Doing Christian Social Ethics in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Christian social ethics in the Czech Republic is embedded within a highly secularized society. Since this society is mostly sceptical towards the Churches, but can nonetheless not be seen simply as atheistic, the dialogue that theological social ethics has with society is a specific challenge for theology in the Czech Republic. Christian social ethics is therefore faced with having to cross its own borders in several ways. I will focus in the first part of this article on the historical, social, and ecclesial context. I will then present the current situation in teaching Christian social ethics at state universities, as well as the most relevant publications in Christian social ethics published in the Czech Republic since 1989. Finally, I will outline some challenges for doing Christian social ethics in the Czech Republic.