AHUK Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis 1392-4095 1392-4095 KU 19_049-057_SCHROEDER Article Hegemonic Narratives and Religious Identity Politics in Contemporary Lithuania Schröder Ingo W. schroeder@eth.mpg.de ∗ Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Vytautas Magnus University Corresponding author. 19 49 57 15 10 2009 15 10 2009 2009 Klaipėda University

The essay introduces the Gramscian concept of hegemony to the study of identity politics, with a special focus on the distinction established by Jean and John Comaroff between hegemony and identity. The case of Catholic identity in Lithuania is used as an illustration why identity politics tend to fail when they are perceived to serve the ends of ideology rather than creating a hegemonic consensus.

 identity politics hegemony ideology Catholicism cultural heritage Lithuania