Family and Childbearing in the Life Course of the Old Believers

Abstract

The article begins with an examination of the theoretical relationship between religion and fertility in the frame of modernization. The development of concepts of reproductive behavior is presented in line with general social theories. Religiosity in the modern world, on the one hand, acts as one of the factors of reproductive behavior, and, on the other hand, affects social behavior in a broader sense, affecting the life choices in a variety of available alternatives. The author develops a methodology of analyzing the relationship between fertility and religion in a situation when the concept of religiosity becomes very vague. The empirical part of the work is based on a series of in-depth interviews with lay followers of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, as well as expert interviews with clergymen of this denomination. The Old Believers’ ethos combines elements of modernity (they are residents of large cities with the respective lifestyle) and the traditional attitudes in compliance with religious prescriptions. The author correlates the vision of the Old Believers of their life path with its modern scenarios. The question is to what extent informants preserve and implement the prescribed norm of having several children, what is the role of religion and community in this attitude. It shows how the Old Believers solve a typically modern puzzle of finding a balance between parenthood and other life roles. The article explores the transformation of the traditional family norms among the laity and clergy under the influence of external normative ideas.