ABSTRACT. Muray contends that the nations of Central and Eastern Europe have alternately been pawns in geopolitical struggles. Tomka maintains that the reference to God provides a firm center for identity which is strong enough to integrate the multitude of partial identities as shaped in different spheres of life. Burgess remarks that the Russian Orthodox Church has successfully reestablished itself as an integral part of contemporary Russian culture. Bremer observes that, in Eastern Europe, religion was something the communist authorities regarded as backward, and they expected this phenomenon to vanish in the near future. (pp. 149–153)