Old Believers on the Internet: The Category of “Desecration” and “Purity” in the Virtual Space

Abstract

This article examines two problems - the process of mediatization of OldBelievers and the attitude of modern Old Believers to the categories of ritual purity and desecration using the example of discussions in online groups of social networks. The study is based on the analysis of the Old Believers thematic virtual communities. The theoretical basis was the concept of “deep mediatization” proposed by Andreas Hepp. The main goals of the study were to analyze how relevant the concepts of ritual purity and desecration remain for modern Old Believers as well as to trace the process of mutual influence and transformations between the community of followers of the Old Faith and the media environment. Considering the content of several Old Believer groups on the VKontakte website and Telegram channels, the author analyzes through which topics and spheres the categories of ritual purity and desecration manifest themselves, based on the statements of Old Believers in the virtual space. The use of the concept of deep mediatization and terminology proposed in the monograph “Deep Mediatization” by A. Hepp makes it possible to comprehensively analyze the process of entering the public space of a once very closed religious group. The article also touches the issues of self-representation of modern Old Believers on the Internet, the influence of trends of globalization, commercialization and individualization, and the direction of religious development in a post-secular society.