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developments in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, particularly the MotionPicture

Production Code and its demise. The Code proscribed satire ofreligious

traditions and prominent religious figures, which in the later 1950s began to

smack of censorship. Thus, the play andthe film represent different layers of

interpretation glazed onto the originalhistorical event that were essentially

responsive to changingAmerican consciousness. Larry Eskridge of the

Institute for the Study ofAmerican Evangelicals delivered a comment, which

inaugurated a lively discussion with the audience.

Session 7,on "CHRISTIANITY AND 20th CENTURY RUSSIA," was

chaired by Barbara Hoffman, Grand Canyon University,and featured papers

on "Soviet Expansion intoEastern Europe, 1945-1952: U.S. Policy Confronts

the Issue of ReligiousFreedom" by A. Paul Kubricht, Letourneau University,

and "Christianity and Republican Ideals in 20th Century Russia" by StephenP.

Hoffmann, Taylor University. Paul Michelson, Huntington College, served as

commentator. Kubricht's conclusion was that"the issue of religious freedom

in EasternEurope was never a major topic of discussion" among US

policymakers, who were preoccupied withpolitical issues. Some of the

archival materialshe examined shows that US diplomats may not have fully

understood the dynamics ofreligion in post-war Eastern Europe or may not

have cared. He argued that attention to such factors is becoming more

common in post-1989 historiography.

Hoffman's paper was divided into three parts:one concernedwith

Christianity and democratic ideals before 1917, one on the Churchand civic

life under Communism, and a third onthe prospects for relating Christianity

and Democracy in the present.His argument is that "Solovievan Christian

republicanism deserves serious attention as a viable alternative"in today's

Russian political environment and that there are resources inRussia's political

culture which can be used to build a post-communist civil society.

Michelson noted that the worldviewof US policymakers was that of

the East Coast WASP tradition, onewhich gave formal endorsement to

Christianity, butlargely ignored it in practical matters. He agreed with

Kubricht thatignorance of Eastern Europe was and is a problem for US

policymakers. Michelson expressed less optimism thanHoffman concerning

the opennessof the current Russian Orthodox hierarchy to the thought of

Soloviev and Berdyaev or its ability (or even inclination) to resistnationalist

siren songs, butwelcomed Hoffman's analysis and report on what at least

some Russians are considering.

Session 8 on "CONCEPTIONS OFLIBERTY: BAPTISTS AND

METHODISTS IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC" was chaired byTim