Driven by the ‘Indefinable Something’: How Religious Perceptions Motivate Political Protests

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the past decades, scholars have given increasing attention to the religious impulses for political activism. Such research has focused primarily on collective elements – mobilization resources, religion as social capital, rites and communal practice. At the individual level, religious salience and belief (e.g. faith in God, belief in heaven, hell, or life after death) have mostly been studied in relation to protest behavior. Little attention has been paid to the effects of religious perceptions – i.e. the threat upon onès belief, viewing the society as sinful and believing that one is contributing to accomplishing God`s plan in the world. With respect to the Orthodox Christian tradition, there is virtually no evidence on this subject. The article addresses this gap in the literature and verifies the significance of the above mentioned religious perceptions in the Eastern European Orthodox setting. Additionally, it suggests the awareness of the divinity as a source of encouragement, as a motivational factor. The qualitative study focuses on the 1989 anti-communist revolution in Timișoara, Romania, and relies on 45 semi-structured interviews with former participants to the demonstrations. Results point to the perceived personal encouragement from God as the main inner-religious incentive for the decison to protest.