CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2014
| Author | Surmava, Teona |
|---|---|
| Title | Orthodox Politics: formation of orthodox discourse and its socio-political implication in post-soviet Georgia |
| Summary | The emergence of religious nationalism in post-socialist countries is not a novelty. The relationship between the Church and state has always been the subject of debate. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the raise of religious nationalism in Central and Eastern European countries brought issues and challenges. The dimension of the religious nationalism and the type of the church-state relationships varies from country to country. In Georgia we face the growth of the power and the popularity of the Georgian Orthodox Church. As surveys suggest the Church is the most trusted institution in Georgia, and the Patriarch Ilya II the most popular public figure. On the one hand Georgian political elite strive to join the Western organizations and build a liberal nation-state, but on the other hand the Church interferes in almost every domain of life; including political, social, cultural and even private. My research tends to offer new insights on the topic and examine the possible reasons, conditions under which the Georgian Church became extremely strong political and social institution. I will argue that the Soviet experience greatly contributed to the emergence of religious nationalism. The ideological vacuum that was created after the breakdown of the Union was filled up by the Georgian Orthodox Church, which started to shape a new ideological framework. I will demonstrate that the discourse is Orthodox and is based on the religious sentiment. The ideological framework the Church is trying to provide is anti-ecumenical and aims to influence on the decision-making process in Georgia. The study will examine the reasons of the sudden turn to religion and the leverage the Church is trying to use in order to demonstrate its authority; as the most powerful social and political institution to mobilize people and make an impact on the social and political life. |
| Supervisor | Kovacs Andras |
| Department | Nationalism Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2014/surmava_teona.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University