Resilience and transformation of religious communities in Eastern Europe

Religious communities across the eastern half of the European continent faced an immense crisis in the last century under the communist rule. This immediate decades-long threat ceased over the span of a few years and allowed the region’s religious to rebound. One thus can talk not only of their survival but also resilience. On the other hand, since the fall of the communist regimes, some of these ‘traditional’ religious communities have not only been undergoing profound structural changes but also adjustments in their relation to the space, both sacred and profane. Today, religious communities in Eastern Europe stand in a variety of situations, which are all marked and formed by the years under communism and the following transformation and adaptation.

In this session, we look closer into the resilience but also transformation of religious communities in Eastern Europe. The key topic will be how resistance and adaptation to external and internal challenges has (trans)-formed the religious communities of the region.

Chair: Emil Hilton Saggau, University of Lund

Emil Saggau: em0161sa@lu.se / ebs@teol.ku.dk​