Religious Identities in Central East Europe during the Age of Totalitarianisms

Volume editor Sebastian Rimestad Volume editor Andriy Mykhaleyko

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Extent: 347 pages

Publisher: Brill | Schöningh

Subjects: Religious Studies

Series: Eastern Church Identities

Series volume number: 28

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(July 2026)

ISBN: 9783506705358

6.1 x 9.25 inches

Price: $79.00

In stock

At the end of World War II, many of the societies in East Central Europe experienced a shift from right-wing fascism to left-wing communism. This volume analyses the way religious actors and communities experienced and responded to this ideological shift. The inter-disciplinary volume comprises 13 chapters, highlighting different case studies from Estonia to Croatia and from East Germany to Ukraine. The chapters show how each case provides a unique window into personal, social, and institutional constraints and pathways to deal with the changing political orientation while remaining true to one’s religious convictions. The individual solutions ranged from a creative espousal of the new ideological situation and tacit complicity to more or less covert opposition.

Sebastian Rimestad studied Political Science and Religious Studies in Aberdeen, Tartu, and Erfurt. He works on current developments within the Orthodox Church and the relationship between religion and the modern world.

Andriy Mykhaleyko studied Theology at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. His research focuses on Eastern Christianity and the relationship between churches and totalitarianism.

  • Volume editor Sebastian Rimestad
  • Volume editor Andriy Mykhaleyko