Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 2014, 50(5): 735-752 | DOI: 10.13060/00380288.2014.50.5.121

Fifty Years of Czech Sociology of Religion in the Pages of Sociologický časopis

Zdeněk R. Nešpor

Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Praha

Abstract: The fiftieth anniversary of Sociologický časopis (since 2001 Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review) provides an ideal opportunity to discuss the presence and achievements of the sociology of religion in the most important Czech sociological journal and to contribute to the historical, theoretical, and methodological analysis of Czech sociology of religion itself. The author provides a summary of all the articles, reviews, and information on the topic published in the journal and shows that, regardless of its importance within Czech sociological discourse at the various stages in the development of the discipline, the sociology of religion has generally had only a limited presence in the journal over the years, for both internal (sociologists of religion were not considered 'core members' of the sociological community) and external reasons (fear of what was considered a 'problematic' topic during the communist era and the non-existence of 'untarnished' students of religion after the collapse of the communist regime). The situation changed only recently, broadly speaking in the last decade, as younger generations seized the initiative and research on religion became a standard part of the Czech sociological mainstream. However, only a small number of contemporary sociologists of religion publish articles in the journal and, consequently, this sub-discipline is still far from being a consistent presence in its pages. The limited degree to which Czech sociology of religion has established itself in the pages of Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review thus raises fundamental questions about the nature of the discipline, its students, and the broader sociological environment.

Keywords: sociology of religion, Czech sociology, Sociologický časopis, Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review

Published: October 1, 2014Show citation