Religion in the Czech Republic is Misidentified, and in Light of Pandemic, May be Prophetic for the Rest of the World
By: Samuel Dempsey When talking to Czechs, most people say they are irreligious, in fact, 66% of the country says they do not believe in god, and 25% identify as atheists. Yet, when you look under the surface and examine history, one of the so-called most atheistic countries in the world looks far less atheistic. More accurately, Czechs hold an individualized unconventional spirituality un-dictated by the state of the world. According to Dr. Zdeněk Vojtíšek, the head of the Department of Religious Studies at the Hussite Theological Faculty of Charles University, Czechs do not trust institutions, especially religious institutions. “They hesitate to be members of any institution or any church,” he said. “Such denial is often expressed by the sentence, I am an atheist.” However, Dr. Vojtíšek elaborates that if atheism is a denial of the transcendental reality, Czechs are the polar opposite. The statement of atheism is a statement of societal solidarity in identifying as Czech, not one of spiritual rejection. “Czechs are very strong in finding out different kinds of predictions, prophecies, healing, energy healing, natural healing, and positive thinking,” he said. Moreover, unlike most of the rest of the world, Dr. Vojtíšek does not believe the pandemic...
