Introduction: All quiet on the Eastern front? Recent dynamics in the governance of religion in post-communist Europe

Abstract

Although decades have passed since the constituent republics of what used to be the USSR and the member-states of its satellite Warsaw Pact dropped off the communist rule, in many regards, the countries of Eastern Europe continue to be in transition. One of the areas where this transition is clearly observable in these countries is the governance of religious diversity. In the aftermath of the collapse of communism, most of the states in the region adopted liberal regimes of the governance of religion as well as pro-diversity tendencies, which allowed for the burgeoning and thriving of various religious collectivities. Recently, however, there has been an observable purported turn away from a generally positive attitude in regards to religious diversity in different parts of the region from alleged freedom towards greater control of religious collectivities and their activities. To account for such processes, this special issue takes on the theoretical perspective of religious nationalism to analyse some of the underlying dynamics of such processes. In this the special issue addresses a number of questions, the major of which is: whether religious nationalism influences the governance of religion in post-communist Europe, and if so, how? This introductory piece outlines the research agenda of this special issue and briefly presents the major argument of each case study.