David Václavík

Searching and Finding: A History of the Slovak Study of Religion

The article summarizing history of academic study of religion in Slovakia during 20th Century. It shows that the establishment of the academic Study of Religion in Slovakia represents one of the main models existing in many Central and Eastern European countries, where the principal role has been played by theologians, philosophers, sociologists, and ethnographers influenced by modern theology. Yet, at the same time, the story of Slovak study of religion serves as a fitting example of a complicated and ambiguous relationship between religion, its theoretical reflection, and specific social and cultural phenomena and processes, the national emancipation and creation of modern national identity being one of them.