The Role of the State in the Repression and Revival of Religiosity in Central Eastern Europe

The aim of this article is to present two different roles of the state affecting individuals' religiosity. First, we provide evidence for the effectiveness of socialist regimes in influencing citizens' opinions by comparing religious beliefs among several generations of Eastern Europeans....

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Social Forces. - University of North Carolina Press. - 91(2012), 2, Seite 559-582
1. Verfasser: Müller, Tim (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Neundorf, Anja
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2012
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Social Forces
Schlagworte:Behavioral sciences Religion Political science Social sciences Arts
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:The aim of this article is to present two different roles of the state affecting individuals' religiosity. First, we provide evidence for the effectiveness of socialist regimes in influencing citizens' opinions by comparing religious beliefs among several generations of Eastern Europeans. Second, the article explores whether the democratization process in Eastern Europe led to a revival of religiosity by applying two strands of reasoning from the secularization framework: Berger's theory of plausibility structures (Berger 1969) and Norris and Inglehart's (2004) existential security hypothesis. The results show that due to an increased plausibility structure created by the democratic states a slight religious revival can be observed in several postcommunist countries.
ISSN:15347605