Expanding Religion : Religious Revival in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe

by Tomka, Mikl[s

• ISBN13: 9783110228151
• ISBN10: 3110228157
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-01-17
• Publisher: De Gruyter

Summary

In sharp contrast to Western developments post-communist Europe experienced a spectacular religious revival after 1989. Previously marginalized believers and churches became accepted and active participants of social life. Several successive surveys of three international projects studied religious revival and variations of religiosity, the social image of religious people and their specific private and public behaviour in the period between 1991 and 2008. The present volume is the first ever cross-national and cross-denominational comparative analysis of these results.

Table of Contents

Does religion in Eastern and Central Europe matter?	p. 1
The religious situation in Eastern and Central Europe - to whom is it important?	p. 1
Religious growth - the two sides of the coin	p. 4
What do we mean when we talk about religion, being religious? - The religious system	p. 9
What are our sources of information concerning religiosity and churches in Eastern and Central Europe?	p. 19
Public opinion on religion and the churches	p. 27
Notions of religion and religious people	p. 27
Public opinion on the churches	p. 40
Revival? Crisis? Metamorphosis? - Versions of religious change	p. 61
What do people think of religious change?	p. 62
Ideological identity - Do people consider themselves to be religious?	p. 69
Faith and beliefs	p. 83
Belief in God	p. 84
Images of God	p. 86
Belief in Jesus and other beliefs	p. 88
Traditional church belief and folk beliefs	p. 94
Religious or believer?	p. 100
Conclusion: Pluralism of beliefs	p. 104
Religious worship - the act of turning towards the sacred	p. 105
Celebrations of turning points in life	p. 105
Church attendance	p. 110
Prayer	p. 114
Religious objects	p. 118
Folk and heterodox religious practices	p. 120
Conclusion: The permanence of worship	p. 123
The hidden dimension of religion: experiences and emotions	p. 124
A role of religion in the organization of life	p. 130
The meaning of life	p. 133
Who are satisfied and happy?	p. 136
Religion and morality	p. 139
Human relations	p. 141
Family and child	p. 144
Endorsement of the family	p. 146
Option for children	p. 153
Male and female roles	p. 158
Responsibility for the elderly	p. 162
Social commitments	p. 166
Religion, politics, public affairs	p. 171
Work ethics	p. 179
Religion and nation	p. 182
Assortments of religion	p. 190
Religion in the succession of generations	p. 192
Religiosity in the structure of society	p. 205
Denominations	p. 208
Latvia	p. 212
Czech Republic	p. 214
Slovakia	p. 217
Hungary	p. 218
Spatial structure, geographical distribution	p. 228
The prospects for religious development	p. 238
Bibliography	p. 241
Index of Names	p. 255
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