Dmitriy S. Zakharov on Secularization in the Czech Republic

By: Dmitriy Zakharov

October 1, 2006

A number of varying and often opposing currents are currently playing out in the realm of religion in the Czech Republic. To begin with, there are the lingering effects and aftershocks of 40 years of state-imposed atheism; 17 years, now, since the fall of communism, they remain widely felt. Those whose faith survived underground are now free to practice and proclaim in public and do just that. At the same time, the counter-reaction produced by those decades of repression can also be seen: that which is officially sanctioned and declared taboo is thereby also made to some degree romantic and desirable. So, too, it is with faith in God in a place where religion was long frowned upon by the authorities, being a believer retains some of the appeal of rebelliousness, individuality, and self-expression. However, as globalization and European integration brings the Czech Republic ever closer to its counterparts in the West, the oft-mentioned process of secularization that has been steadily progressing throughout Western Europe is also evident. This complex and conflicting dynamic, located within a historically unique context, plays out across the whole of Czech society, producing a whole range of outcomes, seen and unseen.
To understand the contemporary state of religion in the Czech Republic, as well as its myriad effects on political and civil society, it is necessary to take into account several critical historical details. The Czech nation possesses both a Slavic and a communist heritage. The Czechs are Slavs and their language belongs to the Slavonic group; they are also, like the rest of the Slavic nations, former subjects of the Warsaw Pact and/or communist regimes. This shared background ties the Czechs to the cultures and peoples to the East, including the Slovaks, with whom they shared a common state for most of the past century.

However, alone among the Slavs and the former Eastern Bloc, the Czechs have a long and well-established history of Protestantism. Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity have been the dominant religions throughout these realms; only in the Czech lands, where Jan Hus launched his reformist movement even before the coming of Martin Luther, is there a heritage of homegrown Protestant Christianity. Conflict with Catholic neighbors and rulers did take place, leading to calamities like the Thirty Years War, but the strength of the Hussite, Utraquist, Brethren, and other Protestant movements necessitated the establishment of a level of religious toleration that was quite unusual.

Though the Protestants ultimately lost the struggle for control of the Czech lands, and Catholicism long enjoyed official favor under the Austro-Hungarian crown, several declarations ensured both the perpetuation of a Protestant heritage and a tradition of tolerance in general. Maximilian II's Bohemian Confession of 1575, confirmed in writing by the 1609 Letter of Majesty of King Rudolf II, bestowed on the Czechs a degree of religious freedom unmatched in Europe. These decrees did not prevent further strife, and a period of violent struggle and re-Catholization eventually followed, but they did set the precedent for the Patent of Toleration, adopted on October 13, 1781 by the Hapsburg ruler Josef II. This declaration legalized Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Eastern Orthodoxy in the Czech realm, preserving a degree of religious pluralism that stood in sharp contrast to the sectarian religious monopolies dominant in most other nations of Europe.

This uniquely and comparatively pluralist heritage explains not only the lack of Catholic domination in the Czech Republic, but also the tradition of humanism that stemmed from the Protestant and pluralist influence. This tradition, which is notably absent elsewhere in the Slavic and post-communist realm, can still be seen today: more than a few Czechs have told me that religion does not play a big role in the country today as it is just not that important, in the grand scheme of things. Part of this, undoubtedly, stems from the legacy of communist atheism. The growing secularizing influence of Westernization is at play as well. However, the humanist, rationalist approach to life is also evident, particularly among intellectuals and the younger generation. Even among believers, however, religious faith is largely viewed as a personal, internal question, rather than a communal matter. Evangelism appears rare, and overt displays of religiosity are tempered by the general modesty and lack of ostentatiousness displayed by Czechs in public. Faith is an icon, kept in private, rather than on a billboard in full display.

The sum effect of these tendencies on society at large is multifold. Secularization and Westernization, as well as the native tradition of humanism, have made the Czech Republic a surprisingly culturally liberal country. The traditional biases that remain noticeable, such as bigotry against homosexuals, are primarily those that were reinforced by the communist regime. Racism and xenophobia, though still in existence and particularly strong against the gypsy population, are nonetheless at least in my experience and opinion tangibly less prevalent than in other Slavic and post-communist states. The level of religious strife that tore apart Yugoslavia and the anti-Semitism that still haunts nations like Russia is unthinkable among the Czechs. In general, spiritual faith has largely been relegated to a separate, personal sphere of life, and live and let live appears to be the dominant attitude when dealing with questions of religiosity. It is not militantly guarded against, as in France, nor is it mobilized for everything from political gain to product sales, as in the United States. Certainly, the historical and cultural impact of religion is appreciated: the fantastic churches and synagogues found throughout the country are widely advertised and celebrated. They are, however, typically approached with a detachment that is scholarly, scientific, and possibly even clinical; the spiritual impact is deemphasized in favor of architectural and historical elements.

Because of this generally accepted level of tolerance, domestic politics in the Czech Republic tends to revolve around economics rather than cultural and social matters. Questions that are often associated with the culture wars or the religious right in American politics are absent in the debates among mainstream parties. The impact of religion on Czech domestic politics is thus largely defined by its absence from that arena: though matters of faith have strongly shaped the history and culture of the Czechs, they now mostly fall outside the public sphere. It is true that in other European countries, large-scale Muslim immigration has pushed questions of religion and tolerance to the forefront in a way that has not transpired in the Czech Republic. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that the national religious heritage, with its notable history of tolerance as a solution to strife, has produced a social and political climate that follows the principles of pluralism and leaves questions of faith to each individual. And for most Czechs, it would seem, these questions are not of the highest importance.
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