Religious freedom in context: A comparison between Belarus and Romania

This chapter is an attempt to contribute the comparative study of religious freedom and Eastern Orthodoxy in sociological perspective. By examining the socio-legal similarities and differences in religious freedom governance in Orthodox Belarus and Romania and patterns of religious freedom views among adolescents (16–19 years old) in Belarus (N = 651) and Romania (N = 589), the authors argue that the official religious freedom policies had resemblance with religious freedom views of a young generation. The current empirical study showed a greater level of skepticism towards religious freedom entitlements expressed by young people in Belarus, compared to Romania. For both countries, this study indicated differences between non-religious, religious majority, and religious minorities groups in regard to ‘religious freedom entitlements,’ but not in regard to ‘religious freedom governance.’ Considering the similarities in religious freedom views regarding the predictive power of individual religiosity together with the traditional role of religion linking national and spiritual elements and the absence of predictive effect by religious pluralism, we problematize the concept of religious freedom for the further analysis of Orthodoxy worldwide. Based on empirical evidence, we discuss how sociology of religious freedom advances the study of Orthodox tradition and modernization nexus and better understanding of relationship between individual beliefs and institutional conditions that affect religious freedom advancement in Eastern European Orthodox countries.