VIDO, Roman, David VÁCLAVÍK and Antonín PALEČEK. Czech Republic: The Promised Land for Atheists? In Roberto Cipriani and Franco Garelli. Sociology of Atheism. Leiden: Brill, 2016, p. 201-232. Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion. Volume 7. ISBN 978-90-04-31753-6. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004319301.
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Basic information
Original name Czech Republic: The Promised Land for Atheists?
Authors VIDO, Roman (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), David VÁCLAVÍK (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution) and Antonín PALEČEK (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution).
Edition Leiden, Sociology of Atheism, p. 201-232, 32 pp. Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion. Volume 7, 2016.
Publisher Brill
Other information
Original language English
Type of outcome Chapter(s) of a specialized book
Field of Study 50000 5. Social Sciences
Country of publisher Netherlands
Confidentiality degree is not subject to a state or trade secret
Publication form printed version "print"
RIV identification code RIV/00216224:14230/16:00090346
Organization unit Faculty of Social Studies
ISBN 978-90-04-31753-6
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004319301
Keywords in English Czech Republic; atheism; non-religiosity; secularization; socialization
Tags secularization, sociology of religion, topvydavatel
Tags International impact, Reviewed
Changed by Changed by: PhDr. Roman Vido, Ph.D., učo 12150. Changed: 11/7/2016 14:36.
Abstract
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.
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