ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the post-war religious developments. The phenomenon of people distancing themselves from the church establishment points to an increase in religious individualism among people still ostensibly aligned with the Greek Orthodox church. The Orthodox tradition has also had an abiding impact on the formation of Greek national and cultural identity. It is therefore no accident that the Orthodox church still enjoys the status of a religious monopoly in Greece and is considered an indispensable element in the functioning and integration of the Greek social system. However, deviations from this religious establishment have appeared in the form of "diffused religion". Greeks practicing "diffused religion" are not unchurched and, despite their religious idiosyncrasies, still consider themselves members of the Greek Orthodox church. Another aspect of "diffused religion" is found in the attempt of many Greeks to transform the primary religious function of the Orthodox church into something not overtly religious.
