Godspeed - 10/03/10

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RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY. With special guest Dr. Jerry Pankhurst, author and Professor of Sociology at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Dr. Pankhurst is a leading scholar of the societies of Russia and the Post-Soviet region. He teaches on this topic, as well as on sociology of religion and political sociology.

He has co-edited two books of original articles on Soviet society, Contemporary Soviet Society (1980) and Understanding Soviet Society (1988) and has contributed articles to several other scholarly collections and professional journals, including Sociological Inquiry, Religion in Communist Lands, Journal of Family Issues, and Journal of Church and State. He is co-editor of the book, Family, Religion and Social Change in Diverse Societies. He also has developed a teaching and research specialization on Islam and Islamic societies, with special interest in Egypt.

Topics in this hour include: the new U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey that demonstrates how large numbers of Americans are uninformed about religion; what ‘sociology of religion’ is; how the Cold War sparked Pankhurst’s interest in studying the Soviet Union; the history and rich tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Communistic attempt at severing ties to it; how religious practice went underground in Russia during the Soviet period, when shrines were created in homes; the role of symbols, music and icons in Russian spirituality and art; the Eastern Church’s relationship to other churches; the rise of religious intolerance and how education and interaction may heal it; and much more.