For those of you interested in surveys and analysis of results on religion, the Pew Research Center has published a new study of religion and national identity in Central and Eastern Europe. The study is good for summer reading. My first impression is that the results might help Western Christians understand the Eastern world a bit better. Hopefully, scholars will help us connect the dots from religion and nationality in the Soviet era through the post-soviet period.
New Study on Religion and Nationality in Central and Eastern Europe
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2 responses to “New Study on Religion and Nationality in Central and Eastern Europe”
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Interesting study, Nick, thanks for drawing our attention to it. But if nationalism is the driving force, will religion be co-opted to serve the aims of the state?
One more note. I must say, I am baffled by the exclusion of Slovakia from this study. A majority Catholic country with a fast-growing economy after the fall of Communism – it would have made an interesting study. Anecdotes suggest they are still a very religious people (I would like to have seen if the measurements bear this out). The fact that PEW did their 1991 study of Czechoslovakia with ONLY Czech speakers really puzzles me.
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It’s helpful that the study calls attention to the effects of 20th Century totalitarianism / official atheism on religious practice. That’s a trauma (and, I hope, a subsequent successful reclaiming of religious life) that is pretty much unknown to Americans who don’t hail from that part of the world.
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