Section: Week 8: 17 April | Religion and Society (RL022) [SS 22/23]

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Course summary

The aim of this course is to understand the complex and even contradictory role of religion in the history and present of Central European societies. The primary focus will be on the Czech Republic, but also countries like Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Germany and the Baltic state of Estonia will be examined under this perspective. Some of these countries like the Czech Republic are very secularized (only about 14 % membership of religious communities), whereas others rather belong to the most religious in Europe (Slovakia). These differences lead to the question whether the role of religion in these countries is also dissimilar or even incomparable, or whether it is possible to define a common denominator for the public function of religion in Central European society.

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Section outline

What happened in the 1990s, after the end of the Cold War and the communist regimes. Did religion gain a central role in the democratic society? What became the role of religion in the public space after the end of communism? Did religion "reconquer" post-communist societies?

Required reading: Stephen White et al., Religion and Political Action in Postcommunist Europe, in: Political Studies: 2000, Vol. 48, 681-705
- Select activity Religion in Post-Communist Europe
  
  Religion in Post-Communist Europe File