EN
Political processes taking place in the USSR in the second half of the 1980s contributed to the growing importance of religion in the Belarusian society. The number of religious organizations in Belarus tripled from 1988 to 2009. At the same time, a significant number of religious centers, monasteries, missions, religious educational institutions etc. emerged. The revival of the Catholic Church in Belarus was extremely fast. The creation of new dioceses, the efforts of people to recover sacral buildings and the influx of Catholic priests from Poland caused in the early years tensions between the local authorities and the Catholic Church, additionally heightened by the privileged position of the Orthodox Church.