My field of expertise is the contemporary religious situation in Europe and the methodology of the academic Study of Religions. I have participated several international and national research projects. Among them for example 6th Frame Program of EU - REVACERN (Religions And Values: Central And Eastern European Research Network) in 2007 – 2009 and GAČR 401/07/0203 (2007-2009) and GAČR GA403/06/0574 Detraditionatization and Individualization of religion in the Czech Republic and their socio-political and socio-economical consequences (2006–2008). Both grants were focused on process of transformation or religion in modern and post-socialist society. The projects were theoretically and methodologically grounded in sociology of religion, economic sociology, history and social anthropology. I have also published 6 monographs and more than 40 studies and papers. Among them for example Náboženství a moderní česká společnost (Religion and Modern Czech Society), Grada Publishing house 2010, p. 231, which is focused on a role of religion in the Czech society in the 20th and at the beginning of the 21st Century. It deals with this phenomenon form the point of view history, sociology and academic study of religion. It analyzes especially relation between politics and religion in the context of creation of modern Czech nation. It also reflects so called Czech atheism. Or Sociologie nových náboženských hnutí (Sociology of New Religious Movements) Malvern, Praha 2007 offers critical analysis of a typology of new religious movements. It reflects classical terms as sect, cult, church but discussions on genealogical approach or impact of social tension on reflexion and classification of new religious movements as well. Phone: +420 602 179 911
Freethought and Atheism in Central and Eastern Europe
This chapter provides the first comprehensive overview of atheism, secularity and non-religion in... more This chapter provides the first comprehensive overview of atheism, secularity and non-religion in Central and Eastern Europe in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In contrast to scholarship that has focused on the ‘decline of religion’ and secularization theory, the chapter builds upon recent trends to focus on the ‘rise of non-religion’ itself. While the label of ‘post-communism’ might suggest a generalized perception of the region, this survey reveals that the precise developments in each country before, after and even during the communist era are surprisingly diverse.
Around the world, people engage in practices that involve self-inflicted pain, wasted resources a... more Around the world, people engage in practices that involve self-inflicted pain, wasted resources and time and energy investments. Researchers hailing from various disciplines theorise that these practices help stabilise within-group cooperation by assorting individuals committed to collective action. Specifically, costly practices function as signals of hidden cooperative phenotype and these practices may be afforded only by individuals with high phenotypic quality. While this proposition was previously studied using existing religious practices, we provide a controlled framework for an experimental investigation of various predictions derived from this theory. Recruiting a sample of 320 university students from the Czech Republic, participants will choose to play a Public Goods Game (PGG) either in a group that wastes money to signal a commitment to high contributions in the game (revealed phenotype) or to play in the group without such signals (concealed phenotype). Participants wi...
Koncept tzv. kulturni valky se zacal objevovat v několika různých analýzach, ktere se věnovaly tr... more Koncept tzv. kulturni valky se zacal objevovat v několika různých analýzach, ktere se věnovaly transformaci moderni spolecnosti, zejmena spolecnosti americke, kterou tato prosla od 60. let 20. stoleti. Tento koncept podtrhuje „ideologicke schizma“ přitomne ve větsině debat polarizujicich americkou veřejnou sferu. Tyto debaty zahrnuji siroke spektrum kontroverznich temat, jakými jsou vztahy mezi statem a naboženstvim(i), multikulturalismus, potraty nebo sňatky osob stejneho pohlavi. Přispěvek se bude věnovat analýze konceptu kulturni valky a jeho „využivani“ v „ideologickem střetu“ mezi liberaly a konzervativci v soucasne americke politice. Dale bude reflektovat jeho použitelnost pro vědeckou analýzu, předevsim pro popis a interpretaci naboženske situace v americke spolecnosti.
Clanek se věnuje kritickemu rozboru koncepci modernizace a sekularizace představeným v knize Dusa... more Clanek se věnuje kritickemu rozboru koncepci modernizace a sekularizace představeným v knize Dusana Lužneho
Clanek se zabýva institucionaizaci tzv. vědeckeho ateismu v obdobi let 1948 až 1989 a proměnami, ... more Clanek se zabýva institucionaizaci tzv. vědeckeho ateismu v obdobi let 1948 až 1989 a proměnami, kterými se tato ideologie proměňovala. Zvlastni pozornost je věnovana zejmena Ustavu vědeckeho ateismu a jeho nastupci Ustavu pro výzkum spolecenskeho vědomi v Brně. Analyzovana je jeho struktura a cinnost.
Kapitola se věnuje rozboru postojů ceske spolecnosti vůci naboženstvi, ktere bývaji casto chybně ... more Kapitola se věnuje rozboru postojů ceske spolecnosti vůci naboženstvi, ktere bývaji casto chybně interpretovany jako důsledek vysoke miry ateizace ceske spolecnosti. Oproti tomuto přesvědceni kapitola ukazuje, že postoj ceske veřejnosti vůci naboženstvi je mnohem diferencovanějsi a neni možne jej jednostranně spojovat s ateizmem.
Clanek uvadi do zakladnich trendů vědeckeho studia naboženstvi ve 20. stoleti a ukazuje jeho možn... more Clanek uvadi do zakladnich trendů vědeckeho studia naboženstvi ve 20. stoleti a ukazuje jeho možnosti v souvislosti s experimentalnim přistupem.
The data gained in EVS (and in other mentioned surveys) document the scope and nature of seculari... more The data gained in EVS (and in other mentioned surveys) document the scope and nature of secularization of Czech society. At a structural level, it can be supported by presenting the opinions of respondents concerning the separation of religion (or better, churches) from the spheres of political and economical life in the Czech Republic. These views are accompanied by a relatively low trust in church institutions (only 20% approximately), by the belief that churches do not deal with social or family problems, and by a low frequency of attention of religious services. Hand in hand with the decrease in social significance of institutionalized forms of religion, or decrease in social importance of churches and other plausibility structures, comes a decrease of their social control over the forms of faith. The consequence of this is a privatization of religion, also manifested by the deviance from traditional forms of belief – which can be clearly observed in the decrease of belief in personal God.
Freethought and Atheism in Central and Eastern Europe
This chapter provides the first comprehensive overview of atheism, secularity and non-religion in... more This chapter provides the first comprehensive overview of atheism, secularity and non-religion in Central and Eastern Europe in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In contrast to scholarship that has focused on the ‘decline of religion’ and secularization theory, the chapter builds upon recent trends to focus on the ‘rise of non-religion’ itself. While the label of ‘post-communism’ might suggest a generalized perception of the region, this survey reveals that the precise developments in each country before, after and even during the communist era are surprisingly diverse.
Around the world, people engage in practices that involve self-inflicted pain, wasted resources a... more Around the world, people engage in practices that involve self-inflicted pain, wasted resources and time and energy investments. Researchers hailing from various disciplines theorise that these practices help stabilise within-group cooperation by assorting individuals committed to collective action. Specifically, costly practices function as signals of hidden cooperative phenotype and these practices may be afforded only by individuals with high phenotypic quality. While this proposition was previously studied using existing religious practices, we provide a controlled framework for an experimental investigation of various predictions derived from this theory. Recruiting a sample of 320 university students from the Czech Republic, participants will choose to play a Public Goods Game (PGG) either in a group that wastes money to signal a commitment to high contributions in the game (revealed phenotype) or to play in the group without such signals (concealed phenotype). Participants wi...
Koncept tzv. kulturni valky se zacal objevovat v několika různých analýzach, ktere se věnovaly tr... more Koncept tzv. kulturni valky se zacal objevovat v několika různých analýzach, ktere se věnovaly transformaci moderni spolecnosti, zejmena spolecnosti americke, kterou tato prosla od 60. let 20. stoleti. Tento koncept podtrhuje „ideologicke schizma“ přitomne ve větsině debat polarizujicich americkou veřejnou sferu. Tyto debaty zahrnuji siroke spektrum kontroverznich temat, jakými jsou vztahy mezi statem a naboženstvim(i), multikulturalismus, potraty nebo sňatky osob stejneho pohlavi. Přispěvek se bude věnovat analýze konceptu kulturni valky a jeho „využivani“ v „ideologickem střetu“ mezi liberaly a konzervativci v soucasne americke politice. Dale bude reflektovat jeho použitelnost pro vědeckou analýzu, předevsim pro popis a interpretaci naboženske situace v americke spolecnosti.
Clanek se věnuje kritickemu rozboru koncepci modernizace a sekularizace představeným v knize Dusa... more Clanek se věnuje kritickemu rozboru koncepci modernizace a sekularizace představeným v knize Dusana Lužneho
Clanek se zabýva institucionaizaci tzv. vědeckeho ateismu v obdobi let 1948 až 1989 a proměnami, ... more Clanek se zabýva institucionaizaci tzv. vědeckeho ateismu v obdobi let 1948 až 1989 a proměnami, kterými se tato ideologie proměňovala. Zvlastni pozornost je věnovana zejmena Ustavu vědeckeho ateismu a jeho nastupci Ustavu pro výzkum spolecenskeho vědomi v Brně. Analyzovana je jeho struktura a cinnost.
Kapitola se věnuje rozboru postojů ceske spolecnosti vůci naboženstvi, ktere bývaji casto chybně ... more Kapitola se věnuje rozboru postojů ceske spolecnosti vůci naboženstvi, ktere bývaji casto chybně interpretovany jako důsledek vysoke miry ateizace ceske spolecnosti. Oproti tomuto přesvědceni kapitola ukazuje, že postoj ceske veřejnosti vůci naboženstvi je mnohem diferencovanějsi a neni možne jej jednostranně spojovat s ateizmem.
Clanek uvadi do zakladnich trendů vědeckeho studia naboženstvi ve 20. stoleti a ukazuje jeho možn... more Clanek uvadi do zakladnich trendů vědeckeho studia naboženstvi ve 20. stoleti a ukazuje jeho možnosti v souvislosti s experimentalnim přistupem.
The data gained in EVS (and in other mentioned surveys) document the scope and nature of seculari... more The data gained in EVS (and in other mentioned surveys) document the scope and nature of secularization of Czech society. At a structural level, it can be supported by presenting the opinions of respondents concerning the separation of religion (or better, churches) from the spheres of political and economical life in the Czech Republic. These views are accompanied by a relatively low trust in church institutions (only 20% approximately), by the belief that churches do not deal with social or family problems, and by a low frequency of attention of religious services. Hand in hand with the decrease in social significance of institutionalized forms of religion, or decrease in social importance of churches and other plausibility structures, comes a decrease of their social control over the forms of faith. The consequence of this is a privatization of religion, also manifested by the deviance from traditional forms of belief – which can be clearly observed in the decrease of belief in personal God.
Přednáška ukazuje na klíčové aspekty postoje české veřejnosti k náboženství, zejména pak její ned... more Přednáška ukazuje na klíčové aspekty postoje české veřejnosti k náboženství, zejména pak její nedůvěru k náboženským institucím a zároveň poukazuje na fakt, že za údajným českým ateismem se skrývá něco poněkud jiného - tendence k individualizovaným formám náboženství.
The idea of culture war, has occured in various analyses focused on transformation of modern soci... more The idea of culture war, has occured in various analyses focused on transformation of modern societies and especially American society since 1980’s. This concept underlies „ideological schism“, which is participated on majority of the polarizing debates in American (and not only American) public sphere. These dabates involved wide spectrum of controversies like relationships between state and church, multiculturalism, abortion or gay marriages. The paper will focus on analysis of the concept of cultural war and its „using“ in „ideological struggle“ between liberals and conservatives streams in contemporary American politics. It will also consider sustainability of this concept for the scientific reflection, especially for description and interpretation of the religious situation in American society.
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Papers by David Václavík