Bessokirnaya G.P., Bolshakova O.A., Karakhanova T.M. Investigating the Spiritual and Moral State of Russian Society. Social Sciences. 2024. Vol. 55. No. 1. Pp. 4-27.

Abstract

This article examines the spiritual and moral state of Russian society based on repeated studies conducted between 2003 and 2020 in the regional centers of seven regions of the Russian Federation. The study analyzes self-assessments of religious feelings and the importance of values such as “moral qualities,” “religious faith,” and “religious activity.” It also explores perceptions of moral norms and deviations from them, as well as the life orientations of various urban population groups. The value of “moral norms and morality” has been and remains important to most urban dwellers, although its significance is gradually decreasing. The importance of values such as “religious faith” and especially “religious activity” is substantially lower, but they remain important to a minority. There is a correlation between the importance of “moral norms, morality” and the importance of “religious faith.” The spiritual and moral values of urban residents are reflected in the actual amount of time they spend on religious activities, which, however, is fairly small. Urban dwellers’ perceptions of moral virtues as norms remain stable, being identical for gainfully employed residents and students. The dominant life orientations of urban dwellers are “material well-being,” “physical health,” “work for wages,” “children,” and “marriage, family.” To the religious, values like “children” and “marriage, family” are more significant. Evaluations of various aspects of daily life practically do not differ between believers and non-believers. Judging from self-assessments of respondents, the moral state of Russian society is improving, despite signs of blurring distinctions between virtues and non-virtues as norms and deviations from norms observed between 2007 and 2020. However, urban dwellers’ assessments of the moral state of Russian society are lower than their assessments of the conditions of their daily lives and their social well-being. Negative assessments of justice in Russian society influence evaluations of its moral state. The preservation and strengthening of traditional spiritual and moral values will contribute to the social adaptation of urban residents to the new social reality.

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