The Political Choice of Orthodox Believers in Russia: Strengths and Limitations of Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Research

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that religiosity is a heterogeneous concept combining identities, practices, and beliefs. At the same time, most of these studies are based on a quantitative methodology. It allows a relationship between religiosity and the political choice of believers to be found, but imposes a limitation on the analysis. The quantitative methodology does not control the interactions of aspects of religiosity, and cannot explain the discovered relationships. This paper proposes an alternative research strategy, specifically, (1) the proposed model allows an analysis of the multiple influences of both religious and non-religious identities, practices and beliefs, and that (2) the qualitative data collected from in-depth interviews with believers complements previous research of the mechanisms of religious influence on political choice. A subjective assessment of one’s position and the actions of the authorities are the most important aspects to the voter (the role of beliefs). An assessment leads to a political choice when (1) a group-identity intensifies the significance of the political problem and poses questions for the individual, and (2) a set of norms and practices provides clues on how to solve a problem. An empirical test of the model was carried out in 2019 in three settlements in the Lipetsk region. The findings illustrate the sufficient potential of the chosen research strategy. The different political choice among respondents, who were expected to have the same political attitudes by quantitative indicators, are explained through the choice of motives and context.