At the end of 1989, Romania was on a journey towards democracy. Since then, the country has undergone many changes, including a so-called religious renaissance.

Why is religion so prominent in a post-communist Romanian society” What impacts has the increased presence of religion had on Romanian society” The author seeks answers to these questions in the context of pilgrimages to Romanian monasteries renowned for their miracles, charismatic confessors, and relics. In observing the faith and practices of women—without omitting the official religion bearers—this book explores four themes which compose as many parts of the lived religion: fate, charisma, materiality and relics.

In the back and forth between those themes a picture is uncovered of a religion in an orthodox context and offers an explanation on the increased presence of religion in Romania post-1989 and the social transformations characteristic of the post-communist period.

Published in French.

Monica Grigore-Dovlete est chercheuse à l’Institut de recherche sur l’intégration professionnelle des immigrants du Collège de Maisonneuve. À la suite de ses études doctorales en sociologie de l’Université de Montréal, elle a été chercheuse postdoctorale à l’Université d’Ottawa (Projet Religion et Diversité). En 2014, elle a reçu le prix Miklos Tomka de l’organisme International Study of Religion in Eastern and Central Europe (ISORECEA) pour ses recherches sur « The Body, Religion, and Pilgrimage: Beliefs and Practices of Orthodox Romanians ».:

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