FAMILY RELATIONSHIP IN RELIGIOUS FAMILIES: CONTEMPORARY STUDIES

The paper examines the influence of religiosity on various aspects of the family relationship in Russia. The concept of “religious family” is studied from the standpoint of the contemporary psychological body of knowledge. Analysis of existing studies of religiosity in Russian families and its influence on various aspects of social communication in a family are included. One of such aspects of the family relations is relations between parents and children, in particular, the tendency to use physical punishment as a consequence of parents’ religiosity. The correlation between the parents' religiosity and the frequency of physical punishment of the children is defined. The paper also presents the results of the research which reveal the correlation between the religiosity of spouses and their level of satisfaction in the marriage as well as their way of undergoing stressful situations. One of the key issues is the influence of religiosity on the number of divorces, and if the family still maintains its significant status as a source of religious values within the context of different religions. Protestantism is studied as one of the Christian confessions in Russia. On the one hand, Protestantism has got certain influence on Russian society; on the other hand, due to historical and political reasons, Protestantism in Russia is a fairly closed group. The paper presents the results of the research which demonstrate the diverse manifestation of religiosity in the context of Orthodox Church and that of Protestantism. So, the diversities in religious lives influence modern families in Protestant churches. Protestant religious families have got specific features and values. The problem of insufficient knowledge of modern Protestant religious families in Russia is raised.