Contributions > Papers - by speaker > Papageorgiou Niki

The rise of the Left in Greece and the occupation of government power by a leftist party (in January 2015) formed a new political landscape and cultivated new political expectations, after a long period of administration by the so-called system parties. The Left party was voted by Greek citizens as a new political force that could have a new policy, along with the ambition to solve the country's economic problem, to bring social justice and το encounter the severe humanitarian crisis caused by the recent long economic crisis. Regarding religious field, the fixed aim of Left parties was the separation between State and Church; this would lead at a full independence of the state from any religious or ecclesiastical influence, as well as the capture of church assets from state, the obligation for clergy's payroll from the church (and not from the state, as now), and many other similar issues that form the relationship among State and Church authorities in Greece.

This paper investigates especially the relationship between Left parties and Church in Greece during the period of one year Left government, through the official discourse and political practices of this governing left party. For this purpose, the Left government's political practices and aspects for the "religious issue", as they are expressed by party's official press medium (that is “Avgi” newspaper), are analyzed.