In his talk Professor Marat Shterin will explore how religion in Russia is being reshaped under the shadow of the war in Ukraine. He will begin by proposing new ways to trace the long arc of imperial and Soviet approaches to governing the country’s vast religious landscape. He will then turn to the present, examining how Russian Orthodoxy, Islam and Buddhism are being reconfigured - both institutionally and in everyday practice. As he tracks the intensifying sacralisation of militarism and the political order it upholds, he will also foreground the quieter currents of resistance and grassroots expressions of lived religion that unsettle the prevailing narrative.
Marat Shterin is Professor of the Sociology of Religion at King’s College London. From 2016 to 2021, he served as Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. He studied history and social science in Moscow and holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he also taught between 2001 and 2004. Professor Shterin is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Religion, State & Society (Taylor & Francis). His research focuses on religious innovation across traditions, religion and law, and religion and politics, with particular attention to Russian Orthodoxy and Islam. He is the author and editor of numerous publications, including Dying for Faith: Religiously Motivated Violence in the Contemporary World, Demystifying the Caliphate (2014), and Islam in Russia: Politics and Society (2024).
Booking will close 24 hours before the scheduled date for the event, i.e. by 7.00 pm on Wednesday,11th March, so that we can notify KCL in advance of the names of those who have booked to attend in-person. GBRS will disseminate the Microsoft Teams link by email to online attendees on the evening of Wednesday, 11th March after 7.00 pm or on the morning of Thursday, 12th March. It would be helpful if on Thursday,12th March you could aim to arrive at the Strand Building between 6.30 pm and (at the latest) 6.45 pm so as to register in good time at reception. KCL will kindly be providing drinks from 6.30 pm on.