Romania: A Model for Religious and Ethnic Tolerance

Abstract

In a short span of time, Romania has transformed itself from a communist country into a fully integrated member of the European Union. The author emphasises the uniqueness of the ‘Romanian model’ and discusses the fundamental factors behind its success, most importantly how the church has contributed to the consolidation of a democratic society. The author also shows why the common values shared by European countries are still relevant in the face of the challenges of the twenty-first century.

From past mistakes to a European model

Communism tried to level all differences between people in order to subordinate them to a single repressive ideology. This ideology tried to suppress the distinctive features of culturally rich European societies such as Romania, so that a foreign-designed form of social control could be implemented.

The social control imposed by communism was aimed at destroying the freedom and individuality of all citizens in the country, irrespective of their ethnic or religious identity. The collapse of the communist regime in December 1989 allowed Romania to embark on a new domestic and international path.

Between that moment and the accession to the European Union in January 2007, Romanians went through a difficult transition period–-a concept almost synonymous with the idea of sacrifice and uncertainty. Structural changes were necessary in order for Romania to become an EU candidate and then an EU Member State: the privatisation of a state-controlled economy, the adoption of a democratic Constitution and the creation of a completely new institutional infrastructure aimed at answering the needs of a democratic, pluralistic, transparent society.

The legacy of communism left Romania with significant challenges in the field of minority rights and in the treatment of denominations and churches. These challenges included dealing with the confiscation of properties belonging to the Greek-Catholic Church, the restrictive approach of the state towards national minorities as well as a discriminatory attitude towards the Roma people, who had been kept at the periphery of society.

This dark legacy began to diminish once democracy and a new pluralistic and open cultural framework took shape. Throughout this complex transformation process, the relationship between the ethnic and religious minorities and the Orthodox Romanian majority of the population (85% according to the latest census) has gone through a series of regenerating experiences.

Looking back, we can see that Romania has progressed tremendously. As the main ethnic minority, the Hungarians have established their own political representation and have since become members of various governing coalitions.

In the current Romanian Parliament 19 minorities are represented, holding a total of 50 seats. The ethnic minority groups benefit from public assistance programmes and can preserve their identity through their own education networks. It has been a long process, and now we can proudly say that Romania has some of the most advanced legislation in Europe regarding the protection of minority rights and religious freedom.

It has been a long and sometimes difficult process of transformation into what we would today call ‘the Romanian model’. But what are the main features of this model?

First and foremost, the representation of minority groups in the Parliament of Romania, county councils and local administration has provided an enormous opportunity for them to set the agenda for improving national legislation and designing projects of local interest.

The possibility for people to study at different levels in their native languages and to use their mother tongues in public administration is also a key aspect of the Romanian model.

Equally important, the legislation and measures within this model are largely supported by the overwhelmingly open and tolerant Romanian society and by the Romanian political elite, for whom the protection of cultural and religious diversity in Romania is a shared obligation.

Inclusiveness and responsibility

A more complex situation regards the Roma people, whose problems are completely different from those encountered by most minorities living in Romania. The Roma people represent a minority group with many social challenges, difficult living conditions and a higher-than-average school dropout rate.

The magnitude of the problems of social inclusion experienced by the Roma people calls for a better-coordinated approach between not only the government authorities, NGOs and local administration, but also with those companies that are ready to assume projects with a deeper sense of social responsibility. This will be a test in the coming years.

There are still realities that should be addressed both by the community and by society as a whole, such as the under-representation of the Roma people in the public debate concerning minority rights.

The state and the church

The new Law for Religious Affairs, passed in 2006, treats all churches on equal terms and does not attribute to the majority Orthodox Church the status of a ‘national church’. The process of administrative decentralisation, which strongly enforces the principle of subsidiarity, will provide a more favourable context for this framework of policies aimed at protecting local initiative and the cultural heritage of all Romanian citizens, regardless of their ethnic or religious background.

United in the suffering endured throughout their shared communist past, the churches in Romania have stayed united during the period of democratic reconstruction. In practical terms, all the religious leaders have supported the long and sometimes complicated process of institutional reconstruction aimed at making Romania more compatible with European Union standards and practices. A responsible and shared understanding of the national interest has stimulated the development of ‘internal ecumenism’. This inter-confessional dialogue has increased the shared responsibility of the churches in terms of social solidarity and democratic education.

I do not wish to downplay the occasional failures that have occurred during this process. I believe it is necessary, however, to emphasise the fact that Romania's various churches and confessions have directly contributed to the consolidation of a democratic society. They have managed to overcome their occasionally divergent views in order to serve the common good. Indeed, the majority Orthodox Church has demonstrated the most obvious merit here. Although under frequent public criticism, which is a natural democratic response, the Romanian Orthodox Church has nevertheless shown an outstanding sense of pastoral responsibility and an ecumenical vocation of the first order.

I would like to remind readers that Bucharest was the first capital of a largely Orthodox country to receive, in May 1999, a visit from the late Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla. This event, called ‘a historic first’, has healed the wound inflicted by the Great Schism of 1054 through its symbolic consecration of Europeans’ right to find themselves with a genuinely shared destiny, beyond the fractures in their turbulent past. In the embrace between John Paul II and the former Patriarch Teoctist in Bucharest, before hundreds of thousands of Orthodox and Catholic believers, the whole of Europe somehow revisited its roots and offered itself the prospect of a better future.

The reality of this better future is best and most convincingly foreshadowed by the success enjoyed by the city of Sibiu as the EU-designated Cultural Capital of Europe for 2007, in partnership with Luxembourg. Located in the heart of Romania, the wonderful city of Sibiu is tangible proof today that a multicultural and multi-ethnic Europe is not a pious illusion but a very exciting, vibrant and promising reality.

At the beginning of September 2007 Sibiu hosted the Third European Ecumenical Reunion, where young Christians from all countries and churches of our continent came to pray and to find, through direct dialogue, the template for living together in a mutually enriching European experience.

As I stated in Sibiu, it is more necessary today than ever before to define a space for common reflection about the role that churches can assume in our society, in order to develop inter-Christian and interreligious dialogue and to support respect for the dignity of the human being, respect for other people and for the natural world in which believers see God's creation.

Romania's international outlook: postmodern challenges

The optimism that followed the end of the Cold War has not been entirely confirmed, a result of geopolitical realities. The world remains unpredictable, the system of international relations has maintained its anarchic tendencies, while democracy moves forward with some difficulty–-challenged in many places by nationalist or extremist revivals and by new sources of instability and conflict.

With this context in mind, I am deeply convinced that the European Union and the United States need to re-affirm the stability of their alliance, as well as their allegiance to those fundamental common values that have defined and protected both America and Europe.

For the European states–-active participants in this comprehensive collective exercise–-the priority should continue to be the completion and the refinement of the European project, through a dialectical process that includes the enlargement of the EU as well as its economic deepening. Romania wishes to be part of the process of the reconfiguration of Europe in this era of accelerated globalisation. Globalisation requires reforms, adjustments, courageous constructs–-both intellectually and at the European institutional level.

It is likely that modern democracy, born out of Enlightenment thinking, needs to be reinvented under pressure from these new global vectors. Faced with such a complex task, we need to consider the errors of the past and reassess, in a holistic way, the relationship between the secular state, the individual rights of the human being and religion–-the depositary of European cultural memory.

The founders of the united Europe believed in the ‘soul of Europe’–-a spiritual dimension of unity and solidarity–-that would guarantee the reconciliation, peace and justice that the peoples of Europe aspired to half a century ago.

This is one essential aspect of our common heritage that should provide intellectual support for the future. We must not forget that the founders of the European Union belonged to the same political family as we do. Their brilliant vision brought about this prosperous and peaceful Europe that everyone now admires.

In my travels outside the European continent, I have learned that there is more euro-scepticism within the EU than elsewhere. By being perfectionists about our EU project, we are frequently more pessimistic than is necessary. Obviously, the main questions remain prominent on the EU agenda, awaiting a consensual, realistic and rational response from us.

How to defend stability and prosperity without closing our countries to partners in the EU neighbourhood? How to develop the European Security and Defence Policy in a spirit of partnership, and not of competition, in relation to NATO? How to define EU borders without generating frustration and demographic setbacks within countries aspiring to join the EU? How to protect European trade standards without excluding ourselves from the trade flows and interaction with emerging economic powers such as China or India? How to ensure our energy autonomy or at least, how to identify alternative energy sources for the increasingly integrated economy of the 27 Member States? How to combine solidarity and development assistance with the need for quality immigration able to meet the EU's economic needs? How to tackle climate change without generating productivity losses or an upsurge in unemployment? How to shape a new paradigm for the relationship between governments, civil society and the religious communities in Europe, harnessing their creative energies for the prospect of the common good?

I believe that this apparently overwhelming inventory of issues must not discourage us. Each of our countries can provide examples of success and determination for the challenges ahead. Most importantly, we have a common deposit of experience that can help the European Union in finding answers for all these issues.

Romania, which has been the victim of one of the most absurd forms of communist dictatorship that was designed to deny and level all differences between people, and which is now a model of minority rights, deeply believes that strong desires can become a reality if they are backed by determination and strong convictions.

We have to remind ourselves that there is no leadership without strong values and decisive action. Europe has all the prerequisites necessary to assume leadership.