Eastern Europe—A Religious Revival?
THE suppression of freedom of expression over the last several decades in Eastern European countries has included severe restrictions on religion. Atheism was actively preached, and some cathedrals and churches were turned into museums of atheism, such as the one visited by many tourists in Leningrad. Any functioning clergy became the handmaidens of the current regime. With all places of worship, such as monasteries, churches, and mosques, officially closed in 1967, Albania was even proclaimed by Radio Tirana the “first atheist state in the world.”
Now, with freedom blooming like spring flowers everywhere in Eastern Europe, what is happening to religion? As French writer Jean-François Kahn wrote: “Religion beset by repression can join hands with a nation beset by oppression. It happened yesterday in Iran. It is happening today in Soviet Azerbaijan. Tomorrow it could spread across Russia like wildfire.” Even now some religions are allying themselves with nationalistic ideals and aspirations and are becoming one of the main vehicles of political protest, sanctifying it by the presence of their Catholic and Orthodox priests and Lutheran pastors.
So how is religious freedom faring in the new democratic atmosphere?
How Things Have Changed!
The major religions of Eastern Europe, especially the Catholic Church, have taken immediate action to get legal recognition from the new governments. For example, L’Osservatore Romano reported that “on 9 February [1990], an Accord was signed between the Holy See and the Republic of Hungary.” By this accord the two parties agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations. (The Vatican is viewed as a separate sovereign state.)
Another report from the Vatican states that the Catholic Church of the Ukrainian Rite, suppressed in 1946, has requested legalization and has entered into discussions “with the Government and with the Russian Orthodox Church over practical questions regarding Church life in the Ukraine.”
In April 1990 the pope visited Czechoslovakia and was greeted at the Prague airport “by dignitaries of Church and State, including . . . Mr. Vaclav Havel, President of the Republic.” (L’Osservatore Romano) A new religious climate is also developing there.
The Catholic Church has always been a force to be reckoned with in Poland. Now, with its newfound freedom, it is flexing its muscles and campaigning to reintroduce religious classes in the schools. One priest stated: “Schools are the property of the nation. The Polish nation is over 90 percent Catholic. . . . With due respect for other religions, religious instruction in the school will restore the authority of the teachers, and . . . of the authorities because it deals with the ethical backbone of man.”
A report on the Orthodox Church in Romania states: “The Patriarch and a number of bishops who collaborated with the [Ceauşescu] regime were forced to resign. A Commission was set up to revitalize the Church. Many former non-believers are turning to religion and filling the local churches . . . The Romanian Byzantine Catholic Church, forced to disband 40 years ago, has been allowed to reorganize.”—Orthodox Unity, July 1990.
Changes in Albania
According to press reports, surprising changes are slowly taking place in Albania, a small mountainous country of three and a quarter million inhabitants, tucked away on the Adriatic Coast between Yugoslavia and Greece. The German newspaper Die Welt reported: “In Albania, the last stronghold of old-style communism in Europe, people have started to vote with their feet” by seeking refuge in Western embassies, from which they were then allowed to leave for Italy, Germany, and other countries.
The report goes on to say: “In May 1990 Albanians were promised passports and the abolition of laws banning religious pursuits.” (Quoted from The German Tribune, July 15, 1990) As professor of history Denis R. Janz wrote: “The long and arduous struggle for total secularization seems to have been set aside.” However, he adds: “There is evidence . . . that religion has in fact been dealt a crushing blow in this society.”
In this context Jehovah’s Witnesses are maintaining their customary and strict neutrality. On the basis of Bible principles, they do not get involved in political and nationalistic divisions. They trust in God to grant them a peaceful setting in which to fulfill their earth-wide commission of preaching God’s Kingdom.—Matthew 22:21; 1 Timothy 2:1, 2; 1 Peter 2:13-15.
So, what about Jehovah’s Witnesses in Eastern Europe? Have they prospered under ban? Is there religious freedom for them?
[Picture on page 7]
Will the people return to the churches of Eastern Europe?