223-0092-2026-16-1-207-214. EDN: KRIZCG
Reference list:
Bakhtin M.M. François Rabelais and popular culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Moscow: Khudozh. lit., 1990. 543 p. ISBN: 5-280-00710-2.
Bellah R. The basic stages of religious evolution in the history of society. In: Religion and society. Reader in the sociology of religion. V.I. Garadja, E.D. Rutkevich (comp.). Moscow: Aspekt Press, 1996. Pp. 665–677. ISBN: 5-7567-0113-3.
Berger P. The sacred canopy: Elements of a sociological theory of religion. R. Safronova (transl. from Engl.). Moscow: New Literary Review, 2019. 208 p. ISBN: 978-5-4448-0951-8.
Kovachev A.N. Symbols of power and their interpretation in various cultural contexts. In: Sacralization of power in the history of civilizations. D.M. Bondarenko, L.A. Andreeva, A.V. Korotaev (eds.). Moscow: Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2005. Pp. 27–54. ISBN: 5-201-04806-4.
Ladynin I.A. Sacralization of royal power in Ancient Egypt at the End of the 4th – Beginning of the 2nd Millennium BCE. In: Sacralization of power in the history of civilizations. D.M. Bondarenko, L.A. Andreeva, A.V. Korotaev (eds.). Moscow: Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2005. Pp. 55–81. ISBN: 5-201-04806-4.
Nemirovsky A.A. Only a man, but not just a man: Sacralization of the king in Ancient Mesopotamia. In: Sacralization of power in the history of civilizations. D.M. Bondarenko, L.A. Andreeva, A.V. Korotaev (eds.). Moscow: Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2005. Pp. 82–140. ISBN: 5-201-04806-4.
Parsons T. The system of modern societies. L.A. Sedova, A.D. Kovaleva (transl. from Engl.). Moscow: Aspekt Press, 1997. 270 p. ISBN: 5-7567-0225-3.
Taylor Ch. A secular age. Transl. from Engl. Moscow: St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University, 2017. 967 p. ISBN: 978-5-89647-307-7. (Philosophy and Theology)
Bellah R. The basic stages of religious evolution in the history of society. In: Religion and society. Reader in the sociology of religion. V.I. Garadja, E.D. Rutkevich (comp.). Moscow: Aspekt Press, 1996. Pp. 665–677. ISBN: 5-7567-0113-3.
Berger P. The sacred canopy: Elements of a sociological theory of religion. R. Safronova (transl. from Engl.). Moscow: New Literary Review, 2019. 208 p. ISBN: 978-5-4448-0951-8.
Kovachev A.N. Symbols of power and their interpretation in various cultural contexts. In: Sacralization of power in the history of civilizations. D.M. Bondarenko, L.A. Andreeva, A.V. Korotaev (eds.). Moscow: Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2005. Pp. 27–54. ISBN: 5-201-04806-4.
Ladynin I.A. Sacralization of royal power in Ancient Egypt at the End of the 4th – Beginning of the 2nd Millennium BCE. In: Sacralization of power in the history of civilizations. D.M. Bondarenko, L.A. Andreeva, A.V. Korotaev (eds.). Moscow: Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2005. Pp. 55–81. ISBN: 5-201-04806-4.
Nemirovsky A.A. Only a man, but not just a man: Sacralization of the king in Ancient Mesopotamia. In: Sacralization of power in the history of civilizations. D.M. Bondarenko, L.A. Andreeva, A.V. Korotaev (eds.). Moscow: Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2005. Pp. 82–140. ISBN: 5-201-04806-4.
Parsons T. The system of modern societies. L.A. Sedova, A.D. Kovaleva (transl. from Engl.). Moscow: Aspekt Press, 1997. 270 p. ISBN: 5-7567-0225-3.
Taylor Ch. A secular age. Transl. from Engl. Moscow: St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University, 2017. 967 p. ISBN: 978-5-89647-307-7. (Philosophy and Theology)
Keywords:
religion, ritual, legitimization, sacred, mythology, hierarchy, secularization, social integration, conflict.
