Miroshnikova E.M., Sgibneva O.I. About the Methodology on Religious Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2026.2.14
Elena M. Miroshnikova
Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), Professor, Chief Researcher, Research Center of Cultural and Religious Studies, Leningrad State University named after A.S. Pushkin
Peterburgskoe Shosse, 10, 196605 Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3612-3016
Olga I. Sgibneva
Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), Professor, Department of Russian Statehood, Sociology and Political Sciences, Volgograd State University
Prosp. Universitetsky, 100, 400062 Volgograd, Russian Federation
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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6397-6148
Abstract. The authors address the challenges facing contemporary religious studies amid the changing role and status of religion in society and examine how these challenges were approached in the academic works of Doctor of Sciences (Sociology) Professor M.Yu. Smirnov (1955–2025). This prominent scholar engaged with questions of the integrity of scientific knowledge about religion, the necessity of accounting for social and historical context, and the transformations unfolding in the religious landscape of the contemporary world. As an advocate for the unity of theoretical and empirical methods in studying modern religious processes, M.Yu. Smirnov consistently tracked shifts in the format of religion’s presence in both public and private space, cautioning researchers against one-sided assessments of complex dynamics in the religious sphere. This applies to the problems of secularization/ desecularization, differentiation and pluralization of the religious field, clericalization of society and the politicization of religion, and the role of technological development and digitalization. In this context, the study of religion – with its capacity for deep and multifaceted engagement with its subject – acquires particular significance for understanding the contemporary world and for shaping state policy on interaction with religious associations, given the dynamics of religions and the evolving character of their influence on individuals and society. The methodological approaches to the study of contemporary religious processes developed by M.Yu. Smirnov and set out in his academic works of religion serve as a foundation for the advancement of sociological knowledge, within which he assigned a central place to the sociology of religion. The prospects of religious studies are determined above all by the discipline’s capacity for communicative practice and for grasping the full scope of religious life as a defining feature of contemporary society.
Key words: religion, religious studies, transformation of religion, religious institutions, georeligion, desecularization, secularization, culturalization of religion.
Citation. Miroshnikova E.M., Sgibneva O.I. About the Methodology on Religious Studies. Logos et Praxis, 2026, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 140-150. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2026.2.14
About the Methodology on Religious Studies © 2026 by Miroshnikova E.M., Sgibneva O.I. is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
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