Abstract
Despite differences between countries, Eastern Europe is experiencing religious growth and the Churches are enjoying higher prestige. Religiosity appears to be increasing in some respects, unlike in West European societies. However, this development is not without contradictions. The present turn to religion is characterized by very different motives and constituents, among others the search for cultural identity, social regeneration and the fulfilment of spiritual needs. The increased prestige of the Churches is similarly ambiguous. Available data allow different interpretations depending on whether Communism is accepted as a social system that functions reasonably well, or as an artificial straitjacket that leaves a legacy of social anomie.