Rachel Evans
The Czech Republic has one of the highest numbers of atheists, agnostics, and people with religious indifference in the world. Before the second half of the 20th century, Christianity, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, dominated the country. Since then, the state's religious affiliations have declined. In 2021, 9.3% of the population identified with Catholicism, while 47.8% of Czechs declared that they did not believe in any religion. The country's religious identity has changed drastically since the first half of the 20th century, when over 90% of Czechs were Christians.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Percentage of atheists | 39.8% |
| Percentage of believers | 21.3% |
| Percentage of Catholics | 9.3% |
| Percentage of other Christians | 2.4% |
| Percentage of other religions or beliefs | 10.8% |
| Percentage of non-religious or undeclared | 47.8% |
| Percentage of non-religious in 2012 | 37% |
| Highest percentage of Catholics | 96% in the 19th century |
| Current largest religious denomination | Catholic Church |
| Number of Catholic dioceses | 8 |
| Number of Catholic archdioceses | 2 |
| Percentage of Protestants | 1.9% |
| Percentage of Orthodox Christians | 3% |
| Perception of Catholicism after World War I | Anti-Catholicism |
| Current religious freedom | Strict freedom of religion |
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What You'll Learn
- Catholicism was the primary religion in the Czech Republic in the 18th and 19th centuries
- The country's religious identity has changed since the first half of the 20th century
- Roman Catholicism is still the largest single religious denomination in the country
- The Czech Republic has high numbers of atheists, agnostics, and people indifferent to religion
- The country has a rich traditional religious history, but citizens are uninterested in organised religion
Catholicism was the primary religion in the Czech Republic in the 18th and 19th centuries
The Czech Republic has a long and complex religious history. The country's religious identity has changed drastically since the first half of the 20th century, when more than 90% of Czechs were Christians. As of 2021, only 11.7% of the population identified with Christianity, with 9.3% of the population practising Catholicism.
Catholicism was the primary religion in the Czech Republic (then the Kingdom of Bohemia) in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Christianisation of the Czechs (Bohemians, Moravians, and Silesians) occurred in the 9th and 10th centuries when they were incorporated into the Catholic Church and abandoned indigenous Slavic paganism. After the Bohemian Reformation in the late 14th century, most Czechs became followers of Jan Hus, a religious reformer who started the Proto-Protestant Hussite movement. Despite this, Catholicism remained the religion of nearly all the population until the end of the 19th century.
In the 18th century, the Enlightenment deeply affected ecclesiastical life in the Czech lands. The optimism in the omnicompetence of human reason led some Catholic disciples to disavow the excesses of baroque religiosity. By the end of the 18th century, Protestant and Jewish minorities were granted some rights, but they did not gain full equality until a century later.
In the 19th century, Catholicism continued to be the primary religion in the Czech Republic, which was then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The Catholic Church faced challenges from rising liberalism, materialism, and anti-Catholic interpretations of Czech history. Pope Leo XIII, however, took a deep interest in the development of Czech Catholicism, founding the Bohemicum in Rome in 1890 for seminarians from Czech lands. This college became the Collegium Nepomucenum in 1929, intended for students of theology from all of Czechoslovakia.
In the 20th century, the religious landscape of the Czech Republic changed significantly. With the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918 and the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia, the position of the Catholic Church weakened due to criticism from intellectuals and social changes brought by rapid industrialisation. Anti-Catholic sentiment grew, and the association of Catholicism with the unpopular Habsburg power led to a revival of Czech Protestantism. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church was established in 1920, with about 10% of the formerly Catholic clergy splitting from the Catholic Church.
Since the 20th century, Christianity has gradually been abandoned by the majority of Czechs, and today it remains the religion of a minority. The Marxist-Leninist regime, which seized power in 1948, confiscated church property, persecuted priests, and aggressively targeted Catholicism. The national censuses show a decline in Catholicism from 76.7% in 1950 to 9.3% in 2021.
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The country's religious identity has changed since the first half of the 20th century
The religious identity of the Czech Republic has changed significantly since the first half of the 20th century. Before the second half of the 20th century, Christianity, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, dominated the country. In the early 20th century, more than 90% of Czechs were Christians, with the majority following Catholicism. However, the position of the Catholic Church weakened due to criticism from intellectuals, social changes brought by industrialization, and its association with the unpopular Habsburg power, leading to a revival of Czech Protestantism in the form of Hussitism.
The Communist regime that seized power in 1948 further contributed to the decline of Catholicism in the country. During this time, church property was confiscated, priests were persecuted, and religion was virtually outlawed, with churchgoing strongly discouraged. The Marxist-Leninist regime fought all religions but targeted Catholicism with particular aggressiveness. This period of institutionalized atheism and criticism of the Catholic Church led to a significant shift in the country's religious landscape.
By the early 21st century, Christianity had gradually lost its character as the traditional religion of the Czechs, with most people abandoning it and only a minority continuing to practice and identify with it. As of 2021, only about 9.3% of the population identified as Catholic, and 2.4% with other Christian denominations. Overall, 11.7% identified with Christianity, a significant decline from previous centuries.
The Czech Republic now has one of the highest numbers of atheists, agnostics, and religiously indifferent individuals in the world. In the 2021 census, 47.8% of Czechs declared they did not believe in any religion, and 30.1% did not respond. Research suggests that by 2050, religion in the Czech Republic might become extinct due to the country's increasing indifference towards organized religion.
While the country has moved away from its traditionally Christian identity, small minority religions have gained a foothold. These include Buddhism, Islam, Paganism, Hinduism, and Judaism. Additionally, since the late 20th century, there has been a growing interest in ideas and non-institutional models similar to those of Eastern religions, spread by movements started by various gurus and mystical paths.
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Roman Catholicism is still the largest single religious denomination in the country
The Czech Republic has a rich traditional religious history, with Christianity quickly spreading throughout the region during the 9th and 10th centuries, when the locals were incorporated into the Catholic Church and abandoned indigenous Slavic paganism. The country has witnessed a drastic change in its religious identity since the first half of the 20th century, when more than 90% of Czechs were Christians. Roman Catholicism was once the primary religion in the country, with 96% of the population practising it before the 19th century. The religion was introduced to the Czech Republic in the 15th century by pioneer reformers who aimed to revitalise religion.
The position of the Catholic Church began to weaken towards the end of the 19th century due to criticism from the intellectual class and social changes brought about by rapid industrialisation. The association of Catholicism with the unpopular erstwhile Habsburg power further led to widespread anti-clericalism and anti-Catholicism, resulting in a revival of Czech Protestantism in the form of Hussitism. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church was established in 1920 when about 10% of the Catholic clergy split from the Catholic Church.
During the Communist regime, the state confiscated church property, persecuted priests, and strongly discouraged churchgoing, leading to a further decline in religious adherence. Despite this, various underground Catholic movements, such as the Koinotes group, continued to exist. After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, some churches and monasteries were returned to their original owners, and the spread of non-Christian religions was facilitated.
In the 2021 census, 741,000 people identified as Roman Catholics, 8,309 as Greek Catholics, and 236,000 as simply Catholics, together representing over 9% of the population. This decline can be attributed to the increasing indifference towards organised religion, with many citizens preferring to remain unattached to any religious denomination. Despite the decrease in followers, Roman Catholicism remains the largest single religious denomination in the Czech Republic.
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The Czech Republic has high numbers of atheists, agnostics, and people indifferent to religion
The Czech Republic is one of the most irreligious countries in the world. In the 2021 census, 47.8% of the total population of the Czech Republic identified as irreligious, including atheists, agnostics, and other non-religious life stances. This is a significant increase from the 1991 census, which showed that 39.1% of the population was Catholic. The decline in Catholicism is attributed to various factors, including the country's history under Communist rule, the revival of native historical Protestantism, and the increasing popularity of non-institutional spiritual models.
The history of irreligion in the Czech Republic dates back to the 19th century, with the arrival of freethought in the region. During the Communist regime, various underground Catholic movements emerged, and while state atheism was not enforced as strictly as in other Communist countries, Czech writers and intellectuals played a significant role in developing and spreading atheism. The Marxist-Leninist period of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1960–1990) saw an oppression of Christianity, contributing to its decline.
Following the Velvet Revolution and the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, there was a brief increase in religious affiliation. However, over time, irreligion maintained its prevalence in the Czech Republic. The religious identity of the country has changed drastically since the first half of the 20th century, when more than 90% of Czechs were Christians. As of 2021, only 11.7% of the population identified with Christianity, with 9.3% being Catholic and 2.4% belonging to other Christian denominations.
While a majority of people in the Czech Republic are irreligious, not all of them are atheists. Some non-religious individuals practice unorganised forms of spirituality similar to Eastern religions. Additionally, there has been a growing indifference to religious disagreements, with people neither favouring religious belief nor Marxist atheism.
The Czech Republic's religious landscape is diverse, with small minority religions including Buddhism, Islam, Paganism, Hinduism, and Judaism. The country's religious identity continues to evolve, reflecting the complex relationship between religion, politics, and cultural influences.
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The country has a rich traditional religious history, but citizens are uninterested in organised religion
The Czech Republic has a rich traditional religious history, with Christianity and the Catholic Church dominating the country for centuries. However, there has been a significant shift away from organised religion in recent times, with many citizens identifying as irreligious or uninterested in religious affiliation.
The Christianisation of the Czechs, including Bohemians, Moravians, and Silesians, took place in the 9th and 10th centuries when they abandoned indigenous Slavic paganism and adopted Catholicism. During the Bohemian Reformation in the late 14th century, most Czechs became followers of Jan Hus and other regional Proto-Protestant religious reformers, known as Hussites. Despite this, Catholicism remained the primary religion in the country, with the Catholic Church exerting significant influence.
In the 19th century, under Hapsburg rule, the locals were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism, and before the 20th century, 96% of the population practised this religion. However, the position of the Catholic Church weakened due to criticism from the intellectual class and social changes brought about by industrialisation. The association of Catholicism with the unpopular Habsburg power also led to a revival of Czech Protestantism and a split from the Catholic Church.
The Communist regime that seized power in 1948 further contributed to the decline of religion in the country. Church property was confiscated, priests were persecuted, and religion was virtually outlawed. While some churches were returned after the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the overall belief in organised religion had already started to wane.
Today, the Czech Republic has one of the highest numbers of atheists, agnostics, and religiously indifferent individuals worldwide. In the 2021 census, only about 9.3% of the population identified as Catholic, while 47.8% declared no belief in any religion. This trend is expected to continue, with predictions suggesting that religion in the Czech Republic might become extinct by 2050 due to the country's increasing indifference towards organised religion.
While the country has a rich religious history, the citizens of the Czech Republic in the 21st century largely prefer to remain unattached to any particular religion or belief system.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the Czech Republic is not a Catholic country. While the Catholic Church was the primary religion in the country in the past, only 9.3% of the population identified with Catholicism in 2021.
The Czech Republic has some of the highest numbers of atheists, agnostics, and people with religious indifference in the world. In 2021, 47.8% of the population declared that they did not believe in any religion, while 30.1% did not respond.
The Czechs converted to Christianity and joined the Catholic Church in the 9th and 10th centuries, abandoning their indigenous Slavic paganism. The Catholic Church dominated the country until the second half of the 20th century. During the Communist regime, the Church's property was confiscated, and religion was virtually outlawed. The fall of the regime opened the country to the spread of non-Christian religions.
The Catholic Church is the largest single religious denomination in the country, with eight dioceses, including two archdioceses. In the 2021 census, 741,000 people identified as Roman Catholics, 8,309 as Greek Catholics, and 236,000 as simply Catholics, representing over 9% of the population.
