Transcendent Love, Morality, and Sacrifice: How Discourses of Spirituality Shape Gender Roles in Russia

• In Event: Sustaining and Transforming the Communication Discipline: Examining the Relationship of Spirituality and Communication

Abstract

This study uses phenomenological interviews to explore the perceived nexus between “love,” discourses of spirituality and religiosity, and gender norms. The interviewees valorized the distinctiveness of Russian Orthodoxy (with its unique role of women), insisting that the differences between men and women go beyond the realm of physiology or social construction and include a vital spiritual component. Echoing Dostoevsky’s perspective, they viewed “love” as a means of finding inner peace and understanding the universe.

Author

• Olga Zaytseva, Univ of New Mexico