Icons Axed, Freedoms Lost - by Vyacheslav Karpov & Rachel L Schroeder (Paperback)

About the Book

"In Icons Axed, Freedoms Lost, Vyacheslav Karpov and Rachel L. Schroeder demonstrate how Russia went from persecuting believers to jailing critics of religion, and why, in contrast, religious pluralism and tolerance have solidified in Ukrainie. Offering a richly documented history of cultural and political struggles that surround desecularization - the resurgance of religion's societal role - from the end of the USSR to the Russo-Ukrainian war, they show Russian critics of desecularization adhered to artistic provocations, from axing icons to "punk-prayers" in cathedrals and how Orthodox activists, in turn, responded by vandalizing controversial exhibits and calling on the state to crush "the enemies of the Church." Putin's solidifying tyranny heard their calls and criminalized insults to religious feelings. Meanwhile, Ukraine adhered to its pluralistic legacies. Its churches refused to engage in Russian-style culture wars, sticking instead to forgiveness and forbearance. Icons Axed, Freedoms Lost offers original theoreitcal and methodological perspectives on desecularization applicable far beyond cases of Russia and Ukraine"--

Book Synopsis

In Icons Axed, Freedoms Lost, Vyacheslav Karpov and Rachel L. Schroeder demonstrate how Russia went from persecuting believers to jailing critics of religion and why, in contrast, religious pluralism and tolerance have solidified in Ukraine. Offering a richly documented history of cultural and political struggles that surrounded desecularization--the resurgence of religion's societal role--from the end of the USSR to the Russo-Ukrainian war, they show Russian critics of desecularization adhered to artistic provocations, from axing icons to "punk-prayers" in cathedrals, and how Orthodox activists, in turn, responded by vandalizing controversial exhibits and calling on the state to crush "the enemies of the Church." Putin's solidifying tyranny heard their calls and criminalized insults to religious feelings. Meanwhile, Ukraine adhered to its pluralistic legacies. Its churches refused to engage in Russian-style culture wars, sticking instead to forgiveness and forbearance. Icons Axed, Freedoms Lost offers original theoretical and methodological perspectives on desecularization applicable far beyond the cases of Russia and Ukraine.

Review Quotes

"Contrary to the prediction of many social scientists, religion has remained important in people's lives and is at the center of many conflicts worldwide. Here Karpov and Schroeder expertly examine a unique case of a desecularizing Russia and the battle between a church that is a pawn of the state and a society that is losing its freedom to the tightening tentacles of religious restrictions. The book convincingly shows why Ukraine--unlike Russia--chose a path towards religious freedom and pluralism. A must read for anyone interested in the complex role of religion in today's world, especially those trying to make sense of religion, politics, and society in Russia and Ukraine."--Christopher Marsh "author of Religion and the State in Russia and China: Suppression, Survival, and Revival"

"This study beautifully combines an important theoretical achievement with a thoroughly researched, helpful, and penetrating comparison between the desecularization dynamics in Ukraine and Russia. For too long religious studies tended to ignore Ukraine or regard it as a subspecies of Russian culture. Karpov and Schroeder's study parts ways with this outdated perspective. This timely book can be recommended to every reader who seeks a deeper understanding of the religious background of the current violent clash between two radically different cultural projects--that of Russia and that of Ukraine."

--Yury Avvakumov "associate professor of theology and the history of Christianity at University of Notre Dame"

"This book offers an insightful analysis of the political ethos of Orthodoxy in Russia and how it has been shaped by imperial and Soviet legacies. The authors trace the dynamics giving rise to neo-traditionalist and neo-secularist camps in Russia and contrast this with attitudes to religious and secular authorities in Ukraine. The comparison is fruitful and theoretically innovative. This a timely and much-needed study of a powerful undercurrent in Eurasian politics."--Catherine Wanner "author of Everyday Religiosity and the Politics of Belonging in Ukraine"

"Karpov and Schroeder have written a refreshing account of post-Soviet Russia's desecularization. What started as a bottom-up process has succeeded only as a top-down, state-controlled, and state-dosed injection of religion into political and public life."--Dmytro Vovk "visiting associate professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law"

About the Author

VYACHESLAV KARPOV is a professor of sociology at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is the coeditor, with Manfred Svensson, of Secularization, Desecularization, and Toleration: Cross-Disciplinary Challenges to a Modern Myth.

RACHEL L. SCHROEDER is an assistant professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan.