Legal Regulation of Religious Education in the Czech Lands in 1948-1989

The article discusses the legal regulation of religious education in the Czech lands in the 1948-1989 period of communist rule. It focuses on state regulations on churches and religious societies valid during that period and on changes in these regulations. Religious education was a graded subject until 1953; it was mandatory for members of churches and religious societies that were recognized by the state. Starting in 1953 the subject became an elective and was not graded. Pupils and their parents began to be prosecuted for participating in religious education. Therefore, starting in the school year 1952/53 the number of pupils attending religious classes began to decline; some increase was apparent in 1968 because of the events of the Prague Spring. However, during the period of so-called normalization at the beginning of the 1970s participation in religious education again declined. There was a slight increase in all regions in 1988 and 1989.