The Moralist International

Russia in the Global Culture Wars Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought

eBook, 208 pages

English language

Published Dec. 19, 2022 by Fordham University Press.

ISBN:
9781531502140
ASIN:
B09YJ78PVX
2 stars (1 review)

The Moralist International analyzes the role of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state in the global culture wars over gender and reproductive rights and religious freedom. It shows how the Russian Orthodox Church in the past thirty years first acquired knowledge about the dynamics, issues, and strategies of Right- Wing Christian groups; how the Moscow Patriarchate has shaped its traditionalist agenda accordingly; and how the close alliance between church and state has turned Russia into a norm entrepreneur for international moral conservativism. Including detailed case studies of the World Congress of Families, anti-abortion activism, and the global homeschooling movement, the book identifies the key factors, causes, and actors of this process. Kristina Stoeckl and Dmitry Uzlaner then develop the concept of conservative aggiornamento to describe Russian traditionalism as the result of conservative religious modernization and the globalization of Christian social conservatism.

The Moralist International continues a line of …

1 edition

Sensible in its assessments, but wearisome

2 stars

A repetitive one, even for a thesis. Easily forgets the conceptual framework laid in the beginning (modernity, secularist Church), turning to a plain sociological study—which has a nice line of thinking, but could be more exhaustive. For some reason, not remotely interested in the origins of Kirill’s politics, leaving blank space right in front of his “civilizing” text for Nezavisimaya in February, 2000. Takes a plunge in the Epilogue to predict what’s coming (since the invasion greatly changed the whole landscape authors had studied), which feels kinda desperate.

Subjects

  • Russian Conservatism
  • Human rights and religion