Religious Processes in Contemporary Czech Society

Abstract

Regardless of the role religion plays in the contemporary world, and the fact that there has occurred a massive de-privatisation of religions and de- secularisation of societies, in the Czech Republic the state of religion remains considerably understudied. This paper attempts to fill in this lack of knowledge. The subject is analysed with special regard to the values that are based on cul- ture, symbolic representations and socio-economic institutions. Owing to the lack of empirical research, with the exception of some quantitative surveys and censuses, in this article the author works mainly with his own observations, which also incorporate historical arguments and analyses. He maintains that the developing trends in contemporary Czech religiosity are both similar to and dis- tinct from those in Western Europe. The similar trends include out-of-church movements and even strong anti-clericalism, along with a process of de-tradi- tionalisation and the rise of new spiritual outlets, connected either with 'New Age' spirituality or with the new charismatic and Pentecostal movements. The distinct trends involve a certain de-privatisation of traditional Christian beliefs, which is a reaction to the over-secularised suppression of the public sphere un- der the communist regime, and even before that. The paper reflects arguments that many of these processes, which have an important influence on Czech so- ciety as a whole, will undergo some changes with the state's entry into the Eu- ropean Union. Sociologický casopis/Czech Sociological Review, 2004, Vol. 40, No. 3: 277-295