A guidebook to more than 70 of the most celebrated shrines and sanctuaries in eleven European countries.

Disgraceful collusion. Heroic resistance. Suppression of faith. Perseverance of convictions. The story of Christianity in twentieth-century Eastern Europe is often told in stark scenes of tragedy and triumph. Overlooked in the retelling of these dramas is how the region's clergy and lay believers lived their faith, acted within religious and political institutions, and adapted their traditions---while struggling to make sense of a changing world. The contributors to this volume, coming from the U.S. and Western and Eastern Europe, look beyond the narratives of resistance and collaboration. They offer surprising new evidence from archives and oral history interviews, and they provide fresh interpretations of Christianity as it was lived and expressed in modern Europe: from religiosity in the industrial cities of the late nineteenth century to current debates over immigration and European identity; from theological debates in East Germany to folk healing in post-socialist Bulgaria; and, counter-intuitively, from religious fervor among the Czechs to indifference among the Poles. Addressing Christianity in diverse forms---Orthodox, Protestant, Roman and Greek Catholic---as an integral part of the region's politics, society, and culture, this collection is a major addition to studies of both Eastern Europe and religion in the twentieth century. "A volume that specialists in the history of Christianity in other regions of the world will read with great interest, and a degree of envy. As an historian of religion in Western Europe, I can say that although there is a vast literature on the religious history of the nineteenth century and a growing literature on the twentieth century, there is nothing quite like this." From the Foreword by Hugh McLeod, author of The Religious Crisis of the 1960s. "This is a path-breaking book in two different ways. It contributes to the re-evaluation of the nature of modern European religion generally, and to the nature of religion in the modern world." Jeffrey Cox, University of Iowa, author of Imperial Fault Lines: Christianity and Colonial Power in India.

A tapestry of Catholic life in the United States, this guide takes readers to more than 500 churches, shrines, monuments, schools, & monasteries across the country. Covering popular locations such as Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York, the Alamo in San Antonio, & the University of Notre Dame, as well as more obscure stops such as the Ursuline Convent in New Orleans, the Grotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin, & the Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest in L'Anse, Michigan, the book visits both well-known & lesser-known sites from all parts of the U.S. Also included are remarkable stories like that of the Philadelphia church for which Babe Ruth hit a home run, the eight-seat Iowa chapel, & the Texas museum housing the art of a nun whose work the Nazis banned. A cornucopia of fascinating details, The Liguori Guide to Catholic U.S.A. provides brief histories & descriptions of each of the places profiled, as well as addresses & telephone numbers. Photos of more than fifty of the locations are also included. Essential for Catholic travelers & pilgrims, summer vacationers, retired Catholics, college students, armchair travelers, Catholic trivia & history buffs, or anyone interested in places Catholic, this book enables readers to seek out the places that continue to inspire, refresh, & renew the Catholic spirit.

As the first comprehensive monograph on the relations between the Catholic Church and the European Union, this book contains both a detailed historical overview of the political ties between the two complex institutions and a theoretical analysis of their normative orders and mutual interactions.

The Power of Forgiveness, Pope Francis on Reconciliation calls the reader to explore the mercy of God, received in a profound way by turning toward God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This heartfelt collection of the Pope's reflections on the need for repentance, awareness of sin, God's divine mercy, forgiveness of others, and confession and absolution, is a transformative read for Catholics of all vocational states!

This volume concentrates on the 'conceptual boundary' through Europe which is determined by Western and Eastern Christianity. The chapters show that the boundary has never been a stable and defined division, but that it was also subject to change and development and a place of encounter and exchange between religions and cultures.

The Second Vatican Council is the single most influential event in the 20th century history of the Catholic Church. The book analyzes the relationship between the Council and the "Ostpolitik" of the Vatican through the history of the Hungarian presence at Vatican II. Pope John XXIII, elected in 1958, was a catalyst. The pope thought that his most urgent task was to renew contacts with the Church behind the iron curtain. Hungarian participation at the Council was also made possible by the new, pragmatic model in Hungarian church politics. After the crushing of the 1956 Revolution, churches in Hungary thought that the regime would last and were willing to compromise. Vatican II – in the perspective of Hungary – was not primarily an ecclesial event, but it remained closely joined to the negotiations between the Holy See and the Kádár regime: during the Council Hungary became the experimental laboratory of the Vatican's new eastern policy. Was it a Vatican decision or a Soviet instruction? Fejérdy suggests that it was a decision of the Holy See.

Now thoroughly revised and updated, this encyclopedia documents the diversity of shrines, temples, holy places, and pilgrimage sites sacred to the world's major religious traditions, and illustrates their elemental place in human culture. As interest increases in the role of world religions in history and international affairs, the new edition of Encyclopedia of Sacred Places—which arrives 15 years after the publication of the original edition—provides new and updated information on site-specific religious practice and spiritually significant locations around the globe. While many of the entries describe specific places, like the Erawan Shrine and the Rock of Cashel, others examine types of sacred sites, pilgrimages, and practices. With articles that describe both the places and their associated traditions and history, this reference book reveals the enormous diversity and cultural significance of religious practice worldwide. For students and teachers of classes ranging from high school geography to university-level courses in religious studies, geography, anthropology, and sociology, this book provides essential reference on places of great significance to the world's various faith traditions.

Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu examine the relationship between religion and politics in ten former communist Eastern European countries. Contrary to widespread theories of increasing secularization, Stan and Turcescu argue that in most of these countries, the populations have shown themselves to remain religious even as they embrace modernization and democratization. Church-state relations in the new EU member states can be seen in political representation for church leaders, governmental subsidies, registration of religions by the state, and religious instruction in public schools. Stan and Turcescu outline three major models: the Czech church-state separation model, in which religion is private and the government secular; the pluralist model of Hungary, Bulgaria and Latvia, which views society as a group of complementary but autonomous spheres - for example, education, the family, and religion - each of which is worthy of recognition and support from the state; and the dominant religion model that exists in Poland, Romania, Estonia, and Lithuania, in which the government maintains informal ties to the religious majority. Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe offers critical tools for understanding church-state relations in an increasingly modern and democratic Eastern Europe.

Nationalistic meccas, shrines to popular culture, and sacred traditions for the world's religions from Animism to Zoroastrianism are all examined in two accessible and comprehensive volumes. Pilgrimage is a comprehensive compendium of the basic facts on Pilgrimage from ancient times to the 21st century. Illustrated with maps and photographs that enrich the reader's journey, this authoritative volume explores sites, people, activities, rites, terminology, and other matters related to pilgrimage such as economics, tourism, and disease. Encompassing all major and minor world religions, from ancient cults to modern faiths, this work covers both religious and secular pilgrimage sites. Compiled by experts who have authored numerous books on pilgrimage and are pilgrims in their own right, the entries will appeal to students, scholars, and general readers.