"Forced" Secularity? On the Appropriation of Repressive Secularization
Analyses of the effects of religion policy in dictatorial regimes face a twofold challenge: On the one hand, they run the danger of losing sight of the historical circumstances behind the attitudes that developed under dictatorial conditions; on the other hand, they tend to deny the existence of any...
| Published in: | Religion and society in Central and Eastern Europe |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
WVU
2011
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| In: |
Religion and society in Central and Eastern Europe
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Analyses of the effects of religion policy in dictatorial regimes face a twofold challenge: On the one hand, they run the danger of losing sight of the historical circumstances behind the attitudes that developed under dictatorial conditions; on the other hand, they tend to deny the existence of any inner plausibility for these due to the conditions of their development. This article addresses the rapid process of de-churching and subjective secularization that began to take hold in the GDR in the mid-1950s and has lasting effects until the present. It presents the results of a qualitative study, in which members of 3 family generations were asked about their family histories on the backdrop of the societal and religious changes during the GDR-time. By analyzing the basic lines of conflict in the secularization process as well as the interpretational frames that are used by the respondents, it is shown how they give meaning to their experiences, and in what sense the process of secularization set up from above could gain subjective plausibility. The term "forced secularity" is used to catch the connection between the dictatorial measures as well as the subjective appropriation of what was going on. It is argued that it is necessary to understand the interplay of both in order to explain the success of dictatorial religion policy. |
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| ISSN: | 1553-9962 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion and society in Central and Eastern Europe
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