Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania (Religion and Global Politics)

Because these two authors have long given thought to the matter -- not least because they lived it, and at a price, when still in communist Romania -- they bring seasoned judgments and a rich analytic framework to the subject. --Richard Legvold, Foreign Affairs In this thoroughly researched and persuasively argued book, Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu chart the complicated route that Romanian religious institutions have taken from Communism through European integration. The authors show the impact, as well as the limits, of the Romanian Orthodox Church's involvement in politics, and they are particularly insightful on the tortuous relationship between the church and state authority, both in the Communist period and after. Covering such diverse themes as religious education, the church and elections, and ecclesiastical views of sexuality, this important book will be of interest to scholars of Romania, post-communist politics, and church-state relations in general. Charles King, Georgetown University Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, in this path-breaking and incisive study, explain why the cultivation of ultranationalist sentiment and official support for the Orthodox Church went h