Family and community: intergenerational transmission of religiosity in Russian Orthodox Church Parishes

The article examines religious socialization in the families of Russian Orthodox Church parishioners. The analysis is based on the survey of parishioners of 14 churches at the exit after the liturgy, conducted in 2012-2024 (the total sample size is 1393 respondents). Multiple studies show that family is the main primary religious socialization agent. At the same time, the replacement of age cohorts is considered one of the key factors of secularization. There is no consensus in the literature regarding the factors that lead to the gap in the intergenerational transmission of religiosity. The research, conducted by the authors, is aimed at studying the factors influencing the religious socialization of parishioners’ children. Logistic regression models reveal the relationship between attendance at religious services by parents, extended family members and the social environment and the intergenerational transmission of religiosity. The influence of socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, education, health, financial situation) on the processes of religious socialization is also analyzed. The results demonstrate an important role of regular church attendance not only within the nuclear family – by the child’s parents, but also by the older generation of the extended family – grandparents, and the broader social environment – the parents’ friends. Involvement of families in the parish community also has a noticeable effect on the successful religious socialization of young generations.