I suppose one of the things that interests me most about Prague and the Czech Republic is that it's a society wherein 40% of all adults openly admit to being atheists. 40 per cent! Not deists. Not agnostics. No. Atheists.
And it's not like Czechs haven't had exposure to The Word. Prague was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire not once, but twice in its history. These people are well-acquainted with the gospels and have said, "No, thank you. We just don't buy it." The Prague ghetto was a bastion of no trivial amount of Jewish theological thought, and many Czech theologians are among history's finest. Still, 40% of Czechs look at the idea of a deity, and say: "Seriously, not my thing." This must be how a country can end up with a poet as president.
Prague's relationship with organized religion is the stuff of epic. Expansion under the Holy Roman Empire was swift, and we discuss Prague and the Czechs in terms of dynasties. The first, culminating with expansion all the way to the Mediterranean, ended with King Wenceslas in 1306 (Yes, THAT King Wenceslas.)
Charles IV was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, and ushered in a Golden Age in Czech history. Czech kings weren't these inbred knuckleheads as we're used to reading about in medieval times. Charles spoke five languages fluently, and busied himself with creating universities and public works. This, one might suspect, put a softer face in religion in the public sphere, as the dark ages didn't come from Czech leaders. Only when external forces occupied Prague (the Hussites, beginning in the 15th century), did oppression and anti-intellectualism set in.
Of course, they didn't last, and when King George--a protestant--was elected in 1458, things settled down and interciene warfare evaporated.
In 1576, when Rudolph was crowned king and made the Holy Roman Emperor, art and science flourished again. Scientists, artists, and alchemists flocked to Prague from all over Europe to take part in the second cultural Golden Age.
All was not well with the Jews, nor the protestants, however, and from this time comes the legend of the Golem. Built by Rabbi Loew, this clay creature was built to protect the Jews from persecution, and takes its place among many religious legends of people oppressed by a king and looking for a savior.
Here's where things get interesting: the 30-years war in Europe was sparked by the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620. The protestant-catholic and Christian-Jewish tension seemed to seethe until Joseph II signed the Edict of Tolerance in 1781, establishing political rights to religious minorities (about the time when our own Jefferson and Madison were arguing with Patrick Henry about establishing government-paid religion teachers)
So after that, religion sort of falls off the radar in Czech history, never to return. Was it the effects of the Enlightenment, and Prague's establishment of ties with a new sister city, Paris? Was it the effects of decades of religious war on its beloved city? What was it that caused the Czech people to begin to reject religion as a force in public life?
After 1781, every major milestone in Czech history was a secular one. The revolt against the Nazis in 1945. The rise of the Communist Party in 1948. Prague Spring in 1968 was mainly a function of intellectuals arguing against totalitarian suppression of thought, while arguments in favor of religious freedom were notably absent. Then came the Velvet Revolution of 1989, and the break-off of Slovakia in 1993. Two major upheavals in Czech history, and they happened not only from secular beginnings, but also without a shot fired.
Think about that. The disappearance of religion as a public force coincided with a marked decline in violence as a tool for internal reform in the country (WWI and WWII are notable exceptions, but cannot be chalked up to typical internal tensions.)
Even in times of totalitarianism, be it by religious leaders or political ones, the Czechs have always maintained a sense of intellectual rigor that is wholly uncommon elsewhere. Further, a city who owes much of its historical glory to its religious background does not often see the wholesale removal of religion from public life, and yet, here is Prague for you. Strange.
And now we've got 40% of the population who reject even the notion of a higher power. Amazing. You just don't see that anywhere else. And this will be Sara's and my home in about 35 or so days. I can't help but wonder what the public culture is like in the absence of, shall we say "traditional moral values" as practiced in the U.S. Can't wait to find out.
Last year, The Progressive published an article of slogans found on city walls, in shop windows, and on the metro found after the 
Here are some photos from a backpacking trip along the Superior Hiking Trail in Northern Minnesota. It's also an excuse to try out this new fancy image posting tool called, "Hello" from Picasa.
