The ideology of religious stigmatization: imposed identities as a tool for constructing the national community in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Introduction This study examines how imposed religious identities operate as an ideological instrument in Kazakhstan’s post-Soviet transformation, with particular attention to the social production of stigma and the ways in which boundaries of the national community are articulated in public discourse. Methods Building on Erving Goffman’s concept of stigma and critical approaches to ideology and governance (Althusser, Gramsci, and Foucault), the article adopts an interdisciplinary case-study design combining descriptive analysis of secondary quantitative data with qualitative analysis of key legal and policy documents and a purposively selected set of six publicly accessible media and official materials published between 2016 and 2023. Results The analysis identifies changes in patterns of religious self-identification alongside differentiated discursive positioning of religious groups. Within the reviewed materials, “traditional” confessions, particularly Hanafi Islam and Orthodox Christianity, are associated with cultural heritage and social stability, whereas some movements categorized as “non-traditional” are linked to security-related and “foreign influence” narratives. These qualitative patterns are especially relevant to new religious movements, denominations perceived as non-traditional in the region, and youth whose religious learning is mediated by digital and transnational networks. Discussion The study concludes that formal commitments to freedom of religion and pluralism coexist with practices of differentiated regulation and representation that can contribute to the stabilization of confessional hierarchies within broader processes of nation-building.