'Lithuania is normally, and correctly, thought of as a majority Catholic country, but this volume reveals the hitherto unacknowledged richness of its religious landscape. The Catholic Church is having to come to terms not only with its Soviet past but also with the contemporary scene in which it has to co-exist with Lithuania's minority traditional religions (Greek Catholics; Russian Orthodox; Old Believers; Judaism; Karaism; Islam; Lutheran and Reformed Churches) but also with new (to Lithuania) religions including Baptists; Buddhists, ISKCON; Unificationists; New Agers, Pagans and, perhaps most challenging of all, the Word of Life and Jehovah's Witnesses. This interesting, informative and invaluable volume not only charts the religious scene in this small Baltic country, but also provides a template with which we can compare the situation in which other Central and Eastern European countries find themselves two decades after the collapse of atheistic socialism. It is a book that should be on the shelves of all those with an interest in religion, social change and, particularly, but by no means only, the New Europe.' Eileen Barker, Professor Emeritus, London School of Economics, UK 'Poised between the low levels of religiosity which characterise its Baltic, ex-Soviet neighbours and the high levels of Catholic Poland, Lithuania provides a fascinating window through which to examine processes of religious reconfiguration after socialism. The "birthright" Roman Catholic Church exercises a diffuse hegemony, especially in rural areas, but the contributors document an astonishing variety of beliefs and practices. This volume will be read with pleasure and profit by all concerned with the complex interdependence of the religious and the secular in modern Europe.' Chris Hann, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany '... an in-depth look at the relation of the once-predominant Roman Catholicism in Lithuania to the new pluralism that has emerged in the small Baltic nation since the fall of communism.' Religion Watch 'Lithuania finds itself positioned between rather different neighbours and it certainly requires some effort to penetrate cultural codes and local traditions before the local within the global becomes approachable. Reading the book one is reminded that a careful ethnography is the best outset for any exploration of local religion or religions... The past two decades have fundamentally changed Lithuania, a change mirrored in the new multi-religious reality of the country. In terms of scholarship pertaining to religion, the emerging change is reflected in the rising scientific expertise. The present volume is a fine example of this.' Journal of Contemporary Religion 'There is much here to fascinate...' Catholic Library World '... Religious Diversity in Post-Soviet Society, jointly edited by a sociologist specializing in new religious movements, AlisauskienA-, and an anthropologist well-known for his studies on the Catholic Church, Schroder, is an important addition to the growing body of literature on religion in the former Soviet Bloc countries. What is also original in the volume is the use, as a meeting ground for anthropologists and sociologists, of cognitive tools derived from Italian Marxist political theorist Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), which have been studied in Lithuania before and after the fall of the Soviet regime.' International Journal for the Study of New Religions 'All in all, this is a good collection of studies looking at contemporary religious life in Lithuania outside the dominant Catholic Church.' Slavonic and East European Review 'This collection of ethnographic essays represents an excellent introduction to the religious field, but also raises a number of interesting questions for the reader to reflect on. ...the authors certainly help to fill the current gap in ethnographic research on religion in post-Soviet societies. They cover a wide range of religious groups and research topics and tell intriguing stories that provide us with a rich understanding.' Europe-Asia Studies
