Understanding an Authoritarian Regime
The Varying Relations Between Religion and the State in East German Socialism, 1945-1989
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3126857 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jochen Töpfer (0000-0001-5862-2126, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | 1541 |
| Publication date | 2024-12-17 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel15121541 |
| OpenAlex | W4405505403 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
The relations between religion and the state in the socialist-governed states of Eastern Europe in 1945-1989 are generally framed using the term "persecution of religion". On the other hand, significant differences existed in the region, from limited freedom of religion in Yugoslavia to a prohibition of religious practice in Albania. From the side of religion, these relations were significantly formed by the attitudes and activities of religious leaders. Which options were adopted by key religious actors in a political environment hostile to religion? What is to be learned about religion in authoritarian systems? This qualitative study draws on the case of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), governed in 1949-1989 by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. We studied professional biographies of prominent religious dignitaries and a comprehensive volume of files from the Ministry for State Security of the GDR in order to conceptualize their attitudes and activities according to a two-dimensional classification (towards the state and towards society), which enabled an overview of the range of their options, and identified the types of religious dignitaries in authoritarian systems. This analysis revealed that a variety of attitudes and activities of religious leaders existed in the GDR
Archaeology · Authoritarianism · Capitalism · Communism · Democracy · German · Nazism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Socialism · Sociology · State socialism · Computer Science · European history and politics · History · Law · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity
| Highly cited | No |
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