ABSTRACT
Freethought, anticlericalism and faithlessness have been present in the Romanian lands since the mid-19th century, when the sons of many local boyars returned home after studying in Paris, Berlin, Vienna and other Western European capitals and brought with them new ideas, attitudes and opinions. Anticlericalism and faithlessness took center stage once Romania turned Communist. The Communist Party adopted a virulently antireligious discourse, and religion came under sustained attack from the Communist officials and their propaganda machine, as well as the secret political police. Under the weight of terror, censorship and conformism, Freethought itself was almost extinguished under Communism. Post-Communist democratization allowed Freethought to reestablish itself and gain new supporters, but many Romanians viewed anticlericalism and faithlessness as sad legacies of the Communist dictatorship the country sought to move away from. This chapter identifies several individual and institutional actors important in the history of Freethought, anticlericalism and faithlessness in 20th- and 21st-century Romania. The pioneers of Freethought in that country (Constantin Thiron and Panait Zosin), the pro-church intellectuals who opposed them (Nae Ionescu), Communist officials such as Pintilie Gheorghe and post-Communist activists like Remus Cernea are among the individuals who contributed to the public debate on religion and atheism.
