Raul Carstocea semneaza o excelenta recenzie la Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania (Oxford University Press, 2007) in The English Historical Review. Includ aici doar cateva remarci:

“The authors of this new work, Lucian Turcescu and Lavinia Stan, who are both professors in Canada, combine a very high level of expertise in the study of religion and politics which justifies Sabrina P. Ramet’s assessment that ‘they are uniquely qualified to write this book’ (p. xi). Stan and Turcescu achieve a laudable balance, evaluating the interplay of religion and politics in post-Communist Romania from a theoretical perspective, while taking into consideration the ‘special status’ that Orthodoxy has enjoyed throughout Romanian history. Thus, Stan and Turcescu’s thematic and multidimensional methodology departs from the piecemeal approach (analysing the interplay between the state and one religious denomination at a time), and allows for a dynamic interpretation which sheds light on the interactions between different political and religious actors, in their competition over resources, whether in the form of popularity or privileges. The discussion is convincing, and excellent in revealing the discrepancies between theory and practice…The balanced tone of the book and the impressive research behind it make it an outstanding contribution to the literature on the topic. The excellent use of sources, from legislation to the wealth of press articles dealing with the issues examined by the authors, and the references to the (few) academic works addressing similar topics, make the account not only impressive in its scholarly range, but an accessible read as well. A large number of significant anecdotes contribute to the style of a book which would certainly interest non-specialists as well as scholars of the region. A high degree of historical relativity, which up to now has been rather rare in Romanian historiography, enables the authors to admit more than one point of view on, for example, an issue as complex as the relationship between the Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches in Transylvania. This excellent book should be essential reading for students of Romanian history, post-Communist politics, church-state relations, nationalism and democratisation. The first of its kind in the literature published in English on the interaction of religion and politics in post-Communist Romania, it will no doubt inspire further research into related topics; for example, the role of religion in filling the ideological void apparent after the demise of Communism, which the authors note, but do not explore in detail. From a comparative perspective, one can only eagerly await the future study by Stan and Turcescu of the interplay between politics and religion in the European Union’s new member states.”