Between heaven and earth: religious “renaissance” in the Byelorussian SSR during the era of perestroika and glasnost (1985–1991)

Abstract

The article examines the changes in the relations between the state, church and society that took place in the Byelorussian SSR in 1985– 1991. These changes had their own specifics, development logic, driving forces and consequences in such a multi-confessional region as Belarus. Analyzing the evolution of the position of the Belarusian leadership regarding religion and church, the author notes that as the policy of the union center changed, the position of the republican authorities on the religious issue changed. With the increasing distance between Moscow and Minsk and the growth of national self-awareness of Belarusians, the process of “nationalization” of confessions began. The religious “renaissance” in the Byelorussian SSR is considered with the involvement of a wide range of documentary primary sources stored in the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus, as well as materials from periodicals of the period under consideration. This source base made it possible to analyze the features of the transformation of the mass consciousness of the population of the BSSR, the change in the paradigm of state-confessional relations, and the increase in the role of religion in society. The article shows the contradictions that have emerged locally in the context of the rejection of the state policy of militant atheism and the revival of interest in religious values ​ and culture.