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Article: The East German Church and the End of Communism.(Review)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Journal of Church and State
- Article date:
- September 22, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 J.M. Dawson Studies in Church and State. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The East German Church and the End of Communism. By John P. Burgess. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 1985 pp. $35.00.
As many writers have noted, the Evangelische Kirchen in East Germany had a unique institutional arrangement with the communist state. They were the only autonomous body allowed to exist relatively free from state control, and in that capacity they were in a position to offer "free space" for a variety of alternative groups to meet and organize. Primarily because of this unique structural arrangement with the state, the churches became increasingly caught up in the prodemocracy movement as it gained momentum. Burgess's stated purpose in ...