In the post-communist era democracies in Eastern Europe will be determined by many factors. The Orthodox and Roman and Greek Catholic churches have imposed their views through political engagement and the Romanian Orthodox has sought to consolidate its position of national Church, the book examines the relationship between church and state.

1.: Religion and Politics in Post-Communism 2.: Competing Models of Church-State Relations 3.: Religion and Nationalism 4.: Confronting theCommunist Past 5.: The Politics of Orthodox-Greek Catholic Relations 6.: Religion and Elections 7.: Religious Education in Public Schools 8.: Religion, Politics, and Sexuality 9.: Conclusion

This excellent book should be essential reading for students of Romanian history, post-Communist politics, church-state relations, nationalism and democratisation... The style of a book which would certainly interest non-specialists as well... A high degree of historical relativity.

"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." --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 hand in hand under Communism, and why today democracy and pluralism are regarded by some leaders of the Orthodox Church as the principal enemy. They analyze the Orthodox Church's opposition to Romania's accession to the European Union and judiciously assess the challenges facing a church badly compromised by servility to the despot Ceausescu." --Dennis Deletant, author of Hitler's Forgotten Ally: Ion Antonescu and his Regime, Romania, 1940-1944 "This is a masterful interpretation of the role of religion in influencing the development of modern Romania which is presented to the reader with clarity and analytical rigor. As well as sparkling comparative insights, the authors relate how religious claims and the reaction to them from the state and civil society are determining the extent to which Romania becomes a politically and socially free entity. The Orthodox Church is at the centre of the narrative and there are well-argued accounts of its relationship with nationalism, the communist past and the democratic present as Romania embraces capitalism and joins the European Union. Besides shedding light on a country whose direction is still shrouded in ambiguity, this is one of the most notable monographs to appear for quite a while on the role of religion in contemporary Europe." --Tom Gallagher, University of Bradford "Any reader of this remarkable and timely book analyzing the conservative position of the Orthodox Church in respect to many issues, as well as its political ties to the establishment, will be persuaded by the authors' conclusion that 'it is high time for th edominant church to admit that a model of church establishment adopted when Romania was religiously homogenous fails to reflect the post-communist reality' (p. 39)."--Candadian Slavonic Papers