Desecularisation in Postcommunist Romania

Abstract

The paper gives an analysis of the process as a result of which postcommunist Romania has moved from being an officially atheist country to being one of the most religious countries in Europe. Th e process of desecularisation is analysed in three dimensions. On the macro-level, I outline the religious headway in the most important institutions of the Romanian society, on the meso-level I analyse the changes in the organizational structure of churches and in the denominational structure of the country, while on the individual level the changes occurring in individual religiosity. In the fi nal part of the study I argue that within these dimensions desecularisation was realized to diff erent extents, while “desecularisation from above” is not likely to achieve its goals in the long run.

Keywords

• religion
• Romania
• desecularization
• secularization