Church-State Relations in the Post-Communist World: The Cases of Belarus and Estonia.

CHURCH & state; POLITICAL autonomy; NORTH Atlantic Treaty Organization; ESTONIAN politics & government, 1940-1991; ESTONIAN politics & government, 1991-; BELARUSIAN politics & government, 1945-1991; BELARUSIAN politics & government, 1991-

An essay on the church-state relations in post-communist Belarus and Estonia is presented. It examines the principal arrangements for church-state relations at the time of independence and the key events following the establishment of the post-independence model in the two countries. It also explores the different political and societal paths of the two nations, wherein Belarus became Russia's ally while Estonia joined the North Atlantic Treat Organization and the European Union.