Turning Prayers into Protests is a comparative study of grass-roots religious activity in Slovakia and East Germany prior to 1989.

Religion was a long-standing arena of culture, thought, social organization, kinship and ritual in the societies in which communism took hold after the Second World War and it was a primary target for most of the regimes in the region. The author examines the different ways in which religion was targeted by the regimes and the various and divergent roles that the Catholic Church in Slovakia and the Lutheran Church in East Germany played in the social response to and the eventual dismantling of state socialist rule. He compares these cases in terms of the political power, influence and affect that these movements had vis- -vis state repression and/or cooptation, vividly showing the history of how religion provided both a space for carving an independent area of life beyond state control and a foundation upon which to stand against the state in defiance.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific organization created in 1879, and is part of the U.S. government. Their scientists explore our environment and ecosystems, to determine the natural dangers we are facing. The agency has over 10,000 employees that collect, monitor, and analyze data so that they have a better understanding of our problems. The USGS is dedicated to provide reliable, investigated information to enhance and protect our quality of life. This is one of their reports.