printAttutudes toward Migrants in Russia:
the Role of Religiosity Level and Belonging to Denomination
Mastikova N.S.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Leading Researcher, Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia navor@bk.ru
Mastikova N.S. Attutudes toward Migrants in Russia: the Role of Religiosity Level and Belonging to Denomination. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2020. No 4. P. 144-148
The article discusses attitudes towards migrants depending on the religiosity level in Russia as part of the group threat theory. Based on the materials of the European Social Survey (2016), it was established that the majority of respondents consider themselves to be followers of the Orthodox faith. At the same time, most people attend services and pray only in connection with religious holidays. Most respondents rate their level of religiosity as low. In relation to the attitude towards migrants and the assessment of changes introduced by migrants, we observe that respondents with a low level of religiosity are most negatively disposed. At the same time, respondents with a high level of religiosity also positively assess the changes introduced by migrants and approve entry of migrants into our country. Groups of Russians with varying degrees of religiousness are differentiated according to socio-demographic characteristics. It is concluded that respondents with a low level of religiosity are negatively disposed towards migrants in connection with the explanation given by the group threat theory. Representatives of this group are predominantly men in working age (30–35 years old), who may be experiencing competition with migrants for jobs, while the group of a high level of religiosity is predominantly women aged over 60, mostly retired. The thesis that a high religiosity of the respondents is positively associated with inter-ethnic consent is thus confirmed.
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