Trust in the Church Hierarchy among the Underground Church Community in Post-1968 Slovakia
Trust in the Church Hierarchy among the Underground Church Community in Post-1968 Slovakia

Summary/Abstract: In the post-1968 era, trust in the official hierarchy among the catholic faithful was far from guaranteed. With the church hierarchy under tight state control and effectively existing on two levels-officially and “underground”-the levels of trust fluctuated and its character changed. Trust was constructed, challenged and negotiated. Drawing on an analysis of the catholic discourse in late socialism, I argue that the character and level of trust in the local catholic hierarchy changed dynamically according to the current hierarchy’s relationship to the communist party-state, the hierarchy’s relationship with the Vatican and the level and quality of the hierarchy´s relationship with the underground community itself.

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