Religion, Moral Issues, and Politics: Exploring Country Profiles in CEE

Studies on religious change in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) rarely discuss the role of dominant religious traditions in establishing patterns of religiosity after the 1990s. This chapter offers a cross-national analysis of religious belief, religious practice, centrality of religion, and attitudes toward public morality and politics for a selected list of CEE countries (n = 17098, Pew Research data 2015–2016). We discuss the results against four country groups – Catholic majority, Orthodox majority, religiously mixed, and non-affiliated – and in terms of generational change. The findings suggest a slightly stronger relevance of belief in God in countries with an Orthodox majority, particularly among Generation X, with almost 90% of believers. This trend can be compared with a similar level of belief among the Silent Generation in Catholic-majority countries. There is a more pronounced pattern of regular religious participation (once a week) in Catholic-dominated countries than in Orthodox-majority countries. Within the latter, the Silent Generation tends to exhibit lower religious practices than younger age cohorts. The effect of country groups is also evident when assessing attitudes toward the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriages, and the influence of religion on politics. Our analysis shows that, aside from numerous social and country-specific factors in explaining the patterns of socio-religious change in CEE countries, studies should consistently include the effects of cultural identification of countries with confessional traditions.