Události

Presenter: Sofiana Sinani (CERGE-EI PhD Student)

Title: "Faith, Interrupted: Identity and Behavior After Forced Atheism."

Abstract: Governments have long intervened in national identity formation, yet it remains unclear when such efforts reshape values or merely induce compliance. This paper studies Albania's 1967 Cultural Revolution, when the Communist regime criminalized religion and promoted a secular "pure Albanian" identity. Using a residualized event-study design, we document large declines in religious naming and rises in secular Albanian naming — effects strongest in high-illiteracy districts, consistent with greater state penetration, though religious minorities show persistent resistance. Survey evidence reveals declines in religious participation and upbringing, but no change in belief in God or political values; and administrative records show a rise in cross-religious marriages. The reform thus dismantled religion as a social institution — reshaping naming, upbringing, and marriage patterns — without touching private conviction. States, it seems, can secularize public life but not the inner self.

Link to join online: https://cerge-ei.webex.com/cerge-ei/j.php?MTID=m00885d28c58306817717d01e24611bd5
Meeting number: 2744 933 4542
Meeting password: 295632