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With reference to the religious and ideological changes in the GDR we opt for a specific approach to the analysis of secularization processes that goes beyond the conceptualization of the East German secularization process as mere repression. Based on research among East German families, our argument is that an important element of this process was the successful introduction of an interpretational frame that constructs a non-reconcilable conflict between politics and religion, as well as between science and religion. Our hypothesis is that the success of the secularization process in the GDR is closely interrelated with this conflictive framework. Our data indicate three levels of this conflict: about membership, world interpretation and ethics. These conflicts did not remain on the level of repression alone, but acquired subjective plausibility for much of the population. Consequently our approach is based on a general theory of conflict; it is historically grounded; and it takes its starting point from the perspectives of laypersons in the religious-ideological field.

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