The role of religious actors in the democratization process

Résumé du document

The purpose of this paper will be to study the role of different religious sectors in the democratization process in post-communist Europe, that is to say the role of religious faith, and of religious institutions in the overturning of communism and in the downfall of the Soviet Union. Many questions are raised by this subject: has religion helped to create a civil society? Is religion a mean to fight against communism? Is it because of religion that communism collapsed and that a democratic way of running a country formed ? To answer these questions, we will study how religion became slowly a vehicle of desovietization and detotalization on several counts; as well as the recent religious revivals which are a factor of nationalism and may help to the consolidation of democracy.

Extraits

[...] The Apostolic Church remained the guardian of the language and of the secular traditions of the people. In all communist countries, religion even fought by the Soviet authorities, became really important and ha accelerated the collapse of the Soviet Union. Churches helped to keep the nationalist mobilization important, and facilitated the transition to democracy. Religion contributed to the development of civil society by providing an institutional space in this totalitarian society and it was therefore possible to organise various forms of opposition to the communist state. [...]

[...] Above all, religious habits have disappeared (traditions and rhythm of life). o There is a lack or a reluctance to modernise pastoral work. There is a need to accept a theologically grounded outlook on contemporary society. Eastern Europe churches are by and large pre-Vatican II churches. Among their tasks, Tamas Nyiri, Professor of theology in Hungary, suggest that they should apologise for the past, change its mentality concerning the Vatican council, reject restorative tendencies, strengthen social consensus, help join Western and Eastern ideologies, contribute to the establishment of peace and understanding in central Europe and condemn all forms of religious discrimination. [...]

[...] Regarding to the democratization, the role of the Catholic Church was quite important. While Poland offers the foremost bastion of resistance to communism, countries like Lithuania, Western Ukraine or even Armenia, witnessed events that were opposition to the integrity of the Soviet Union. The Roman Catholic Church of Lithuania represented 85% of the population but it was threatened by Soviet rule. However, even the mass deportation of catholic dissidents failed totally to break the resistance of the church. Continuity in religious practice was totally accomplished. [...]

[...] The Balkan case The crucial question to this theme is how did religious elites influence ethnic identity formation? 1-Favourable conditions. The failures of the economic policy from 1979 to 1985 contributed at least indirectly toward religious revitalisation. The younger Yugoslav generation increasingly found itself unable to identify with Tito's central-minded ‘Brotherhood and Unity' and thus began to search for more representative ethnic definitions. As the economic and social woes after Tito's death in 1980 continued, members of different communities gradually lost confidence in the federation's legitimacy. [...]

[...] Actually, persecution has put the Church in position to be an alternative producer of values. Religion became progressively a vehicle of detotalization. Church has acquired a quite specific dimension as a result of political development in Eastern countries since the 60's. - The Religious actors: political counterweight In the absence of any political counterweight, of any checks and balances, religion constitutes an area of freedom in which the anti-totalitarian aspirations of a whole people find sanctuary and expression. This emergence of religious actors as political actors is the first step to democratization process. [...]