LFU:online

Expansion of the traditional focus, insights into the world-wide complexity of historic developments.

Knowledge of contemporary religious history in the context of the Cold War; orientation in new studies on various aspects of the Cold War; Orientation towards religious life in Eastern Europe between 1940-1970s; experience in analyzing historical, political, and confessional historiography; source analyses of Eastern European religious and church history during the 1940s to the 1970s.

After the Second World War, the countries of Eastern Europe were in the zone of influence and interests of the USSR and religious policy in these countries was formed under the conditions of authoritarian regimes, ideological opposition of Marxism-Leninism to religion, and local traditions. Within the diverse countries of Eastern Europe, there were different Christian churches and denominations, as well as Islamic religious communities, and in our course, we will study the diversity of the religious landscape and its transformation. The course will show how the Cold War influenced the relationship between churches and regimes within Eastern Europe, the shape of international activity of representatives of churches in Eastern Europe, the development of religious dissent and actionism within religious communities. Within the course, a separate block is devoted to the history of the transformation of the media representation of the religious life of Eastern Europe during the 1950s—1970s and to the development of various networks through the Iron Curtain in the field of ecumenism, peacemaking, helping suffering Christians, theological dialogue, etc.

The course presented the methods of historical research to analyze the global, transnational interconnections of churches (or religious movements) and local impacts in the context of the Cold War. During the lectures the participants get acquainted with methods of Entangled History, Glocalisation, and Network Analysis.

The role of religion in imaginary, metaphorical, visual and emotional dimensions of the Cold War will be explored using methods from history of emotion, transcultural exchange processes and history of media.

There are two options:

- 15 minute presentation during the semester (including discussion) and a 3 page (6 000 characters) written paper at the end of the semester

- oral/written exam at the end of the semester

Balogh, Margit. Kardinal Jósef Mindzenty. Ein Leben zwischen kommunistischen Diktatur und Kaltem Krieg. Osteuropa Zentrum Berlin-Verlag, 2014.

Beljakova, Nadezhda /Bremer, Thomas /Kunter, Katharina: „Es gibt keinen Gott!“ Kirchen und Kommunismus. Eine Konfliktgeschichte. Herder Verlag, 2016

Bubík, Tomaš / Hoffmann Henryk (ed.): Studying religions with the Iron Curtain closed and opened: the academic study of religion in Eastern Europe. Koninklijke Brill, 2015

Chumachenko, Tatiana: Church and State in Soviet Russia: Russian Orthodoxy from World War II to the Khrushchev Years. Edited and translated by Ed Roslof. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2002.

Eugster, David / Marti, Sibylle (Hrsg.): Das Imaginäre des Kalten Krieges. Beiträge zu einer Kulturgeschichte des OstWest-Konfliktes in Europa, Essen: Klartext, 2015.

Fejérdy, Andras (ed.): The Vatican «Ostpolitik» 1958-1978. Responsibility and Witness during John XXIII and Paul VI. Roma: Istituto Balassi. Accademia d’Ungheria in Roma, Viella, 2015.

Filo, Julius (ed.): Christian World Community and the Cold War. International Research Conference. Bratislava, Evangelical Theological Faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava, 2012.

Kapaló, James /Povedák K. (ed.): The Religious Underground and the Secret Police in Communist and Post-communist Central and Eastern Europe.  Routledge, 2021

Kirby, Dianne (ed.): Religion in the Cold War. Basingstoke, Palgrave, 2003

Kunter, Katharina / Schilling Annegreth (Ed.): Globalisierung der Kirchen. Der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen und die Entdeckung der Dritten Welt in den 1960er und 1970er Jahren. Stuttgart, 2014.

Manke, Albert / Brezinová, Katerina (Hrsg.): Kleinstaaten und sekundäre Akteure im Kalten Krieg. Politische, wirtschaftliche, militärische und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen zwischen Europa und Lateinamerika. Transcript, Bielefeld, 2016.

Mikkonen, Simo / Koivunen, Pia (ed.): Beyond the divide: entangled histories of Cold War Europe. Berghahn Books, 2015.

Mojzes, Paul (ed.): North American Churches and the Cold War. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2018.

Muehlenbeck, Philip. Religion and the Cold War. A Global Perspective. Vanderbilt University Press, 2012.

Preston, Andrew. Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy. NY: Anchor Books, 2012.

Turek, Lauren M. To Bring the Good News to All Nations: Evangelicals, Human Rights, and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1969-1994. Cornell University Press, 2022. 

Knowledge of Eastern European languages would be an advantage.

Sources and secondary literature are also available in Eastern European languages.