Politics and Religion

Context and Project Principles

The question of the relationship between politics and religion is once again relevant. Some political scientists and sociologists have recently rediscovered an intense bond between religious identity and political movements in different parts of the world. It is inevitable to think and analyse the changes that occur in the social and political functions of religious communities in various cultural, social, and political environments. It is necessary at the same time to monitor the causes and effects of the increasing acceptance of various religions as one of the sources of the ideological profile of political subjects for which religious justification often serves as a tool to legitimise several fundamentalist positions and even violent actions.

This situation is, in a long-term perspective, clearly visible in the political function of Islam, but other religions are also repeatedly used as a source of inspiration or legitimisation for miscellaneous political positions, including those which can contribute to the erosion of a democratic political culture.

It is important to point out that the current violent political actions connected with Islam that are being faced by democratic societies worldwide should not distort the scientific perspective, that the connection between religion and politics need not be a priori interpreted negatively. This kind of ideological narrowing of complex problems, which we often witness in media simplification, has a retroactive effect on the reinterpretation of those religious traditions that had a formative impact on the development of democratic political traditions in the Euro-Atlantic civilisation. The relationship of politics and religion must, therefore, remain a topic for open research.

Aims and Objectives of the Project

The Czech Republic is not necessarily spared the consequences of the current intersection of politics and religion. Thus it is necessary to create conditions even here for researching the relationship between religion and politics and for presenting the results of that research to the general public.

CDK's goal is to go beyond the existing fragmented research of politics and religion in individual disciplines and to attempt to create a platform for interdisciplinary research and an open space for the transparent presentation of results. The idea of the Politics and Religion series arose from this goal. In this series, thematic works are published (monographs, monograph collections, etc.) that focus on the relationship between politics and religion from a different point of view.

"Politics and Religion" Series

The Politics and Religion series presents Czech and foreign monothematic titles that deal with aspects of the relationship between politics and religion. The series is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach that is balanced between the humanistic and socio-academic.