The role of Catholic Church in public life of Lithuania: the change of forms of participation (1990–2010)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe the expression of the process of secularization on the institutional level in Lithuania. The article deals with Lithuanian Catholic Church’s participation in public life of society and its change. It is based on the data of media text analysis of the largest Lithuanian newspapers from the period of 1990–2010. According to these data, the authors argue that although the boundaries between religious and secular spheres determined by the process of modernization exist, but from time to time they are questioned, relocated and redistributed. The article concludes that Lithuanian Catholic Church’s active participation in public life approves the phenomenon of deprivatization of religion and implies criticism of secularization theory and its reassessment.