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Comparative Analysis Of Youth Religiosity In Kazakhstan And Poland: Navigating Faith In Modern Societies, Arailym Zhanabayeva, Myrzakhmet Juzei, Nagima Baitenova, Zhanna Zhurgenbayeva

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper explores the complex relationship between religion and youth culture, focusing on Kazakhstan and Poland. Kazakhstan, with its ethnic diversity and dominant Islamic faith, is navigating a post-Soviet search for identity and renewed interest in traditional spiritual practices. Poland, deeply rooted in Catholicism, is experiencing secular trends and global influences that are reshaping youth religious engagement. The research aims to enrich discussions on youth religiosity and the evolving interplay between spiritual belief and modern life across different political and cultural contexts. The primary objective of this study is to examine the evolution of modern Kazakh society's approach to religion, …

Religious And Cultural Dimension Of The "Ringing Cedars Of Russia" Movement In The Context Of Hybrid Warfare, Oleksandr Lukyanenko, Vitaly Dmytrenko, Vita Dmytrenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article is devoted to a comprehensive religious analysis of the neo-religious movement “The Ringing Cedars of Russia,” based on the works of Vladimir Megre and the image of the prophetess Anastasia. The study covers the ideological and doctrinal foundations of the movement, its socio-cultural practices, the functioning of tribal settlements, as well as mechanisms of influence on individual and collective consciousness. Particular attention is paid to the concepts of “Vedrussia”, the sacralization of “Russian space” and the mythologization of Russia’s calling to revive the “primitive civilization of harmony.” The analysis shows that the movement, while declaring ecological and humanistic …

Dwelling In Parallel Worlds: Esoteric And New Age Milieus In The Soviet Period And Afterward, Edited By Birgit Menzel And Anna Tessman: A Review, Alexander John Paul Lutz

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A review of Birgit Menzel and Anna Tessmann, eds. Dwelling in Parallel Worlds: Esoteric and New Age Milieus in the Soviet Period and Afterward. Münster: LIT Verlag, 2025. 320 pp. €34.90 (paperback). ISBN: 978-3-643-91580-1.

Ten Signatories, A Hundred Communities: Pluralization Without Consolidation In Slovenian Protestantism, Katja Brkič Golob

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines why contemporary Slovenian Protestantism exhibits a dual structure: a low‑variance Lutheran core (the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession - ECAC) and a high‑variance neo‑Protestant field (mainly Pentecostal, Charismatic, Evangelical, and some Baptist communities). Using the public Register of Churches and Other Religious Communities as an administrative tracer of organizational volatility (first registrations, renamings, deletions), and situating findings in census/survey context, the study shows that post‑1991 legal liberalization enabled rapid formalization without automatic consolidation. A four‑lens framework—historico‑legal, sociological (church–sect–mysticism; religious‑economy), ecclesiological (order vs. movement), and psychological (charisma and its routinization; risks of authoritarian patterns)—explains why tensions in …

Theological Foundations And Regional Adaptation Of Jihadist Ideology In Russia: Case Of The North Caucasus, Tilekkabyl Amangeldi, Gulzhan Rasheva

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The growth of jihadist movements in the post-Soviet space has generated significant scholarly interest in the ideological and theological mechanisms that sustain militant mobilization. Russia, particularly the North Caucasus, represents an important regional context where global jihadist doctrines intersect with local political conflicts and historical narratives of resistance. This article examines the theological foundations of Russian jihadist movements in order to understand how militant actors reinterpret Islamic doctrines to legitimize violence and construct ideological authority. The study aims to analyze the key theological concepts that shape jihadist discourse in Russia and to explore how global Salafi-jihadist ideology has been adapted …

Disenchantment Of The World In The Context Of The Russian-Ukrainian War,, Olga Dobrodum, Eduard Martyniuk, Olena Nykytchenko, Mykola Palinchak, Ruslana Tkachenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes Max Weber's concept of the "disenchantment of the world" («Entzauberung der Welt») in the context of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, which began with Russia's invasion in February 2022 and continues to the present. The author examines disenchantment as a process of rationalization and desacralization of society, tracing its development from ancient origins (Epicurus) and monotheistic traditions to contemporary interpretations (Adorno and Horkheimer, Barthes, Baudrillard, Habermas, Taylor, Haraway, Latour). The paradoxical nature of the process is emphasized: secularization does not eliminate the sacred but transforms it into new forms—from commodity fetishism to digital eschatology and posthumanist animism.

The …

Researching A New Religious Phenomenon Of The Central Asia: Digital Sufism, Bekzhan A. Azhimov, Nurlan Kairbekov, Jolaman Bulan, Tussipkhan Imammadi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This study examines the emergence of digital Sufism as a modern spiritual phenomenon. It investigates the participation of Sufi groups on social media, the themes conveyed in their online sermons, and the ways their digital strategies compare with other Islamic organizations. The article further explores how Sufi orders navigate virtual environments, questioning whether they reveal elements of esoteric knowledge in these spaces. The notion of digital Sufism is presented as a lens for understanding how Sufi traditions integrate modern technology to widen the influence and relevance of their teachings. The research highlights how Sufism has adjusted to the challenges of …

Religion And Human Rights In The Realities Of The Russian-Ukrainian War, Andrii Marchenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the relationship between religion and human rights in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It is noted that Russia’s expansion results in a decrease in religious freedom in the temporarily occupied lands, a narrowing of the scope of this fundamental norm. At the same time, the author emphasizes not only the violations of the rights and freedoms of believers in the temporarily occupied territories of the country caused by external factors, but also some internal problems of the socio-religious life of modern Ukraine.The article analyzes the actions of the Ukrainian authorities to …

Transformations Of Religious Consciousness Of Ukrainians In The 1990s, Bogdan Sulyatytskyy

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyses the transformation of religious consciousness of Ukrainians during the first decade of the post-Soviet period. It identifies the socio-cultural, economic and political factors that influenced the formation of a new attitude of Ukrainian citizens towards religion. It is noted that in the 1990s, a distinction between ethnic and religious identity occurred in the religious consciousness of Ukrainians, which contributed to the rapid transformation of Ukraine from a historically Christian (mainly Orthodox) country into a poly-confessional one. During this period, new syncretic mental structures were formed, radically different from the established traditional religious ones, in which elements of …

Revival Of Tengrism In Kazakhstan As Ancient Belief Of The Kazakh Nation: Prospects And Challenges, Jolaman Bulan, Tussipkhan Imammadi, Aiymzhan Ryskiyeva, Asset Kuranbek

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This research investigates the resurgence of Tengrism, an ancestral belief system native to Kazakhstan. This traditional religion, rooted in ancient history, encompasses an array of beliefs and rituals that focus on the worship of celestial deity known as Tengri and various forces of nature. It provides a thorough analysis of how public attitudes towards Tengrism and its role within the cultural fabric of the Kazakh people have shifted. The paper also addresses the circumstances that have facilitated Tengrism's revival in the independent nation of Kazakhstan, including issues of national identity, cultural heritage, and spiritual rejuvenation. Furthermore, it explores a range …

Guarding The Faith Or Resisting Dialogue?: Anti-Ecumenical Tendencies In Bulgarian Orthodoxy, Ioannis Kaminis

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper explores the historical, theological, and ideological roots of anti-ecumenical tendencies within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), especially in the post-communist period. It examines whether the BOC's resistance to ecumenical dialogue genuinely reflects a defense of Orthodox tradition or represents a reactionary posture shaped by national, political, and ecclesiastical factors. Tracing the development of anti-ecumenism from the 19th-century schism with the Ecumenical Patriarchate through the communist era to the post-1990s resurgence of neo-traditionalist rhetoric, the study reveals how the convergence of ecclesial nationalism, ideological manipulation under communism, and theological exclusivism has produced a deep mistrust of ecumenical engagement. Influential …

Representation Of Religious Minorities In Lithuanian Confessional Education, Iveta Klimavičiūtė

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article analyzes the situation of religious minorities in a Christian dominated sociopolitical environment in Lithuania through the confessional religious education (RE) system. Representation of religious minorities based on confessional model thus raises questions on majority and minority religions’ coexistence, whilst the latter neither legally, nor normatively experience such linkage with the State as majorified religion does. The empirical part of the study, based on content analysis of curricula and teaching aids, reveals that although tolerance of other religions is mentioned, there is also a visible hegemony of the Roman Catholic Church, and of Christianity in general. Non-traditional religious communities …

Christian Denominations On The Territory Of Ukraine In The First Half Of The 20th Century (1900-1939), Fedir Prodanyuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the state of Christian denominations in the territory of Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century. It has been established that the Christian religion occupied an important place in the life of Ukrainian society. However, the period of prosperity and oppression simultaneously fell in the first 40 years of the 20th century. The confessional policy of the Soviet Union, which came to replace the tsarist authorities, gave a limited privileged position for some Christian churches while creating harsh conditions for other denominations. As a rule, these were Protestant movements, but the Orthodox Church also experienced …

Scholarly Study Of Religion In Ukraine, Vita Tytarenko, Liudmyla Fylypovych, Larysa Vladychenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the specifics of religious studies of religious minorities (RM). This religious phenomenon needs a concrete applied methodology that would make it possible to study the RM in its entirety. It is proposed to rely on the materials, which, in this case were the materials of a sociological study conducted within the project "Religious Minorities of Ukraine and State-Religious Relations" (2021), carried out by the authors of the article. As a result, it was clarified which religious organizations should be attributed to the RM, and how they differ from the religions of the majority, who have specific needs …

Neither Buddhist Nor Taoist, But Both (And Even More): Exploring The ‘Hall Of Infinite Principle’ (Guangli Fotang): A Chinese Temple In The Romanian Capital, Serban Toader

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This ethnography regards the sole Chinese temple in the Romanian capital Bucharest, its people and activity, as well as the thinking that supports this new religious movement (Maitreya Great Tao,Mile Dadao 彌勒大道). It is common knowledge that Taoism, Budhism, and Confucianism appear, at least in the official discourse, as a braided rope of unified Chinese tradition, each of the three at the same time preserving their particular features. Nevertheless, Mile Dadao not only seems to implicitly unite the three traditions in one (to which other foreign or popular traditions may be added as well), but also aims to act as …

Use Of Invented Religions In Ukrainian Protest Movements Against Russian Orthodoxy 2018-2021, Vyacheslav Ageyev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Since 2018, three projects operating in the framework of “invented or parody religions” and aimed against the Russian Orthodox Church have arisen in Ukraine. The article describes their invention, practices, “belief systems,” political acts, and tries to predict whether any of these or similar projects have any future in predominantly conservative Christian Ukraine.

Visual Rhetoric Of Protestant Architecture (On The Example Of Adventist Churches In Kyiv), Petro Kotliarov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the features of the architecture of prayer houses of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Ukraine from the end of the 19th century to the present day. An attempt was made to explain the phenomenon of the development of Gothic elements in the construction of houses of worship in the late 20th - early 21st centuries, a chronological period that coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine's independence. The connection and role of architecture with the dogmatic foundations of the doctrine of the SDA church have been established. The study partially refers to the methodological …

Forms And Roots Of Contemporary Religiosity In Estonia, Kaido Soom, Tõnu Lehtsaar

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The Republic of Estonia is a country on the east coast of the Baltic Sea. It borders Russia and Latvia on land and Latvia, Sweden, Finland and Russia on sea. As of 31 Dec 2011, Estonia had a permanent population of 1,294,455 (data from the Population and Housing Census). Estonia is a member of the European Union (2004) and of the Eurozone (2011).

Estonia has often been exemplified as a secularized nation having little regard for religion. Even so, religion is an important topic of conversation in Estonian society. For instance, Ave Tampere asked, in an article in one of …

Life Under Ban: Jehovah's Witnesses In Russia Since 2017, Emily B. Baran

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Since 2017, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been barred from legal practice of their faith in Russia. This marks the first criminalization of a major religious faith in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. For Witnesses, it has been a disturbing return to life under ban, a reality they experienced for decades under Soviet rule. Moreover, all indications suggest that this situation is unlikely to improve in the short term. Russian officials have shown consistent willingness to enforce a broad interpretation of the ban, including through the arrest and imprisonment of individual Witnesses. This article offers an overview of recent …

Religious Epidemics On The Territory Of Ukraine: Historical Parallels And Essential Characteristics, Olena Predko, Denis Predko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article deals with two religious epidemics that unfolded in Ukraine in a span of one hundred years. The study analyzes the factors influencing the emergence and development of religious epidemics. On this basis, their peculiar algorithm has been singled out, the components of which are, on the one hand, the worldview and crisis of values caused by the rapid turns of history, and—on the other—-choosiness by God, charisma of the leader of a particular organization, which is “fed” by an eschatological idea, syncretic teachings, which are cultivated as an alternative religious model to established traditions. The definition of a …

A Reflection On Religion And Churches In Slovakia 30 Years After The Fall Of Communism, Ján Juran, Lubomir Martin Ondrasek

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Thirty years after the fall of the communist regime in Slovakia presents an opportune time to reflect on various issues related to the broad subjects of religion and society, state-church relations, and the public ministry of the church. The aim of our paper is to offer such reflections with an emphasis on understanding the historical context and religious developments that affect Slovakia’s current reality and must be taken into account when considering present and future challenges and opportunities. The paper consists of two main parts.1 In the first, we present a brief history of Christianity in Slovakia, elucidate developments with …

Religion In Latvia After The Fall Of The Soviet System: Fragmentation And Postsecularism, Valdis Tēraudkalns

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The purpose of this article is to analyze changes that religions in Latvia have experienced since the collapse of the USSR. This is too broad of a topic, therefore I will concentrate on only two aspects, fragmentation of religious groups and postsecularism."

Spraying Religion: (Anti-)Religious Graffiti Of The Post-Socialist Transition, Mitja Velikonja

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article discusses graffiti and street art concerning religion, part of the author's much broader and continuous research on contemporary political graffiti and street art in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe, from the Baltics to the Balkans, from Prague to Moscow, comprising over 20 years of systematic fieldwork.

Religion And Globalization: Crossroads And Opportunities, Alexander Chumakov, Mikhail Sergeev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A conversation between the First Vice-President of the Russian Philosophical Society, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of Moscow State University, Alexander Chumakov and the editor of the special series "Contemporary Russian Philosophy" at Brill, the Nertherlands, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Mikhail Sergeev.

"Yarovoy Law" Struck The Protestants: An Interview With The Historian Of Religions, Elena Glavatskaya, Elena Glavatskaya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Elena Glavtaskaya is a professor of history at Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg, Russia. She has defended her Kandidatskaya dissertation in 1992 and her Doktorskaia dissertation in 2005 at the university. She has also led several research projects focused on the religious landscape of the Urals and Siberia and is currently leading the research project, “Ethno-religious and demographic dynamics in mountainous Eurasia around 1900,” supported by the Russian Science Foundation. Her latest articles are “Nobody Pressed Hard, and People Listened to the Message of the Kingdom,” “Jehovah's Witnesses» of the Sverdlovsk Oblast: a historical and anthropological research,” published in Quaestio …

Review Of Sergeev's "Theory Of Religious Cycles: Tradition, Modernity, And The Bahá’Í Faith", Maria Kaplun

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Main Stages And Facts In The History Of State-Church Relations In Bulgaria, Nonka Bogomilova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

State-Church relations in Bulgaria are multidimensional phenomena, bearing changes and dynamic transformations in the course of historical processes. The purpose of this paper is to map out the main stages and developments of church-state relations from Bulgaria’s acceptance of Christianity to the present.

Problems Of Teaching Religion In Public Schools In Bulgaria Today: Retrospective And Prospective, Nonka Bogomilova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Religion, Public Life And The State In Putin's Russia, Alexey D. Krindatch

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Western Perspectives On Church-State Relations In Soviet Era, Walter Sawatsky

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.