The Vytautas Kavolis Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) has launched a new research project titled “Discursive Practices of Politicisation of Religion and Religionisation of Politics in Contemporary Lithuania”. This highly topical research is led by the well-known sociologist of religion Prof. Dr. Milda Ališauskienė. The research project, funded by the Research Council of Lithuania, will last three years.
The importance of the interaction between religion and politics in Lithuania
The relevance of this research is based on the trends of recent decades observed in many Western societies – the return of religion to the public sphere, which also affects established power structures. The processes of politicisation of religion and religionisation of politics influence political decisions and public attitudes.In Lithuania, too, these processes are becoming increasingly visible and important, which makes the aim of this study – to uncover the characteristics of the phenomena of the politicisation of religion and the religionisation of politics in Lithuania – particularly timely.
To achieve this goal, three cases of particular relevance to Lithuanian political life will be analysed: the process of granting state recognition to religious communities in Lithuania; the process of legalising same-sex partnership; and the process of ratifying the Istanbul Convention (formally known as the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence). The project will explore the characteristics of the relationship between religion and politics in contemporary Lithuania through the perspectives of the politicisation of religion and the religionisation of politics, and through a critical discourse analysis of three cases.
Study will provide insights into the role of religion
The study will add valuable insights to the Lithuanian scientific knowledge base on the role of religion in contemporary society and its influence on political processes. It will reveal new aspects of the interaction between religion and politics in Lithuania and its peculiarities in comparison with similar processes in the European and global contexts.
Project team – researchers of gender, religion and politics
Most of the project team members belong to the VMU Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The project leader, Dr. Milda Ališauskienė, a professor at the Department of Sociology, is researching minority and new religions, religious diversity, the relationship between religion and the state, and the interaction between religion and gender. Dr. Eglė Aleknaitė studies religion, gender, migration, identity and heritage politics. Dr. Gražina Bielousova explores the intersections of race, gender and religion in Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, PhD student Evelina Juchnevičiūtė is working on her dissertation on the interaction between politics and religion in the context of human rights in Lithuania.
At the end of the project, the project researchers Prof. Dr. Milda Ališauskienė, Dr. Eglė Aleknaitė and Dr. Gražina Bielousova will prepare a joint monograph presenting the detailed results of the project. The monograph will address problematic aspects of the relationship between religion and politics and the state in Lithuania, analyse discursive practices of the politicisation of religion and the religionisation of politics, and present analyses of selected topical cases.
Photo: Unsplash
