“Holy Place...”: Religious Monuments of Modern Russia in the Context of an Actor-network Approach

Abstract

The article demonstrates the possibility of applying an ANT to the analysis of religious monuments. The study of religion within the framework of memory studies demonstrates the realization of a trend laid down in the works of Durkheim regarding the distinction between religion and sacralization as a social phenomenon. From this point of view, religion cannot be regarded as an isolated social institution, but is a way of expressing the functional need to form a sacralized set of social practices and rituals that contribute to the consolidation of society and the strengthening of collective identity. At the same time, in a pluralistic society, the preservation of this function by religion appears to be methodologically archaic, which suggests the involvement of new theoretical approaches that can problematize the place of religion in social space, whilst demonstrating the heterogeneity and fragmentation of religious practices. As a new theoretical model, the article proposes to use the variant of ANT presented in the works of J. Law. Its main principles are the use of spatial metaphors in describing social objects, as well as emphasizing the material status of objects that conflict with spatial configurations. The application of this approach to the analysis of religious monuments allows us to talk about the distinction between the material and network projection of monuments. A religious monument is not just a product of the representation of a certain symbolic system, but also has its own status as an actor. On the one hand, it becomes part of existing network of interactions, and, on the other, it creates new connections and new antitheses that transform the existing memorial landscape, giving rise to new forms of spatial configurations.