Public lecture on religious radicalism and anti-European sentiment in contemporary Moldova
Professor Anastasia Mitrofanova will give a public lecture entitled “Religious radicalism and anti-European sentiment in contemporary Moldova” on March 19, 16.15, Ülikooli 16-214.
The presentation describes Orthodoxy-based anti-European activities in Moldova, discusses the sources of such activities, and analyzes the role of radicals in the landscape of Moldovan Orthodoxy. Orthodox radicals believe that although Anti-Christ has not come yet, his reign on Earth has already started. Moldova’s moves in the direction of the European Union are seen as apostasy. The increase in religious radicalism directly followed regime change and transition to more consistently pro-European policies in Moldova in April 2009. The presentation also discusses specific issues such as the use of enumerated identity cards, freedom of press and blasphemy, as well as the rights of religious and sexual minorities. The presentation is based on the author’s fieldwork in Moldova.
Anastasia V. Mitrofanova is a Chair of Political Science, Church-State Relations and the Sociology of Religion at the Russian Orthodox University, Professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU). She received her M.A. (1994) and Ph.D. (1998) in Political Science from the Moscow State University and Dr. habilitat degree from the Diplomatic Academy of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Russian Federation (2006). In 1998-2012 she was Director of the Center for Euroatlantic Studies at the Diplomatic Academy. Anastasia Mitrofanova’s research interests include: religious politicization, fundamentalism, Orthodox Christianity and politics, nationalism in post-Soviet states, religiopolitical movements. Her publications include Politizatsiia ‘pravoslavnogo mira’ (Moskva: Nauka, 2004); The Politicization of Russian Orthodoxy: Actors and Ideas (Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag, 2005).
Anastasia Mitrofanova is currently a visiting research fellow at the Centre for EU-Russia Studies, University of Tartu.
The lecture is organized by the Estonian Society for the Study of Religions (www.eaus.ee) and the Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS) at the University of Tartu.
For more information about the Centre, see http://ceurus.ut.ee.
Further information: Alar Kilp, Lecturer in Comparative Politics, phone: (+372) 737 5312, e-post: alar.kilp [ät] ut.ee.