Czech Republic: The Promised Land for Atheists?
| Autoři | |
|---|---|
| Rok publikování | 2016 |
| Druh | Kapitola v knize |
| Fakulta / Pracoviště MU | |
| Citace | |
| Popis | The Czech Republic is rated amongst the most atheist countries in the world. This claim is based on selected statistical data from censuses and comparative surveys, which reveal a majority of the Czech population to be self-declared “nones”. The aim of our paper is to argue that we need to read these data about the high level of “atheization” in Czech society in a more nuanced manner and deal with the concept of atheism more adequately. In the first section, with reference to some theoretical impulses from the cognitive science of religion, we try to show that the non-religious views of a significant part of the Czech population, usually labelled “atheism”, are better understood as an expression of religious “apatheism”, or evidence of “inCREDulous atheism”. Both positions are similar in their indifference to religion, rather than opposition to it. With the help of empirical analysis, the paper focuses on the critical assessment of the applicability of these concepts in the Czech context. In the second section, using empirical data from the 2008 International Social Survey Project, we test a hypothesis on the role of religious socialization for the acceptance of the non/theist position, based on the concept of CREDs (credibility-enhancing displays) and related secularization theory. We expect that the current level of non/theism in the Czech population can best be explained by religious socialization mechanisms and the conditions for the acquisition and/or transmission of non/theism. The main contribution of the paper is two-fold: theoretically, it aims at a more profound reflection on commonly used analytical concepts; empirically, it seeks to understand in-depth the current state of non/religiosity in “atheist” Czech society. |