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

by Miklos Tomka

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783110228168
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	01/27/2011
Series:	Religion and Society Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	258
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Miklós Tomka, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary.

Table of Contents

1 Does religion in Eastern and Central Europe matter? 1

The religious situation in Eastern and Central Europe - to whom is it important? 1

Religious growth - the two sides of the coin 4

What do we mean when we talk about religion, being religious? - The religious system 9

What are our sources of information concerning religiosity and churches in Eastern and Central Europe? 19

2 Public opinion on religion and the churches 27

Notions of religion and religious people 27

Public opinion on the churches 40

3 Revival? Crisis? Metamorphosis? - Versions of religious change 61

What do people think of religious change? 62

Ideological identity - Do people consider themselves to be religious? 69

Faith and beliefs 83

Belief in God 84

Images of God 86

Belief in Jesus and other beliefs 88

Traditional church belief and folk beliefs 94

Religious or believer? 100

Conclusion: Pluralism of beliefs 104

Religious worship - the act of turning towards the sacred 105

Celebrations of turning points in life 105

Church attendance 110

Prayer 114

Religious objects 118

Folk and heterodox religious practices 120

Conclusion: The permanence of worship 123

The hidden dimension of religion: experiences and emotions 124

4 A role of religion in the organization of life 130

The meaning of life 133

Who are satisfied and happy? 136

Religion and morality 139

Human relations 141

Family and child 144

Endorsement of the family 146

Option for children 153

Male and female roles 158

Responsibility for the elderly 162

Social commitments 166

Religion, politics, public affairs 171

Work ethics 179

Religion and nation 182

5 Assortments of religion 190

Religion in the succession of generations 192

Religiosity in the structure of society 205

Denominations 208

Case study 1 Latvia 212

Case study 2 Czech Republic 214

Case study 3 Slovakia 217

Case study 4 Hungary 218

Spatial structure, geographical distribution 228

6 The prospects for religious development 238

Bibliography 241

Index of Names 255