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2004:5 What Faith? Contemporary Czech Religiosity/Spirituality in the Perspective of Qualitative Sociology of Religion |
Zdeněk R. Nešpor |
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This volume offers a summary of the most important knowledge in the field of contemporary qualitative sociology of religion in the Czech Republic, and it describes the state of religiosity/spirituality in the country after 1989 up to the present in a European context. The majority of Czech sociologists of religion, based at various academic institutions, contributed to the preparation of the volume. In six independent studies the authors draw attention to the most important developmental trends in Czech religiosity, including the institutional boundaries in the form of state legislative and normative policies on the one hand, and unorganised, privatised belief structures on the other, and they offer deeper insight into the religious ideas of people with faith through case studies and anthropological research.
In the introductory study, Z. R. Nešpor characterises the current state of the sociology of religion in the Czech Republic. In the second and – in terms of focus – largest study in the volume the same author outlines the main developmental trends in Czech religiosity, especially in connection with the transformations of the political, economic, media, and cultural spheres in the 1990s and at the start of the new millennium. Contemporary (traditional) church religiosity is the focus of the studies by O. Nešporová (the conceptualisation of death and afterlife existence) and M. Staněk (the phenomenon of Catholic so-called “private” revelations). D. Antalík focuses on the “search for the sacred”, as manifested in allegedly pre-Christian Celtic traditions, and on social groups with similar orientations. D. Lužný provides an analysis of the contemporary media discourse on new religious movements and the position towards them adopted by the state, using the examples of the Church of Scientology and the Unification Church (Moonists).
Keywords
Sociology of religion, modern religiosity, Czech Republic 1993-, 20th-century Christianity, European Union, enlargement
Summary
The six studies by Czech sociologists of religion that this volume contains describe the situation of Czech religiosity/spirituality from 1989 to the present in a (Western) European context. The authors draw attention to the most important developmental trends in Czech religiosity, including the institutional boundaries in the form of state legislative and normative policies on the one hand, and unorganised, privatised belief structures on the other (D. Lužný, Z. R. Nešpor). Using thematic and case studies and socio-anthropological surveys these trends are demonstrated in relation to selected religious systems and groups (D. Antalík, O. Nešporová, M. Staněk). The volume also provides information on the contemporary state of Czech sociology of religion, explaining the background to its current state and indicating possible directions and priorities in its future development (Z. R. Nešpor).
In the introductory study Z. R. Nešpor characterises the current state of Czech sociology of religion, a typical feature of which is its involvement in international quantitative studies (and similar such studies run independently), but its lack, with a few exceptions, of any qualitative studies. The author relates this situation to the general state of Czech sociology after the fall of the communist regime, to the theoretical and methodological background of the sociology of religion, and finally to the illusory notion of the “atheist” character of Czech society. In relation to contemporary foreign studies he highlights the importance of the sociology of religion for research on the wider aspects of European integration and the study of economic culture. He also notes, however, that in the Czech environment especially the sociology of religion needs to demarcate itself, on the one hand, against attempts by religious groups to employ the findings of religious sociology for their own purposes, as is currently the case with regard to the argumentation employed by so-called anti-cult movement, and on the other hand against the implicitly anti-religious attitude that dominates among part of the academic community.
In the second study, on the main developmental trends in contemporary Czech religiosity, Z. R. Nešpor discusses the global religious processes that are present in Czech society today. Here the author draws on existing quantitative surveys, his own qualitative sociological studies, and to some extent also his own historical studies in this field. He compares the situation in the Czech Republic with studies by colleagues in other countries, particularly in the context of the social transformation in the 1990s and in connection with the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU, and discovers that only some religious processes in the Czech Republic are comparable with those occurring in Western Europe (e.g. the growth of out-of-church, privatised and even anticlerical religious movements, though more so and evidently occurring earlier in the Czech Republic than elsewhere; the process of de-traditionalisation; the rise of new spiritual opportunities, such as “New Age” spirituality or, to a lesser extent, the charismatic and Pentecostal movements within Christianity). However, a considerable number of contemporary religious processes in the Czech Republic have their roots in the historical and socio-cultural institutions of Czech society. This involves, for example, the process of the de-privatisation of religion, wherein traditional churches are returning to politics and the public sphere, after having essentially been suppressed under the “over-secularised” communist regime; but it also refers, conversely, to the historically based anticlerical attitude that is maintained by a large part of the public.
O. Nešporová focuses on inner religious experience, its existential dimension, the question of the conceptualisation of death and afterlife existence across the spectrum of religious groups, both the traditional (Catholic, Protestant) and the relatively new (Jehovah’s Witnesses, devotees of Hare Krishna). Existential issues are obviously among the most important elements of religious doctrine and in the beliefs of religious people. In this respect the author notes that while in the case of the newer religious groups these ideas are more often given explanations and within the group’s framework are considerably more coherent, this is not the case among the large or traditional churches, where it is implicitly assumed that the standard explanations are shared by religious adherents, who in actuality themselves usually maintain quite heterodox, privatised views (a fact they are often even aware of). The most important source of religious ideas for Jehovah’s Witnesses is their church magazines, while the devotees of Hare Krishna have a large amount of literature available as a source for the ideas that they share (especially the writings of the movement’s founder, Prabhupada). Both these examples are moreover religious groups that have a missionary orientation and that actively involve their devotees in religious services, which further accentuates the unity and orthodoxy of their beliefs. In comparison, the connection between the existentialist ideas maintained by traditional Christians and the Biblical tradition or official religious texts they draw on is much weaker. However, while Protestants are more likely to express their personal uncertainty and inability to answer such questions, Catholics have more definite, albeit from the perspective of the church often heterodox, ideas.
M. Staněk examines similar trends with respect to Catholic religiosity and focuses his study on the movements based on so-called private revelations (Marian apparitions), a phenomenon that borders between Catholic fundamentalism and a heterodox faith not tolerated by the church (even though they are actually papal-centric movements). Within the Catholic Church, particularly during the 20th century, there has been a sharp rise in the number of reported visions of the Virgin Mary. With the approach of the end of the millennium these apparitions became increasingly radicalised, taking on apocalyptic features and referring with greater frequency to the Second Coming of Christ and the punishment of sinners. Some of the global movements that are founded on this orientation exist in the Czech Republic, particularly the Marian Movement of Priests and the Fatima Apostolate, while the Children of Mary of the Sacred Heart are clearly a peripheral movement.
The study by D. Antalík focuses on a different type of new religiosity, which responds to the spiritual insecurity in contemporary life by attempting to return to the allegedly pre-Christian roots of European culture as represented by Celtic civilisation. The author examines the origin and later transformation of British and French neo-druidic groups, which he divides into three main streams (the “esoteric” branch of J. Toland, the “mutualistic” branch of H. Hurle, and the “revivalist” neo-druidism of E. Williams), and the influence exerted on them by Gardner’s neo-paganism. The author discovers that the massive growth in interest in these groups and (especially) their products in the Czech Republic after 1989 has been somewhat indirect, mediated more by commercial interests and/or the idealisation of so-called Celtic forms of culture and art. Unlike in Western Europe, there are no explicitly neo-druidic societies, which is obviously related to the high degree of anticlerical attitudes among the Czech population.
In the final study of the volume D. Lužný traces the influence of the components of power and repression in society using two selected examples (media discourse on the Church of Scientology and the battle for state recognition on the part of the Unification Church). The author highlights a fact that is currently well known in Western Europe, that media manipulation and the position of state bodies towards new religions are often influenced by so-called anti-cult movements, so that the religious market is not really open. To this end the media and political-religious interest groups employ negative assessment stereotypes or, under the pretext of making an “objective” study, directly evoke or confirm such stereotypes themselves. Consequently, in the Czech Republic, even after the first post-communist churches act was adopted (Act no. 308/1991), discrimination and repression of (new) religious movements has occurred, and it is evident that this tendency has to a considerable degree persisted even in new legislation in the amended Act on Churches and Religious Societies of 2002 (Act no. 3/2002).
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Jaká víra? Současná česká religiozita/spiritualita v pohledu kvalitativní sociologie náboženství |
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2008:5 The Perception and Construction of Social Distance in Czech Society |
2008:4 Social Distances and Stratification: Social Space in the Czech Republic |
2008:3 Evolution and Determination of Educational Inequalities in the Czech Republic between 1955 and 2002 in the European Context |
2008:2 Actors of Local Development - Orlicko |
2008:1 The Political Awareness of Citizens: Theories, Measurements and the Role of Political Awareness in the Study of Political Attitudes |
2007:11 A Permanent or Temporary Change? The Arrangement of Gender Roles in Families with Fathers Participating in Childcare |
2007:10 Participation and Partnership in Local Public Administration |
2007:9 Family Friendly Working Conditions in an International Comparison |
2007:8 The Political Impact of Suburbanisation |
2007:7 Fathers, Mothers and Caring for Children after Divorce |
2007:6 The Foreign Migration of Scientists and Researchers and the Tools for Influencing Migration |
2007:5 The Representation of Different Forms of Family and Working Life in Women’s and Men’s Magazines |
2007:4 Czech Labour Market: Changing Structures and Work Orientations |
2007:3 The Relationship between Changes in the Labour Market and Private, Family and Partnership Life |
2007:2 The Institutional Background of Czech Sociology before the Onset of Marxism |
2007:1 Educational Aspirations in a Comparative Perspective. The role of individual, contextual and structural factors in the formation of educational aspirations in OECD countries |
2006:14 Work and Family Roles and How They Are Combined in the Lives of Czech Parents: Plans versus Reality |
2006:13 The Representation of Parenthood and Childlessness in Selected Women’s and Men’s Magazines |
2006:12 Social Solidarity from the Perspective of the Czech Public |
2006:11 Science as a public matter: science policies and the media |
2006:10 The Issue of Minorities in the Czech Republic: Community Life and the Representation of Collective Interests (Slovaks, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, and Roma) |
2006:9 Social Standing and Lifestyle in Czech Society |
2006:8 The Image of Science in Czech Public Opinion |
2006:7 Social Capital. Concepts, Theories, and Methods of Measurement |
2006:6 Basic Features of the Membership Base of KDU-ČSL |
2006:5 Non-Marital Fertility in the Czech Republic after 1989: The Social and Economic Context |
2006:4 The Phenomenon of Childlessness in a Sociological and Demographic Perspective |
2006:3 Participation, Democracy and Citizenship in a European Context |
2006:2 Autonomy and Cooperation: Effect of the Municipal System Established in 1990 |
2006:1 Socio-economic Values, Policies, and Institutions in the Period of the Czech Republic’s Accession to the European Union |
2005:06 Civil Society in the Regions of the Czech Republic |
2005:05 Civil Society and Civic Participation in the Czech Republic |
2005:04 Work/Life Balance in the Czech Republic: Policy, Time, Money, and Individual, Family, and Company Practices |
2005:03 Regional Elites 2004 |
2005:02 Political Behavior in Metropolitan Areas in the Czech Republic between 1990 and 2002 – Patterns, Trends and the Relation to Suburbanization and Its Socio-Spatial Patterns |
2005:01 Measuring Value Orientations with the Use of S.H. Schwartz’s Value Portraits |
2004:11 The Formation of Group Mentalities in the Czech Republic after 1989 |
2004:10 Hierarchy as the Strength and the Weakness of Communist Rule. The Legacy of Communist Rule IV: A Volume of Papers from the Seminar Held in Prague on September 11-12, 2003 |
2004:9 Czech National Identity after the Break Up Czechoslovakia and before Accession to the European Union |
2004:8 Life Strategies of Businesswomen and Businessmen at the Turn of the Millennium |
2004:7 Attitudes towards Marriage, Parenthood and Family Roles in the Czech Republic and in Europe |
2004:6 Life Satisfaction: Family,Work, and Other Factors |
2004:5 What Faith? Contemporary Czech Religiosity/Spirituality in the Perspective of Qualitative Sociology of Religion |
2004:4 Structural Tensions in the Interface between the Labour Market and Social Policy in the Czech Republic |
2004:3 Metropolitan Areas in the Czech Republic – Definitions, Basic Characteristics, Patterns of Suburbanisation and Their Impact on Political Behaviour |
2004:2 International Violence Against Women Survey – Czech Republic/2003: Sociological Research on Domestic Violence |
2004:1 Elections to the European Parliament in 2004 – An Analysis of Electoral Participation and Party Support in the Czech Republic |
2003:12 Hierarchy as a Strength and Weakness of Communist Rule |
2003:11 How the Czech Public Views the Elites the Political and Economic Elites |
2003:10 The Reconstruction of Communist Rule at the End of the 1980s |
2003:9 Women’s Civic and Political Participation in the Czech Republic and the Role of European Union Gender Equality and Accession Policies |
2003:8 Pre-election polls, election results, and validity of measurement before the 2002 elections |
2003:7 Party Preference Surveys, Their Application in Society and the Issue of Quality |
2003:6 The Transformations of Czech Socio-economic Values at the Turn of the Century |
2003:5 Objective and Subjective Assessments of the Financial Accessibility of Housing in the Czech Republic during the 1990s |
2003:4 Entry into Marriage and Unmarried Cohabitation in the Czech Republic since 1989 in Connection with Education |
2003:3 Work and Job Values in CEE and EU countries |
2003:2 Intergenerational Biographic Configurations of the Inhabitants of the NISA Euroregion |
2003:1 Structurally Generated Growth of Inequality |
2002:13 Public Opinion Surveys – Theoretical Aspects and Practical Application |
2002:12 Group Mentalities |
2002:11 The World of Hierarchies and Real Socialism. The legacy of communist rule II: volume of contributions investigating of social hierarchies |
2002:10 Social Context of the Lives of Women Working in Management Positions |
2002:09 Parties in the Parliament. Why, When and How do Parties act in Unity? |
2002:08 Life strategies of women managers: case study |
2002:07 Region and Politics |
2002:06 The World of Hierarchies and Really Existing Socialism |
2002:05 Housing Careers in the Czech Republic 1960 - 2001 |
2002:04 Re-emigrants and Socially Shared Values |
2002:03 Satisfaction with Housing among the Czech Population |
2002:02 The Family Origin on the Evolution of Educational Inequalities in the Czech Republic after 1989 |
2002:01 The Rise and Evolution of the New Elites in the Czech Republic (from the end of the 1980´s to the spring of 2002) |
2001:12 Who´s afraid of Hierarchies? The Legacy of the Communist Government |
2001:11 11th September. International On-line Communication Research |
2001:10 Fertility and Family Differentiation in Europe |
2001:09 The rise or decline of political regionalism? Changes of voting patterns in period 1992 to 1998 - the comparison of the Czech Republic and Slovakia |
2001:08 Cross-cutting Cleavages in the Czech Republic. A Comparison of the National Level with a Specific Regional Example |
2001:07 Roma Issues: An Obstacle to Entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union? |
2001:06 ISSP- The Environment |
2001:05 Distribution of Earnings and Income in Transitional Czech Republic |
2001:04 The Bearers of Development of the Cross-Border Community on Czech-German Border |
2001:03 Rent Subsidies in the Czech Republic: A Comparison of Selected Models |
2001:02 The Role Of Political, Social and Cultural Capital in Secondary School Selection in Socialist Czechoslovakia, 1948-1989 |
2001:01 Income maintenance policies, houshold characteristics and work incentives in the Czech republic |
2000:07 Work and Family Experience of Young Female Doctors |
2000:06 Development of the Czech Social Structure in the Years 1988-1999 |
2000:05 Party identifikation in the Czech republic |
2000:04 What makes inequalities legitimate? An International Comparison |
2000:03 Religion and Supernature in Society |
2000:02 Transformation and Modernization of Society on Examples of Selected Institutions |
2000:01 The Housing Policy Changes and Housing Expenditures in the Czech Republic |
1999:11 Geografic Analysis of the Czech Republic Borderland. |
1999:10 Rise and Decline of Right-Wing Extremism in the Czech Republic in the 1990s. |
1999:09 Perceived and fair inequalities: development in the nineties and further coherences |
1999:08 The Czechoslovak citizens' attitudes towards democracy in 1968 |
1999:07 The Czech Middletown Citizens |
1999:06 A Man in a Family – Democratisation of Private Sphere |
1999:05 Development of the Policy of Equal Opportunities of Men and Women in the Czech Republic within the European Integration Context |
1999:04 Actors of Over-frontier Community Development in the Czech - German Borderland |
1999:03 Acquaintances of Local Political Leaders |
1999:02 Housing Market, its Regional Differences and Relations to Social Structure |
1999:01 The Fluctuation of Public Opinion between Years 1990 and 1998 |
1998:06 Modernizační kontext transformace, strukturní a institucionální aspekty |
1998:05 Deputies of the First Czech Parliament (1992-1996) |
1998:04 |
1998:03 Transformation of Czech Family |
1998:02 Results of a Czech-Slovak Comparison: Actors of Social Transformation and Modernisation. Attitudes of Individuals an Institutions to Social Transformation |
1998:01 Trh s bydlením a jeho sociální souvislosti - situace v Praze a Brně |
1997:08 The Family and Change of Gender Roles |
1997:07 The territorial dimension of public administration reforms in East Central Europe |
1997:06 Czech Women in the Labor Market Work and Family in a Transition Economy |
1997:05 |
1997:04 Mass Privatization, Distributive Politics, and Popular Support for Reform in the Czech Republic |
1997:03 |
1997:02 |
1997:01 Political, Organizational and Policy Transformation at the Municipal Level: The Case of Liberec |
1996:12 Osidlování českého pohraničí od května 1945 |
1996:11 Individuální kontakty obyvatel na česko-německé hranici |
1996:10 Socio-Economic Changes in the Czech Republic with an Appendix concerning the 1996 Elections´ Results |
1996:09 Národní identita |
1996:08 Politics, Skills and Industrial Restructuring. Introductory Findings on Local Institutions of Human Resources Development in Czech Machinery Indrustry |
1996:07 Subjective Mobility and Perception of Life Chances in Eastern Europe. Empirical evidence against a Marxist view of relationships between subjective and objective mobility |
1996:06 Zpráva o vývoji sociální struktury české a slovenské společnosti 1945-1993 |
1996:05 Tripartita jako model prostředkování zájmů v politickém systému České republiky |
1996:04 Národnostní a etnické vztahy v českém pohraničí - obraz Čecha, Němce, Rakušana a Roma ve vědomí obyvatel |
1996:03 The Making of Post-Communist Elites in Eastern Europe. A comparison of political and economic elites in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland |
1996:02 Sudetoněmecká otázka v názorech a postojích obyvatel českého pohraničí |
1996:01 Demografické chování obyvatelstva České republiky během přeměny společnosti po roce 1989 |
1995:08 Česká republika v roce 1994. Politická ročenka |
1995:07 Problém normativity a policejní represe v předlistopadovém Československu |
1995:06 Industriální vztahy a sociálně politické orientace českých dělníků a manažerů |
1995:05 Rozdíly v chování regionálních populací a jejich příčiny |
1995:04 Women, Work and Society |
1995:03 Trh práce a jeho potenciál |
1995:02 Etnické a národnostní vztahy v pánevní oblasti severních Čech (s důrazem na romskou problematiku) |
1995:01 In Search of Explanations for Recent Left-Turns in Post-Communist Coutries |
1994:09 Česká republika v roce 1993. Politická ročenka |
1994:08 Large-Scale Privatization: Social Conflict and Consensus |
1994:07 Economic Inequalities Old and New: The Czech Case |
1994:06 Prostředky kauzálního modelování v sociologii. Shrnující pojednání o postupech a přehled základních pojmů |
1994:05 Regionální diferenciace sociálních problémů v České republice |
1994:04 A Historical Comparison of Social Structures in the Czech Republic in 1984 and 1993 |
1994:03 Přeshraniční souvislosti sociálních změn v oblasti české části euroregionu Chebsko |
1994:02 Social and Political Transformation in the Czech Republic |
1994:01 Lotus Organizátor. Uživatelská příručka |
1993:09 Sociální a mzdové problémy zaměstnanců malých a středních soukromých podniků |
1993:08 Sociální postavení rodiny jako základního činitele a adresáta sociální pomoci |
1993:07 Changing Conditions - Changing Values? Changes in the position and perception of education during the post-communist transformation: the case of the Czech Republic |
1993:06 Perceptions of Justice. Principles of Distributive Justice in Comparative Perspective |
1993:04 Revolution for Whom? Analysis of selected patterns of intragenerational mobility in the Czech Republic |
1993:04 Revolution for Whom? Analysis of selected patterns of intragenerational mobility in the Czech Republic |
1993:03 RODINA ´89. Determinanty ekonomického úspěchu v první fázi postkomunistické transformace. Česká republika 1989-1992 |
1993:02 RODINA '89. Determinanty ekonomického úspěchu v první fázi post-komunistické transformace. Česká republika 1989-1992 |
1993:01 Microsoft Word verze 5.5. Uživatelská příručka |
1992:09 Historical Comparison of Social Stratification Types in Czechoslovakia 1967-1991 |
1992:08 Rodina '89. Úloha mentálních schopností a sociálního původu ve formování vzdělanostních aspirací |
1992:07 The Zero Generation of Small Business Owners in Czechoslovakia |
1992:06 Time Use of Small Business Owners. Results and Methodological Comments |
1992:05 Perception of Changing Inequality in Czechoslovakia |
1992:04 Vybrané kapitoly z uživatelské příručky Microsoft Word verze 5.0 |
1992:03 Politické strany a hnutí v Československu |
1992:02 Politische Partien und Bewegungen in der Tschechoslowakei |
Prague in the New Central Europe. International conference 2-4 June 1990 |
1991:09 Vybrané kapitoly z uživatelské příručky Microsoft Word verze 5.0 |
1991:08 Nultá podnikatelská generace |
1991:07 Rodina '89. Zdroje vzdělanostních nerovností |
1991:06 Hodnotové orientace československé mužské mládeže a jejich vztah k obraně vlasti |
1991:05 Gender and the Employment of Higher Education Graduates in Czechoslovakia |
1991:04 Územní vztahy, územní a státoprávní uspořádání České republiky v názorech obyvatel |
1991:03 Social Problems of Participation in the Changing Czechoslovak Economy |
1991:02 K postavení žen v československé společnosti |
1991:01 Socialist Czechoslovakia - System Error and Premises for Change |
1990:06 Názory na rozvoj soukromého podnikání |
1990:05 Growing interest in informal work - consequences for time use research. XIIth World Congress of Sociology, Madrid 1990, Thematic Group 1, Time Use Research |
1990:04 Value-satisfaction Model and the Value of Innovation |
1990:03 Who Gains and Who Loses in a Socialist Redistribution |
1990:02 Ženy a volby '90 |
1990:01 Beyond Educational Inequality in Czechoslovakia |
1989:02 Československá varianta Mezinárodní standardní klasifikace zaměstnání (ISCO) |
1989:01 Family Effect on Educational Attainment in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Netherlands |
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