Publisher's Synopsis
"Anyone trying to understand... the recent history of Eastern Europe (including the Soviet Union) will find this book... extremely useful.... a common sense view of theory and historical study.... a successful product that both enlightens and informs." -American Historical Review
"... valuable reading." -Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"... welcome and insightful... " -Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
"It is an important study that produces a fairly rich bounty of information about political-religious relationships, the tie between the church and state, and the influence of religious beliefs on society." -Slavic Reviww
"... deserves intensive attention by scholars... " -Journal of Church and State
"The book's strengths lie in its range, documentation, strongly analytical, and subtly nuanced treatment, consistent awareness of the complexity and dynamism of the various church-state relationships, and its generally judicious blend of theoretical and empirical aspects." -History
"Cross and Commissar is a sober, richly documented analysis that is useful and fascinating. It is well written, researched, and organized and fills an unfortunate lacuna in the literature in the area of church-state relations." -The Annals of the American Academy
"This monograph is a tour de force... " -Modern Greek Studies Yearbook
Communist regimes take an active stance vis-à-vis religion, framing religious policies with an eye toward broader political objectives. Cross and Commissar provides the first systematic, comparative attempt at applying social-scientific theories to illuminate the nature of church-state interaction and the contemporary religious scene in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
