How The Orthodox Church Influences Russian Families And Putin’s Regime
(REVIEW) Six months after the invasion of Ukraine, the Putin regime announced a document titled “State Policy for the Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values.” The document aimed to shape the worldview of Russians by outlining various values, including a “strong family.”
Indeed, Putin has utilized the rhetoric surrounding the traditional values, which the Russian Orthodox Church has promoted, for his own purpose in wartime.
“Traditional values,” especially family values, are significantly central in the ROC teachings.
Why does it matter? And why is the Putin regime embracing these values?
In the book, “Family, Sex and Faith: The Biopolitics of the Russian Orthodox Church,” Professor Pål Kolstø, a Russian studies expert, provides insightful findings on how the Orthodox Church seeks to influence a nation and affect the personal lives of its citizens through the teachings of traditions and family.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Orthodox Church, which held a prominent position in the former Russian Empire, has sought to restore its leading role in society by advocating for “traditional values”. One strategy involves providing strict guidance on private and family matters. The ROC views the family as the fundamental building block of society. By enforcing ethical standards on family, the ROC believes it could help maintain the survival of Russian values.
The church’s strict involvement in intimate aspects of human life exemplifies biopolitics, a term coined by the French philosopher Michel Foucault. This religious puritanism allows the Church to exert power and establish a hierarchy over society and secular states.
The most intriguing aspect is, as Kolstø indicates, that the ROC seeks to intervene, through its ethics, in sexual relations both outside and within marriage. In the case of premarital intimacy, the ROC holds strict views on cohabitation. A well-known church leader has condemned those involved in cohabitation, referring to it as “unpaid prostitution” and stating that such individuals “begin to live like dogs.”
To married couples, the ROC establishes guidelines for spouses’ intimate lives, including specific regulations about timing and what a couple is allowed to do in sexual intercourse.
Interestingly, the doctrines on private life are driven by a significant concern for national issues. Surprisingly, the church’s strict rules regarding family and sexual conduct arise from its fear of a declining population, which it sees as a threat to Russia’s survival. Patriarch Kirill, the church's high priest, has even stated that demographic decline poses a risk of extinction for Russia.
Some members of the ROC claim that a “sinister force” is causing the fall in Russia’s birthrate, blaming the LGBTQ+ community. Patriarch Aleksii II, a predecessor of Patriarch Kirill, labeled homosexuality as an “illness” and a “distortion of the human personality.” Additionally, the author points out that some Orthodox Russians believe that greater acceptance of homosexuality hinders family formation and threatens national security by resulting in fewer soldiers being born.
To address demographic decline, the ROC emphasizes the importance of strengthening traditional Orthodox family values. Orthodox priests have published educational materials to teach students about behaviors in the family. The educational materials emphasize establishing hierarchy and authority as key elements of marriage and social order. Kolsto notes that some Russians view forceful measures as necessary to maintain authority and that Orthodox Russians are increasingly accepting of violence in child-rearing and marriage. Some Orthodox priests even claim, “If he beats you, it means he loves you.”
However, perceptions are shifting and for some faithful, violence is becoming less acceptable.
The ROC's biopolitical approach, which is tolerant of authoritarian tendencies in family, allures Putin. He has found it useful for fortifying his tyranny.
During the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Putin promoted conservative values to gain support. One of the main themes of the Kremlin's rhetoric is that the Western world has imposed “pseudo-Russian” values on Ukraine, making it the responsibility of Russians to reclaim their cultural roots. In this context, the Orthodox doctrines serve as a state organ disseminating anti-Western propaganda. In 2022, Putin echoed these thoughts: “Do we really want perversions that lead to degradation and extinction to be imposed on children in our schools from the primary grades?”
While the Kremlin promotes "traditional values" endorsed by the ROC, some Orthodox members criticize state propaganda. Their frustration arises not from contradictions with the ROC's arguments, but rather their ambition to have more influence on state policy, as the author notes.
Some Russian lawmakers disagreed with the ROC's stance against abortion, while others offered only lip service. Meanwhile, Putin tacitly remained neutral. The lack of government attention to this issue prompted the ROC to increase its criticism to pressure the state.
“Family, Sex and Faith: The Biopolitics of the Russian Orthodox Church” provides an in-depth academic research study. The author has amazingly collected and analyzed documents from the Russian Orthodox Church as well as sources from social media. His insights shed a new light on the religious influence it has on a wide range of personal matters and state policy. However, the writing style of the book can be stedious, with separate chapters and direct citations that may irritate general readers. It requires resilience to read through the dense paragraphs.
Although the book has its limitations, it is worth reading to understand contemporary Russian society, politics and religion. The research suggests the implication that the Putin regime has endured through war and opposition since it cleverly aligns its social agenda with the “traditional values” of numerous Russians.
Thien Bui is a Vietnamese writer who specializes in the history and religions of Southeast Asia.