Agata Sustova Drelova1; 1 Institute of History, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia
Discussion
The proposed paper explores the dynamics of transformation, and more specifically, etatisation of formerly activist Catholic clergy in Slovakia. These clergy, and I focus on those who joined the ranks of church hierarchy after 1989, went from being some of the most consistent and staunch opponents of politicisation of underground Catholic activism in the 1980s to most etatised and etatising agents within the Catholic church after 1989. At the first glance, they underwent seemingly profound identity change shifting from seeing themselves as guardians of the original Catholic activist mission—that was spiritual ministry and being especially wary of the issue of Slovak political independence to being actively involved in the nationalist drive for Slovak independence in the early 1990s and seeing themselves as leading advocates of national sovereignty. In my analysis I want to look at the dynamics of this transformation in the short period between the fall of socialist state and Slovak independence in 1993. I argue that the transformation of the ex-activists Catholic clergy is to a great extent a story of etatisation of religious authority, which is an important part of a broader story of etatisation of Catholic national culture.
