Religious Change

Abstract

After the decline of state socialism in the countries of Eastern and East Central Europe, sociologists and political scientists such as Rodney Stark, Andrew Greeley, and Miklós Tomka predicted a revival of church and religion after decades of their repression under communist rule. More than two decades later, it turns out that the religious situation in Eastern and East Central Europe has become more diverse than expected. Some Orthodox countries, such as Russia, Romania, and Ukraine, have certainly seen a significant increase of religiosity; others, though, such as East Germany, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, are confronted with religious decline; and others still, such as Poland and Croatia, have seen only comparatively minor changes to the observable level of religiosity. Factors that influence religious changes include the fusion between religious and national identity, levels of economic prosperity, and levels of political corruption.