Paper short abstract:

In the context of Romuva's challenges in obtaining state recognition, this paper examines the public discourse, focusing on religion, identity formation through contradiction, and the role of in- and out-groups. The study is part of a PhD project at the University of Bremen.

Paper long abstract:

The religious association Romuva has faced persistent challenges in obtaining state recognition despite adhering to the procedures of doing so outlined in Lithuanian law. Over the course of a 25-year waiting period, numerous parliamentary votes, an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, and a robust public discourse, the matter of recognition has been widely discussed and debated by a variety of stakeholders, including Romuvians themselves, Lithuanian parliament members, Catholic bishops, religious studies academics, and others.

This paper aims to examine the ongoing discourse by exploring the central concept of religion and how identities are delineated in relation to it through the means of contradiction. What kind of arguments are made in public discourse? How do they create in- and out-groups and what does that mean for the concepts employed in the statements? What role does contradiction play in all of this and what does a sharp focus on it reveal about the process? This is part of a PhD project on the discourse around the topic of Romuva’s state recognition at the Research Training Group Contradiction Studies – Constellations, Heuristics, Concepts at the University of Bremen.