Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe (Religion and Global Politics) - Hardcover

Stan, Lavinia; Turcescu, Lucian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195337107 ISBN 13: 9780195337105

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2011

Synopsis

In this carefully researched and elegantly written book, Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu examine the relationship between religion and politics in ten former communist Eastern European countries based on extensive fieldwork carried out in that region over the past decade. Contrary to widespread theories of increasing secularization, Stan and Turcescu argue that in most of these countries the populations have shown themselves to remain religious even as they embrace modernization and democratization.

Church-state relations in the new EU member states can be seen in political representation for church leaders, governmental subsidies, registration of religions by the state authorities, and religious instruction in public schools. Stan and Turcescu outline three major models of interaction between the religious and political spheres: the Czech church-state separation model, in which religion is private and the government secular; the pluralist model of Hungary, Bulgaria and Latvia, which views society as a group of complementary but autonomous spheres - for example, education, the family, and religion - each of which is worthy of recognition and support from the state; and the dominant religion model that exists in Poland, Romania, Estonia, and Lithuania, in which the government maintains informal ties to the religious majority.

Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe offers critical tools for understanding church-state relations in an increasingly modern and democratic Eastern Europe. It is a book designed for both careful observers of post-communist realities in the new European Union member states and the members of the general public who are curious about the place of religion in countries that, for decades, were governed by self-avowed atheistic regimes.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"The EU's uncertainty about the place of Christianity in its vision of a post-national Europe makes the appearance of this book timely and necessary. An informative profile of church-state relations in ten post-communist EU states is provided, the editors ensuring the level of analysis and quality of presentation is uniformly high. The country-specific and theme-orientated approach is bound to add greatly to the understanding of religion and politics in a part of Europe still deliberating about how far it should go down the road of European integration. The evidence presented in these factual and interpretative essays suggest that the grounds exist for a clash between defenders of clerical power and traditional Christian values and an increasingly post-Christian European political order; whether or not this scenario occurs, Stan and Turcescu's volume is likely to be an indispensable reference source." -- Tom Gallagher, author of Romania and the European Union 
"This carefully researched, elegantly written volume surveys the relationships between church and state in the European Union's newest members, tracing their path from the communist era to today. Anyone interested in understanding the state of religion in Central Europe will find this book invaluable." -- Sabrina Ramet, author of Nihil Obstat: Religion, Politics and Social Change in East-Central Europe and Russia 
"Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu present us with the most comprehensive investigation so far of church-state relations in the new members of the European Union in Central and Eastern Europe. Penned by two leading experts, the book's guiding thread allows for a thorough comparison of ten national cases while providing us with penetrating insights on democracy in a part of Europe where churches and religious organizations have defied the odds set against them by Communist officials."---Barbara Thériault, author of "Conservative Revolutionaries" : Protestant and Catholic Churches in Germany after Radical Political Change in the 1990s 
"In this original and comprehensive work, Stan and Turcescu outline the diverse church-state relationships in the ten postcommunist EU member states...The book is well written with thorough references, and effectively covers its wide range of countries."--CHOICE."Careful readers of Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe will learn a tremendous amount about individual churches and their roles in individual postcommunist polities."--Slavic Review

About the Author:

Lavinia Stan is Associate Professor of Political Science at St. Francis Xavier University, Canada, where she also headed the Center for Post-Communist Studies. The author, co-author, or editor of five dozen peer-reviewed articles and nine book -- including Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania and 1989-2009: Incredibila aventura a democratiei dupa comunism (both with Lucian Turcescu), the Encyclopedia of Transitional Justice (co-edited with Nadya Nedelsky), Transitional Justice in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union and Transitional Justice in Post-Communist Romania: The Politics of the Past -- she specializes in religion and politics, transitional justice, democratization, secret services, communist repression and dissidence, as well as governmental performance.

Lucian Turcescu is Professor of Historical Theology at Concordia University, Canada, and the head of the Theological Studies Department at that university. The author, co-author, or editor of six books and dozens of scholarly articles, he specializes in religion and politics, early Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, and ecumenism. Among his publications are: Gregory of Nyssa and the Concept of Divine Persons and Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania (both published with Oxford University Press, 2005), Dumitru Staniloae: Tradition and Modernity in Theology (Centrul de Studii Romanesti, 2002), and The Reception and Interpretation of the Bible in Late Antiquity (co-edited, published with Brill, 2008). Turcescu is also past President of the Canadian Society for Patristic Studies.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0195337107
• ISBN 13: 9780195337105
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304