Postsecular Coping Mode (Pscm): The Mechanism of Sacred Meaning Reactivation Under Secular Pressure In Post-Soviet Societies

Authors

• Aruzhan Akhmetova ARU, Egyptian University of Islamic Culture Nur-MubarakFollow
• Mukhan Issakhan, Egyptian University of Islamic Culture Nur MubarakFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

Ахметова Аружан - Орцида id:  https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2512-3185                           

* Мухан Иссахан – идентификатор орцида: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4238-288X        

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of Postsecular Coping Mode (PSCM) to explain the changing psychological dynamics of religiosity in post-Soviet societies. Classical studies of religious coping typically conceptualize religion as a relatively stable strategy or behavioral response. However, under postsecular conditions, religious experience increasingly appears as a context-sensitive, episodically activated meaning-regulation mode. In response, the notion of coping mode is conceptualized as a distinct psychological category analytically differentiated from conventional coping frameworks. The proposed PSCM model describes the selective reactivation of sacred meaning resources under conditions of perceived secular pressure. Its processual architecture unfolds through four stages: (1) the trigger effect of secular pressure, (2) cognitive–meaning appraisal, (3) mode based activation of the sacred repertoire, and (4) psychological stabilization outcomes. In this framework, coping mode differs from both routine religious practice and classical coping strategies through its situational activation, variable intensity, and meaning reconstructive function. The analysis demonstrates PSCM’s explanatory potential for interpreting micro-religiosity and low-intensity religion in post-Soviet contexts. The findings challenge linear secularization assumptions and extend the psychology of religion literature by advancing a mode-based, processual understanding of religious coping in postsecular societies.

Recommended Citation

Akhmetova, Aruzhan ARU and Issakhan, Mukhan (2026) "Postsecular Coping Mode (Pscm): The Mechanism of Sacred Meaning Reactivation Under Secular Pressure In Post-Soviet Societies," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 46 : Iss. 9 , Article 15.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2912
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol46/iss9/15