Location Differences in the Character of the Institutional Religiosity of the Volyn Residents

Abstract

According to research data of the Sociological Group «Rating» (in cooperation with the SOCIS, and the Razumkov Center, and KIIS (2015)) and the Laboratory of Sociological Researches of the Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University (2010, 2015) a high level of the religious and confessional self-identification of residents of Volyn region was found. Thus, the inhabitants of the city of Lutsk have a higher level of religiosity than residents of rural areas (89 and 75 % respectively), while about 7% of the population in both types of location could not indicate a religious or church attendance. Besides the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev and Moscow Patriarchates, there are also Catholics, and Evangelists, and Baptists, and others in Volyn region. It is important that the other religions have a small share of believers, but they are historically formed and geographically cover the entire territory of the region.
The frequency of the church visits and the prayers also have location differences. In particular, the category «only in religious holidays» is a Median and a Mode of the frequency of attending the church – in this way and more often 83 % of the city residents and 80 % of the villagers visit the church. The category «once a week» is a Median of the frequency of prayer both for the residents of Lutsk and for the villagers (56 and 60 % pray once a week and more often, respectively). The sum of those who pray daily and several times a week is the same among the two compared cohorts, but usually the city residents pray every day (the Mode is 34%), and villagers pray several times a week (the Mode is 25 %). Those who never pray outside the church have very little. Trends of the additional religious practices do not depend on the location of residence, and have the following features: the realization of family rituals is the top-practice, the specifying of the practice of helping leads to a decrease the participation in them. The rate of appeal to the priest as the leader of the community is the lowest. In general, the rural population is more active in religious practices.

Faith in God and the value of this faith are the most important components of the «religious faith» for all the inhabitants of the region; they believe in the immortality of the soul least (among the villagers – 23 %, among the residents of Lutsk – 7 %). Parishioners believe that human actions are the cause of human suffering in this world (60 % of the villagers and 54% of the city residents strongly agree with this), and God's punishment for sin also (58 and 42 %, respectively), some believe in a particular destination or fate (50 and 25 %, respectively). Villagers believe in the divine causality of human suffering in this world, and in the fatalities of destiny much stronger.
In general, the majority of Volyn residents, especially in rural location, tend to a traditional religion with a domination of family rituals.