Was there a Cold War spirituality? What was its wider significance in an antagonistic world? How can we, as scholars of history, understand the correlation between Cold War cultures and belief-related practices?

The Cold War was undoubtedly an existential and therefore also a highly emotional affair. Was there a Cold War spirituality? What was its wider significance in an antagonistic world? And how can we, as scholars of history, understand the correlation between Cold War cultures and belief-related practices? Even though research into Cold War religion has developed an interest in the social and cultural trappings of belief during the past decades, there is today a lack of studies dealing with the juxtaposition of Cold War political climate and contemporary expressions of spirituality. This conference seeks to fill this gap by examining, for the first time, religion-related historical case studies with regard to feelings, performance and aesthetics in relation to the Cold War.

More than twenty scholars from across Europe will present papers analyzing various aspects of Cold War spirituality and emotional regimes during the conference. Keynote speakers include Uta Balbier (University of Oxford) and Marie Cronqvist (University of Linköping).

The conference is organized by CTR in connection with Central and Eastern European Studies and the ReCoNet research network. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the CEMES foundation.