The international conference “The Church and Totalitarian Regime: Secularisation and Strategies of Survival”

The aim of the conference is to look at the processes that were taken place in the Church, interactions between the Church and society and its forms, paying attention to the context of secularisation and socio-political situation during the age of totalitarian regime, especially in the Soviet Union. We also welcome contributions on research theories and methodological issues, as well on various and particular aspects of cultural history in the history of the Church under the Soviet regime. The conference brings together scientists from the Latvian, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Poland and the United States. Understanding of the totalitarian heritage and its analysis is one of the most important tasks for the modern day scholars in Europe. Interactions between the totalitarian power and the Church, regime’s attitude towards religion, religious tradition, and cultural and religious aspects of the secularised education system, which were tightly controlled by the totalitarian state – all these aspects are part of our recent common European past. It is a key point regarding understanding our contemporary situation, to analyse and rationally explain the experience of survival strategies of different confessional and religious groups under rigid conditions of ideological and administrative control. The conference is organised by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology (project "Thematization of religious experience in the situation of post-liberal spirituality: Latvian case") in collaboration with the Library of the University of Latvia. Program of the conference. Detailed program of the conference will be available at the website.