Woundedness. New Paradigma for Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Since the first quarter after the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe religions and bigger and smaller religious communities are one of the most important public players. In every post-communist states there are new laws regarding freedom of religion and church financing. Local religious communities are important players in the rebuilding of civil society. Over the national/nationalistic dimension of the new public presence of religion there are some regional issues of history, identity and live in freedom, which should be analyzed. Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe can be characterized as one multiple cultural region in seeking social and cultural identity. One of the most important dimension of the regional context is the post-genocide experience, the permanent imagination of genocides and other forms of historical wounds. Under genocides I mean the experience of so called bloodlands (Snyder), Holocaust and Srebrenica. In my presentation I try to argue for one particular interpretation of the societies in Central and Eastern Europe dealing with post-genocide public discourses. Religions, theologies and churches play important role in seeking and offering post-genocide identity – that kind of public activity is in my opinion the central and special point in the adequate and appropriate interpretation of contemporary processes in the region; and that approach can be seen as one particular and original theoretical framework for understanding the region today and not at least for one new vision of pastoral care as well.