This chapter examines how religion was affected by communism and how religious the Czech Republic and Hungary are today. It looks at how communist policy impacted various aspects of religion, including religious education and religious practices such as baptism and weddings. The chapter then analyzes current levels of religiosity in the Czech Republic and Hungary and discusses them in relation to religiosity in Western Europe. It is concluded that while religiosity in the Czech Republic is especially low, this may be due more to secularization than its communist legacy. Hungary's levels of religiosity are more in line with the rest of Eastern Europe and, given the government's recent inclusion of Christian values in public education, could potentially increase.
TopCommunism, Religiosity, And The Theory Of Secularization
Religion can serve as another source of political socialization. Studies have shown that followers of the same religion are fairly homogenous in terms of political preferences, ideology, and policy positions (Barker & Carman, 2000; Green, 2007; Mayer, 2004; Pearson-Merkowitz & Gimpel, 2009; Wald & Calhoun‐Brown, 2007). Additionally, research has found that people who regularly practice a religion have more civic skills and are more likely to participate politically (Pearson-Merkowitz & Gimpel, 2009; Verba et al., 1995; Wald et al., 1988).
Given the linkage between religion and politics, it becomes evident why the Communist Party would view religion as an enemy. Communists saw religion as “nonsense, non-scientific, a conservation of the past and an obstacle to development” (Tomka, 2011, p. 29). In other words, communism is based on Marxism, which is scientific and therefore not compatible with religion (Horák, 2010). This made atheism the state religion under communism. The communists somewhat tolerated religious communities, but their ultimate goal was to get rid of all religion (Horák, 2010).
How aggressively the communists went after religion was largely dependent on the leaders in charge. For example, both the Czech Republic and Hungary saw a loosening of religious control during Prague Spring and the 1956 Revolution, respectively. After Prague Spring, Czechs saw a retightening of religious control. However, in Hungary, János Kádár—who was the communist leader for almost the entire rest of communism in Hungary—was less repressive than before the Revolution, but still kept strict control over churches (Rosta, 2012).