Christianity and Modernity in Eastern
Europe
Edited by
Bruce R. Berglund, Calvin
College, Michigan
Brian Porter-Szűcs, University
of Michigan
Religious history more generally has experienced an
exciting revival over the past few years, with new methodological
and theoretical approaches invigorating the field. The
time has definitely come for this “new religious
history” to arrive in Eastern Europe. This book
explores the influence of the Christian churches in
Eastern Europe's social, cultural, and political history.
Drawing upon archival sources, the work fills a vacuum
as few scholars have systematically explored the history
of Christianity in the region.
The result of a three-year project, this collective
work challenges readers with questions like: Is secularization
a useful concept in understanding the long-term dynamics
of religiosity in Eastern Europe? Is the picture of
oppression and resistance an accurate way to characterize
religious life under communism, or did Christians and
communists find ways to co-exist on the local level
prior to 1989? And what role did Christians actually
play in dissident movements under communism? Perhaps
most important is the question: what does the study
of Eastern Europe contribute to the broader study of
modern Christian history, and what can we learn from
the interpretative problems that arise, uniquely, from
this region?
"Taken as a whole and as individual pieces, the book’s essays are impressive; they make thought-provoking contributions to the modern religious history of Eastern Europe. The editors and sponsors are to be commended for coordinating the project and bringing it to the attention of English-speaking audiences in a well-edited and engaging collection. This book deserves a wide readership; it will benefit advanced undergraduates as well as specialists in the field. Anyone interested in approaching the complex, intertwined history of Christianity, modernity, and Eastern Europe should read this volume.” H-Net/HABSBURG
Contents
Foreword Hugh
McLeod Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction:
Christianity, Christians, and the Story of Modernity
in Eastern Europe Brian Porter-Szűcs Religion
in Everyday Urban Life: Shaping Modernity in Łódź
and Manchester, 1820–1914 Andreas Kossert
Christianity, Nation, State: The Case of Christian
Hungary Paul Hanebrink Searching for a “Fourth
Path”: Czech Catholicism between Liberalism, Communism,
and Nazism Martin C. Putna The Roman Catholic
Church Navigates the New Slovakia, 1945–1948 James
Ramon Felak Bulwark or Patchwork? Religious Exceptionalism
and Regional Diversity in Postwar Poland James Bjork
Competing Concepts of “Reunification”
behind the Liquidation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church Natalia Shlikhta From Bottom to the
Top and Back: On How to Build a Church in Communist
Romania Anca Şincan Human Rights as a
Theological and Political Controversy among East German
and Czech Protestants Katharina Kunter State
Management of the Seer Vanga: Power, Medicine, and the
“Remaking” of Religion in Socialist Bulgaria
Galia Valtchinova Constructing Peace in the
GDR: Conscientious Objection and Compromise among Christians,
1962–1989 David Doellinger On the Ruin
of Christendom: Religious Politics and the Challenge
of Islam in the New West Patrick Hyder Patterson
Drafting a Historical Geography of East European
Christianity Bruce R. Berglund List of Contributors
Index
2010
380 pages
ISBN 978-963-9776-65-4 cloth $55.00 / €44.95 /
£40.00
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