Department of History, Vilnius University

Title and Précis:

Democracy and Catholicism in 20th Century Lithuania

     What, precisely, the role of Catholicism plays for the fate of democracy in Lithuania will be addressed by this research project. Does Catholicism advance democratization or was it responsible for the failures of democratic culture? The history of Lithuania in the 20th century will be analyzed in light of the Church’s role during its various political phases: domination of Christian democracy (1918-1926), authoritarian rule (1927-1940), Nazi and Soviet occupations (1940-1990). Description, problem-oriented and comparative analysis, and sociological methods will be used in order to examine the origins of contemporary Lithuanian Catholicism. This research will prove most beneficial for comparison with other, similar Eastern European countries as well as Western nation-states.

Biography:

     Dr. Arūnas Streikus has been an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Vilnius University since 2006. His field of research is Catholic church history in Lithuania in the 20th century. He has published a number of articles on topics such as the resistance of the Catholic Church to the Soviet regime, the Catholic clergy and the KGB and the state of Christianity in Lithuania.