Civilreligion med ett mänskligt ansikte : president Václav Havels tankar om individ, religion och samhälle

Sammanfattning: In this thesis civil religion in the Czech Republic is studied throught the way it is expressed in the speeches of president Václav Havel. Earlier studies on civil religion have shown how civil religiion can be a latent phenomenon that is activated in times of societal change and crisis. In Havel's speeches, this is expressed by the emphasis put on democratic values, such as basic human rights, and the return of history to a country that was subjected to a totalitarian regime during a long period of time. Through the analysis of Havel's speeches from 1990-1999, the elements and symbols of the Czech civil religion become evident. These elements and symbols are found in the history of the nation, and Havel often emphasizes how important it is to know the truth about history. An important factor in this research is the need for an overarching civil religion, that could tie the citizens to the state, as well as to each other. This need arose as communism was ousted and the society started changing rapidly. The developing society became differentiated, and a religious indifference prevailed. This made it impossible for the established religion to encompass all the citizens and create cohesion in soicety, thereby legitimating it. The foundation of the Czech civil religion are democratic and liberal values, something that makes it a general civil religion. It has, however, specific, Czech elements, namely the notions of truth, freedom, tolerance and unity. A special form of unity formed among the citizens durig the struggle for freedom in 1989, and Havel played an important part in the development. This has given him great influence over the citizens, and he has had the possibility to shape the civil religion, so that it includes the elements that he finds important. He puts special emphasis on national holidays and commemorations, that form a civil religious calendar and make it possible to hold symbolic manifestations that create a unity among the citizens. The main task of the civil religion in the Czech Republic is to tie the different spheres of society together, thus forming a common basis of values, on which society rests and through which society is legitimated.