ATHEISM IN THE CZECH POST-COMMUNIST SOCIETY AS A CHALLENGE FOR CHRISTIANITY
ATHEISM IN THE CZECH POST-COMMUNIST SOCIETY AS A CHALLENGE FOR CHRISTIANITY

Summary/Abstract: The article gives some information about the religious situation in the Czech Republic today, i.e. 21 years after the fall of communism in 1989. The Czech Republic is seen as the most atheist country of Europe, maybe comparable with Estonia or East Germany. It argues that it is not so simple, and that the atheism in the Czech Republic is not so widespread or so much rooted as it is presumed. The refl ection is confirmed by the statements of eminent Czech specialists for religious studies, and also by two workshops dedicated to this topic: one of them took place in Prague in 2005 and was organized by the Alliance of Evangelical Preachers, the other took place in Hradec Králové in 2008 and was organized by the Catholic Theological Institute in this town. Nevertheless, it pays attention to new forms of atheism based on evolutionary biology and sociology presented by Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, etc., who have provided the public with so much entertainment and so little enlightenment in recent years. Finally, it argues that the coming of post-modern thinking offers new possibilities for Christians to restart serious dialogue with the secularized society about the ultimate meaning of human life and morality, and to demonstrate the Christian religion as a witness of lived experience with a living God who assumed our human condition in order to give us participation in his eternal life.

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