| There is a severe lack of research concentrated on Catholicism and domestic violence. Gender equality is needed for domestic violence to end, per the current research. The Catholic Church promotes traditional gender roles where women are portrayed as caretakers with no autonomous identity outside of the family. Orthodoxy as a state religion promotes traditional family values. The Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church teach religion in public institutions in many new democracies, and the separation of church and state becomes blurred when there is a national religion. This promotion of moral authority makes it difficult for a secular society to blossom. Concordats with the Vatican, and the Istanbul Convention are in conflict when addressing women's human rights. The nationalistic tendencies of Catholicism are evident in society and in control of policy. The conflict between the Catholic Church wanting to establish political power and new democratic governments wanting to be realized as legitimate by the UN, does little to ensure a future free of domestic violence. This research compares five Eastern European countries with varying religious influence and domestic violence. |
