Contested national space, gender, and the Orthodox Church: comparing Georgia and Greece

Orthodox Churches (OC), as sophisticated political actors with their institutional agenda to convey and alliances to hold, can abate exclusionary religious nationalism. In certain cases, they also benefit from the privileged position of established churches while monopolizing national religious markets. OC’s communion with state/ruling political parties and right-wing groups manifests the ongoing process of ‘politicizing sacred’ and ‘sacralising political’, as a crafting embodiment of the Byzantine tradition of Symphonia—the church-state harmony intended to serve national interests. Nonetheless, national interests and, in general, national space are contested, and Orthodox Churches attempt to dominate in a ‘discursive struggle’ for a symbolic space. OCs are using religious teachings and traditions to legitimize, and sometimes undercut, established power relations between men and women (Kupari & Vuola, 2020; Shevtsova, 2022). As the Pew Research Center (2017) data suggests, Orthodox countries have conservative views on gender issues, and there are differences between former Soviet and non-Soviet spaces. Scholars argue that in Georgia roles of women in the sphere of domestic religiousity are still based on the view of women as traditional guardians of a specific moral code and preservers of Georgianness (Gurchiani, 2021). The informal practices and negotiation of meanings and functions within the church and in the Gray zones of religiousity are the main fields of both obedience and power for women. The Paper will compare Georgia and Greece to find out how gender roles are attributed in society and what effect churches have on it. Georgia and Greece are the most religious societies among the Orthodox countries, where the religious marker of national identity is particularly important. There are major differences in their historical-political paths; however, similarities seem to be endogenous and could be linked to Orthodoxy and its nature. By analysing sermons and public speeches of politicians and clergy, we attempt to draw the narrative regarding women’s role in society, how it is shaped, and which actors are playing important roles in strengthening traditional/conservative views. Primary data from focus groups conducted in Georgia in 2023 will be used along with secondary quantitative data to draw the complete picture.