The Sociological Potential of the Theoretical Model of Conversion to Orthodoxy of St. Theophan (Govorov)
At the present stage of the activation of religious life in its individual and social manifestations, the study of the problem of religious conversion is of particular importance. Despite the availability of publications on this issue, there are practically no studies of the national heritage in the field of sociological study of the process of conversion of Russians to Orthodoxy. The purpose of this theoretical study is to identify and describe the sociological potential of the conceptual model of conversion to Orthodoxy by Theophan (Govorov). The work for the first time offers a sociological conceptualization of the views of Feofan (Govorov) on the main parameters of the process of conversion to Orthodoxy: the sociological meanings and meanings of the conversion process developed by the thinker are described; a meaningful characteristic of the social structure of conversion allocated by him is presented; the social practices, social factors and social features of conversion described by him are classified in the context of socialization and resocialization models of conversion. Some contradictions of the considered conceptual model of conversion are also revealed, its theoretical and methodological possibilities in application to sociological research are indicated, and its empirical verification within the framework of sociological studies of conversion to Orthodoxy of modern Russians is also proposed.