American Conservatives and the Allure of Post-Soviet Russian Orthodoxy

Bibliographic Data

ID3492299
AuthorsSarah Riccardi‐swartz (0000-0001-9226-975X, Arizona State University, corresponding author), Sarah Riccardi-Swartz
Year2021
Volume12
Issue12
Pages1036
Publication date2021-11-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel12121036
OpenAlexW3216394145
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited29

This article explores the growing affinity for the post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church by far-right Orthodox converts in the United States, highlighting how the spiritual draw to the faith is caught up in the globalizing politics of traditionalism and a transnational, ideological reimaging of the American culture wars. Employing ethnographic fieldwork from the rural United States and digital qualitative research, this study situates the post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church in the international flows of conservativism focused on reclaiming social morals and traditional religiosity. In doing so, this article sheds light on how the post-Soviet Orthodox Church is viewed politically by a growing contingent of American religious and political actors who are turning to Russian Orthodoxy and Putin's government during this New Cold War moment of tension between the United States and Russia. I argue that the allure of the post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church for conservatives in the West offers us a window into how the institution is situated imaginatively within transnational politics, thereby providing us insights into the rapidly transforming culture wars fomenting globally

Faith · Ideology · Institution · Orthodoxy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Russian culture · Sociology · Theology · Law · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Religious Tourism and Spaces

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Open DOIOpen Access