Science, Religion and Communism in Cold War Europe

Religion and science were fundamental aspects of Eastern European communist political culture from the very beginning, and remained in uneasy tension across the region over the decades. While both topics have long attracted a great deal of scholarly attention, they almost invariably have been studied discretely as separate stories. Religion, Science and Communism in Cold War Europe is the first scholarly effort to explore the delicate interface of religion, science and communism in Cold War Europe. It brings together an international team of researchers who address this relationship from a number of national viewpoints and thematic perspectives, ranging from mysticism to social science, space exploration to the socialist lifecycle, and architectural heritage to pop culture.  

Paul Betts is Professor of Modern European History at St. Antony's College, Oxford, UK. He has previously taught at the University of Sussex and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA, and is the author of several books and numerous articles on twentieth-century German history. His most recent book, Within Walls: Private Life in the German Democratic Republic, was published in 2010.  

Stephen A. Smith is Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, UK. He has taught at the European University Institute in Florence and University of Essex, UK, and is the author of many books and articles on modern Russian and Chinese history. In 2014 he edited the Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism.