New religions in a post-communist city: Seventh-Day Adventists
and Diamond Way Buddhists in Brno

k 2014

New religions in a post-communist city: Seventh-Day Adventists and Diamond Way Buddhists in Brno

NOVOTNÝ, Gustav and Petr DANĚK

Basic information

Original name

New religions in a post-communist city: Seventh-Day Adventists and Diamond Way Buddhists in Brno

Authors

NOVOTNÝ, Gustav (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution) and Petr DANĚK (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Regional Conference of IGU, Krakow, 2014

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Prezentace na konferencích

Field of Study

50000 5. Social Sciences

Country of publisher

Poland

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/14:00091766

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

Keywords in English

secularization; new religions; post-communist city;

Abstract

V originále

State-backed secularization and a general weakening of the role of churches during the decades of Communist rule have transformed Czech cities into societies showing a very high percentage of people formally declaring themselves atheists, even when compared globally. The recent resurrection of religion, witnessed in many regions of the world, has not been widely documented in post-communist Central-European societies. However, there are people without a formal religious affiliation in Czech cities who are looking for a religion to answer their spiritual needs. The void on the religious map of the Czech Republic caused by the communist state suppression of traditional churches has been partially filled up during the last two decades by a number of new, non-traditional churches, both Christian and non-Christian. This paper, based on a thorough study and in-depth interviews carried out in the Czech city of Brno, asks the following question: what makes the selected non-traditional religions attractive for young residents of Brno, a traditionally Roman Catholic city. The research was done among young followers of two non-traditional denominations. First, the study looks at the Seventh-day Adventist church in a case study of the mission in Brno-Lesná neighbourhood. The church has recently attracted a rather broad range of followers, drawing on its peculiar position during the Communist rule and the consequent growth of its influence. Second, this non-traditional but older church`s activities are compared with a relatively new Diamond Way Buddhist movement, which has been active in Brno since 1998. This paper discusses the different sources of attraction of these churches for young residents and the techniques through which the churches manage to address new followers.

Links

MUNI/A/0902/2012, interní kód MU

Name: Globální environmentální změny v krajinné sféře Země a jejich dopady (Acronym: GlobE)

Investor: Masaryk University, Category A

Citovat

NOVOTNÝ, Gustav and Petr DANĚK. New religions in a post-communist city: Seventh-Day Adventists and Diamond Way Buddhists in Brno. In Regional Conference of IGU, Krakow. 2014.

@proceedings{1360965,
   author = {Novotný, Gustav and Daněk, Petr},
   booktitle = {Regional Conference of IGU, Krakow},
   keywords = {secularization; new religions; post-communist city;},
   language = {eng},
   title = {New religions in a post-communist city: Seventh-Day Adventists and Diamond Way Buddhists in Brno},
   year = {2014}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 1360965
AU  - Novotný, Gustav - Daněk, Petr
PY  - 2014
TI  - New religions in a post-communist city: Seventh-Day Adventists and Diamond Way Buddhists in Brno
KW  - secularization
KW  - new religions
KW  - post-communist city;
N2  - State-backed secularization and a general weakening of the role of churches during the decades of Communist rule have transformed Czech cities into societies showing a very high percentage of people formally declaring themselves atheists, even when compared globally. The recent resurrection of religion, witnessed in many regions of the world, has not been widely documented in post-communist Central-European societies. However, there are people without a formal religious affiliation in Czech cities who are looking for a religion to answer their spiritual needs. The void on the religious map of the Czech Republic caused by the communist state suppression of traditional churches has been partially filled up during the last two decades by a number of new, non-traditional churches, both Christian and non-Christian. This paper, based on a thorough study and in-depth interviews carried out in the Czech city of Brno, asks the following question: what makes the selected non-traditional religions attractive for young residents of Brno, a traditionally Roman Catholic city. The research was done among young followers of two non-traditional denominations. First, the study looks at the Seventh-day Adventist church in a case study of the mission in Brno-Lesná neighbourhood. The church has recently attracted a rather broad range of followers, drawing on its peculiar position during the Communist rule and the consequent growth of its influence. Second, this non-traditional but older church`s activities are compared with a relatively new Diamond Way Buddhist movement, which has been active in Brno since 1998. This paper discusses the different sources of attraction of these churches for young residents and the techniques through which the churches manage to address new followers.
ER  -

NOVOTNÝ, Gustav and Petr DANĚK. New religions in a post-communist city: Seventh-Day Adventists and Diamond Way Buddhists in Brno. In \textit{Regional Conference of IGU, Krakow}. 2014.

Detailed Information on Publication Record