Between Repression, Chaos and Uncertainty

Religious Minorities in Early Communist Czechoslovakia

Bibliographic Data

ID7150852
AuthorsMartin Pácha (0000-0002-8202-3251, Institute of Contemporary History, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume34
Issue3
Pages702-718
Publication date2025-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueContemporary European History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0960-7773 • E-ISSN: 1469-2171
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0960777324000468
OpenAlexW4406919979
LanguageEN
References cited13

Crackdown on religious institutions characterised the onset of the postwar communist dictatorships in East Central Europe. The literature commonly assumes that the new religious policies were influenced by the Soviet Union. However, the adoption of the Soviet blueprint was not straightforward and manifested differently across various regions. This article analyses the implementation process by examining the treatment of nonlegalised religious minorities in early Cold War Czechoslovakia. It argues that beyond adopting the legal framework, the strategy was not seriously informed by the Soviet realities. Through an analysis of the state's attitude towards Jehovah's Witnesses, the Pentecostal movement and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, this study concludes that the Czechoslovak Communist Party did not have any clear plan of action. The relationship with the religious organisations developed organically. It was heavily influenced by confessional distinctions among denominations and ad hoc local decisions, highlighting a deeply decentralised approach to creating religious policies

Biology · Communism · Computer security · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Psychological repression · Computer Science · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics · Law · Soviet and Russian History · Genetics

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