The Production of Christian Masculinity: The Case of Young Protestants in St. Petersburg

In the post-Soviet space, the process of reconstruction and creation of new meanings, the production of an alternative identity is taking place among religious groups, and the representatives of confessions themselves are involved in broad social trends associated, among other things, with changes in gender norms. This is also typical of Protestant denominations, one of which includes Evangelical Christians - Baptists, Pentecostals, Charismatics, which are characterized by an orientation towards personal growth on the spiritual path and individualism. At the same time, the issue of the production of gender norms, in particular, the concept of masculinity and its construction among evangelical Christians, remains poorly studied in the Russian academic literature. The main purpose of this work was to analyze the production of masculinity among young evangelical Christians in St. Petersburg. The study was carried out within the framework of a qualitative methodology, and the main method of conducting this study was a semi-structured interview. Within the framework of this work, the key meanings put by young evangelical Christians in the understanding of masculinity were analyzed. Three models of masculinity have been identified and described in which young evangelical Christians embody their different and ambiguous understanding of masculinity.