Secularisation and the religious components of marriage seasonality in the Don Army Territory (Southern Russia), 1867–1916

Abstract

The quality of the statistical archives of the Don Army Territory for the period 1867–1916 offers a unique opportunity to compare the denominations present (Orthodox, Old Believers and Coreligionists, Catholics, Lutherans, Jews, Armenian-Gregorians, Lamaist Buddhists and Muslims) in a context of urbanisation, secularisation and industrialisation. The observance of religious interdicts varied between and within denominations depending on levels of urbanisation and the district considered. These contrasts reveal the segmentation of Don society, the constraints imposed by agrarian imperatives and military obligations, the differences in the economy and between town and country, and the advance of secularisation or persistence of tradition.

Superstitions, religiosity and secularization: an analysis of the periodic oscillations of weddings in Italy

“…Monger (1994) has observed that the superstition about May was also common in England: his analysis is focused on Essex. Bonneuil and Fursa (2013) report the widely held belief among Russian Orthodox populations that May marriages mark couples down for indigence.…”

“…They found that religious norms regarding Lent were respected in all nine communities, but that May credence was found only in the French communities and in one out of three Italian communities. Bonneuil and Fursa (2013) analysed a very interesting area, in terms of religious diversity, "The Don region" in Southern Russia from 1867 to the eve of the Russian Revolution. The analysis of this region allowed them to evaluate how the different religious calendars and popular beliefs associated with the different faiths of the area affected marriage seasonality.…”

Optimal seasonality of conception inferred from monthly marriage and birth time series in populations with no contraception

“…Seasonal components for marriages on Figure b appear of similar shape and hierarchy as seasonal components for births on Figure d. For example, no marriages were recorded during March and April in Figure (a) and (b), because of the Lent interdict . Correspondingly, the registration of births takes its lowest value about 9 months later, in December (Figure (d)).…”

“…Total numbers of marriages and births, and associated seasonality components, Armenian‐Gregorians, rural district of Rostovskii, 1889–1912. In (a) and (b), no marriages were recorded during March and April, because of the Lent interdict .…”

“…Fifth, this diffusion, combined with mortality, is taken into account to extract the probability of conception from the monthly distributions of births and marriages (Section 3). As an application, we reconstruct conception by month in a population living in southern Russia, in the rural district of Rostovskii (the hinterland of Rostov‐on‐Don), in the late 19th century and characterized by a contrasted seasonality of marriages (Section 4).…”