Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on The role of the Church in Lithuanian democracy. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A paper which looks at the role and function of the Catholic church in Lithuania, both during and after the Soviet regime, and at the changing face of religious infrastructures in relation to democracy in Lithuania today. Bibliography lists 9 sources.
Page Count:
16 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLlithua.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
maintenance of democracy in Lithuania, it is useful to consider briefly the extent to which religion, and religious infrastructures, form an integral part of civil society and how their influence
might differ in the Baltic states from other parts of Europe. It is evident that even in states which officially make
a separation between "church and state" that religious ideologies are still influential in the secular sphere, and in countries where secular political ideologies have been externally imposed - such as
those which came under the aegis of the USSR - the pattern of interaction between religious infrastructures and civil society is different from that found in countries such as the
USA, where separation of church and state is integral to the national constitution. However, in both types of society, it is evident that religious belief systems and religious values are
never entirely eliminated: clearly, "the Church", whatever form it takes, plays a vital function in the construct of social organizations.
If we look at Durkheims theories regarding the development of mechanical and organic societies, the reason for this consistent role of religion perhaps becomes clearer. Durkheim asserts that
the "mechanical" society grows out of social cohesion, which derives from similarities between individuals in a social group, and is based on ritual and routines which are common to all.
He sees this as common in pre-industrial societies, and likely to fade in importance as industrialization and modernization takes place. Society moves from a mechanical form to an organic, and
in the course of such development, increases in its complexity. A mechanical society is characterized by the way in which people
...