Religious pluralism in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (1993 – 2013): Parallels and divergences (2014)

11 T H ISORECEA CONFERENCE

R E L I G I O U S D I V E R S I F I C AT I O N W O R L D W I D E A N D I N C E N T R A L A N D E A S T E R N E U R O P E

K A U N A S , L I T H U A N I A , A P R I L 2 4 - 2 7 , 2 0 1 4

Religious pluralism in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (1993 – 2013): Parallels and divergences 

ROMAN VIDO

Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno

Religious pluralism

We can define religious pluralism in many ways

Basic distinction can be made between pluralism as a (social) fact and pluralism as a norm, an ideal or a political concept

Like religion itself, religious pluralism is also multi-dimensional phenomenon: beliefs, practices, values, institutional affiliations, cultural identities…

In many respects, religious pluralism is not exclusively a modern phenomenon; as many scholars argue, religious or spiritual diversity/plurality was present also in pre-modern, officially „monoreligious“ societies

I focus my attention on the institutional/affiliation level which should be considered as an indicator for pluralism in the specifically (liberal-)modern sense -as a norm, as a positive goal of the societal development

Different patterns of church-state relations in postcommunist countries

„Church-state relations faced different challenges and passed through different phases after the fall of communism“ (Zrinščak 2011: 162)

„Historical legacy, both in terms of the communist past and of longer overall social development, is the factor influencing development of church-state relations in post-communism“, relations which „are shaped inside very concrete historical circumstances and consequently inside very concrete socioreligious landscapes“ (o. c.)

„Postcommunist countries differ greatly from each other“ and together with Western countries face a very similar problem: „how to balance historically shaped church-state relations that favored traditional churches with the rising of religious (and in general, sociocultural) pluralism“ (o. c.)

Religiosity and church-state relations

As Zrinščak (2011: 177) states, „there is no clear link between a simple account of religiosity and church-state relations“, but it could be said that „there has been slightly stronger restriction and state involvement in countries with higher religiosity“.

While the Czech Republic belongs among the countries with low level of religiosity (in almost all dimensions), the Slovak Republic represents a country with rather high religiosity (in many dimensions).

Question: Is the difference in the level of religiosity somehow reflected in the development of religious pluralism in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic after the dissolution of the former Czechoslovak state?

A preliminary outline of parallels and divergences concerning religious pluralism on the institutional as well as individual levels in both countries

Short history of Czechoslovakia

1918: the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy and Czechoslovak Republic as the independent secular state established

1939 – 1945: the period of Nazi occupation (Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia and First Slovak Republic/Slovak State)

1948 – 1989: the period of Communist regime – Czechoslovak (Socialist) Republic

1989: the „Velvet revolution“, the start of democratization process

1990 – 1992: Czechoslovak, later Czech and Slovak Federative Republic

1993: the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic as new independent states

Czechoslovakia visualized

Religion, the state and the law after 1989 in CSFR

Act No. 218/1949 Coll. on the economic assurance of churches and religious societies

Act No. 16/1990 Coll. - § 7 of the Act No. 218/1949 Coll. on the state permission for preaching repealed

Charter of Fundamental Rights and Liberties as part of the constitutional order

Act No. 308/1991 Coll. on the freedom of religious faith and on the position of churches and religious societies - § 11: „A registration proposal of a church or religious society may be submitted when it has been proven that the number of its adult followers is at least equal to the number specified by generally binding legal regulation of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.“ → national specifications

New constitutions of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic

Constitution of the Czech Republic - The Preamble (1992)

„We, the citizens of the Czech Republic in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, at this time of the reconstitution of an independent Czech State, true to all the sound traditions of the ancient statehood of the Lands of the Crown of Bohemia as well as of Czechoslovak statehood, resolved to build, protect and advance the Czech Republic in the spirit of the inalienable values of human dignity and freedom as the home of equal and free citizens who are aware of their obligations towards others and of their responsibility to the community, as a free and democratic State founded on respect for human rights and on principles of civil society, as a member of the family of European and world democracies, resolute to protect and develop their natural, cultural, material and spiritual heritage, resolute to take heed to all the well-proven tenets of law-abiding state, have adopted this Constitution of the Czech Republic through our freely elected representatives.“

Religion, the state and the law in the Czech Republic

Charter of Fundamental Rights and Liberties incorporated into the constitutional order (Act No. 2/1993 Coll.)

Act No. 161/1992 Coll. on the registration of churches and religious societies

International agreement between the Czech Republic and the Holy See (signed 2002, but – so far - not ratified by the Parliament)

New Act No. 3/2002 Coll. on the freedom of religious expression and the position of churches and religious societies

Act No. 495/2005 Coll. – amendment to Act No. 3/2002 Coll. in reaction to the decision made by the Czech Constitutional Court concerning

Act No. 428/2012 Coll. on the property settlement with churches and religious societies

Registration of churches and religious societies in CR

Act No. 161/1992 Coll. on the registration of churches and religious societies – criticized for high demands on the number of adherents necessary for registration (10 000 adult people with permanent residence in the CR, or 500 adult people if the church/religious society has been a member of the World Council of Churches)

Act No. 3/2002 Coll. on the freedom of religious expression and the position of churches and religious societies – conditions for registration changed (now only 300 adult adherents with permanent residence is the number sufficient for registration, the condition of 10 000 adult adherents necessary for obtaining permission to exercising special rights)

The new act established two-level system of registration resulting in higher differentiation (hierarchization) among churches and religious societies

Current situation with registration

21 churches and religious societies registered under the Act No. 308/1991 Coll. - mostly (Christian) subjects registered before 1989 or adopted from Austria-Hungary, with 3 exceptions: Mormons (1990), Jehovah's Witnesses (1993) and Lutheran Evangelical church (1995)

15 churches and religious societies registered under the Act No. 3/2002 Coll. in the period 2002-2013: 10 Christian churches, 3 Hinduist groups, 1 Muslim organization and 1 Buddhist group

→ totally 36 registered churches and religious societies (+ 2 unions of churches and religious societies: Ecumenical Council of Churches in the CR and Military Spiritual Service) up to now

10 non-registered churches and religious societies + 3 subjects where registration is in the process (almost all of Christian orientation)

Registered church/religious society may teach and educate its clergy and laity in its own schools and other institutions and in theological universities and faculties

Conditions for permission to exercise special rights

A registered church or religious society may submit an application to be granted permission to exercise special rights provided that:

a) has been registered under the Act without interruption for a minimum of 10 years as of the date of submission

b) has published without interruption annual reports on its activities in calendar years for a minimum of 10 years prior to the date of submission

c) has performed in a proper manner its obligations toward the state and other third parties 

d) an application includes original signatures of adherents of the church who shall be citizens of the Czech Republic or aliens with permanent residence in the Czech Republic, in an amount at least equal to one person for every one 1,000 Czech nationals of majority according to the most recent population census

21 churches and religious societies have been granted with (at least some) special rights by the Ministry of Culture

Churches/religious societies and special rights

A registered church or religious society may fulfil its mission by obtaining permission to exercise the following special rights:

1) teaching religion in public schools and establishing church schools (9/10)

2) performing pastoral care in the army and institutions for detention, imprisonment, and reformative treatment and training (14)

3) performing marriage ceremonies with civil effects (21)4) maintaining confessional confidentiality, if the

religious community proves that such confidentiality has been practised for at least 50 years (20)

5) gaining state subsidies for minister’s salaries (17)

Constitution of the Slovak Republic - The Preamble (1992)

„We, the Slovak Nation, bearing in mind the political and cultural heritage of our predecessors and the experience gained through centuries of struggle for our national existence and statehood, mindful of the spiritual bequest of Cyril and Methodius and the historical legacy of Great Moravia, recognizing the natural right of nations to self-determination, together with members of national minorities and ethnic groups living on the territory of the Slovak Republic, in the interest of continuous peaceful cooperation with other democratic countries, endeavouring to implement democratic form of government, to guarantee a life of freedom, and to promote spiritual culture and economic prosperity, thus we, the citizens of the Slovak Republic, have, herewith and through our representatives, adopted this Constitution.“

Religion, the state and the law in the Slovak Republic

Charter of Fundamental Rights and Liberties adopted into the constitutional order

Act No. 192/1992 Coll. on the registration of churches and religious societies

Act No. 282/1993 Coll. on the mitigation of certain property injustices caused to churches and religious societies (with Amendment Act No. 97/2002 Coll.)

Act No. 394/2000 Coll. on freedom of religious faith and the position of churches and religious societies

Basic Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the Holy See (No. 326/2001 Coll.)

Partial agreements between the state and registered churches and religous societies (No. 250/2002 Coll.) and the state and the Holy See (2002-2005)

Registration of churches and religious societies in SR

Act No. 192/1992 Coll. on the registration of churches and religious societies

The Ministry of Culture can grant special rights to be exercised in accordance with special law (as in the Czech Republic)

For registration the subject needs to have at least 20 000 of adult adherents with permanent residence in the country (previously registered 14 subjects were automatically registered)

After passing the law, only 4 other churches or religious societies were registered

Up to now 18 churches and religious societies registered (except for The Federation of Jewish communities in Slovakia and Bahá'í community are all of Christian origin or inspiration)

Religious affiliation in CR and SR – census (%)

CZECH REPUBLIC SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Affiliated

Non-affiliate

d

Undeclared

Affiliated

Non-affilia

ted

Undeclared

1921 92,8 7,2 - 99,8 0,2 0

1930 92,2 7,8 - 98,5 1,5 -

1950 93,9 5,8 0,3 99,1 0,9 -

1991 43,9 39,9 16,2 72,8 9,8 17,4

2001 32,2 59,0 8,8 84,0 13,0 3,0

2011 20,6 34,2 45,2 76,0 13,4 10,6

Religious affiliation in CR and SR – EVS (%)

CZECH REPUBLIC SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Affiliated

Non-affiliate

d

No answer Affiliated

Non-affilia

ted

No answer

1991 40,3 59,4 0,3 71,6 28,1 0,4

1999 33,2 66,7 0,1 76,8 23,2 0

2008 26,2 71,0 2,9 75,3 24,1 0,6

Confessional structure in the Czech Republic (%)

1921 1930 1950 1991 2001 2011

Roman Catholic 82,0 79,0 76,3 39,0 26,8 10,4

Czechoslovak Hussite 5,2 7,3 10,6 1,7 1,0 0,4

Evangelical – Czech

Brethren2,3 2,7 4,5 2,0 1,1 0,5

Others 3,3 3,2 2,4 1,0 3,2 16,2

Non-confessional 7,2 7,8 5,8 39,9 59,0 34,5

Not found - - 0,3 20,6 8,8 44,7

Confessional structure in the Slovak Republic (%)

1921 1930 1950 1991 2001 2011

Roman Catholic 70,9 71,6 76,2 60,4 68,9 62,0

Evangelical (Lutheran) 12,8 12,0 12,9 6,2 6,9 5,9

Greek Catholic 6,5 6,4 6,6 3,4 4,1 3,8

Reformed (Calvinist) 4,8 4,4 3,2 1,6 2,0 1,8

Jewish 4,5 4,1 0,2 0,0 0,0 0,1

Others, undeclared + no confession

0,5 1,5 0,9 28,4 18,1 25,4

Basic findings

The level of religious affiliation in the Czech Republic is quite rapidly decreasing, while in Slovakia the trend can be characterized by stability with only slight decline

In both countries there is differentiation mechanism at work related to registration of churches and religious societies and promotion of religious equality

It is easier for churches and religious societies to be registered by the state in the Czech Republic than in Slovakia (and in fact, there has been a higher increase in the number of registered subjects in the period), but the opportunity to exercise special rights (privileges) is similar in both countries

In Slovakia the position of the dominant Roman Catholic church is more privileged than in the Czech Republic, mainly due to the Agreement between the state and the Holy See

Religious pluralism in both countries is basically denominational (intra-Christian) pluralism with only minority of subjects from different religious traditions

Implications and further research

The findings draw our attention to more detailed research of the development of relations between the state, society and religion during the Communist period (and even before)

Perceived national identity or founding myth as important factors in the histories of (not only) postcommunist countries leading to our better understanding of marked differences between countries that at the ideological or normative level follow the same or very similar principles (Martin 1978, Froese 2005, Zrinščak 2011)

Multiple secularities approach (Wohlrab-Sahr, Burchardt 2012) as a stimulating theoretical framework for sociological reflection on the variety of relationships between religion and secularity in modern „secular“ states and societies and cultural meanings of secularity