Magdalena Šipka Your Violence Is Not Our Religion Fortalecido Y Crecido Al Mismo Tiempo Que Lo Han Hecho Los Poderes Postfascistas

Journal of the European Society of Women in Theological Research 27 (2019) 95-104. doi: 10.2143/ESWTR.27.0.3286557 ©2019 by Journal of the European Society of Women in Theological Research. All rights reserved.

Magdalena Šipka

Your Violence is Not our Religion

Abstract In this article, I introduce the Czech Radical Feminist Christian Collective and its activities together with the spirituality underlying them. Its theology is based on the image of a vulnerable God who supports and guards the weak: i.e. a God seeking justice in places where people suffer. The Czech Republic has experienced a rapid growth of populist fascination in recent years. Today’s president, Miloš Zeman, has become well known for his hate speech and populist, transphobic and Islamophobic statements. However, at the same time, the Czech feminist movement has also grown stronger and bigger. The state of affairs in the religious scene seems to reflect the general political situation in the country. The head of the Czech Catholic Church, Archbishop Dominik Duka, a political and ideological ally of the president, shares with latter a populist approach and anti-immigrant rhetoric, islamophobia and disrespect for the Czech “Prague” intellectuals, political activists, NGOs, and Human Rights movements. The Czech Radical Feminist Christian Collective – the members call themselves RFK – was founded as a reaction to Archbishop Duka and his support for the National March for Life. The Collective defends women’s right to abortion as well as refugees’ right to seek asylum in the Czech Republic. Its declaration appeals for an understand- ing of the poor living and working conditions of potential mothers: Žít ne dřít (To live, not to drudge), and its activities centre around the ideas of solidarity and the holiness of Creation. While accused of disrespecting the Church ideal of the traditional family, sexual moral law or the superiority of Christianity over other religions, the Collective attempts to be non-hierarchical, supporting the vision of the Church as a community of believers.

Resumen En este artículo, presento el Colectivo Cristiano Feminista Radial Checo y sus actividades junto con la teología que le subyace. Dicha teología está basada en la imagen de un Dios vulnerable que apoya y guarda al débil: i.e., un Dios busca justicia en los lugares en los que la gente sufre. La República Checa ha experimentado un rápido crecimiento de fascinación populista en los últimos años. El actual presidente Miloš Zeman se ha hecho conocido por sus afirmaciones populistas, tránsfobas e islamófobas y su discurso de odio. Sin embargo, el movimiento feminista checo también se ha

95 Magdalena Šipka Your Violence is Not our Religion fortalecido y crecido al mismo tiempo que lo han hecho los poderes postfascistas. La situación de la escena religiosa parece reflejar una situación política general en el país. La cabeza de la Iglesia Católica Checa, el arzobispo Dominik Duka, es un aliado polí- tico e ideológico del presidente Miloš Zeman. Lo que tienen en común es una aproxi- mación populista así como una retórica antiinmigración, islamófoba e irrespetuosa hacia “los intelectuales checos de Praga”, activistas políticos, ONGs y movimientos por los Derechos Humanos. El Colectivo Cristiano Feminista Radical Checo – sus miembros se llaman a sí mismas RFK – fue fundado como reacción al arzobispo Domi- nik Duka y su apoyo a la Marcha Nacional Checa por la Vida. Este colectivo feminista defiende el derecho de las mujeres al aborto así como el derecho a solicitar asilo para personas refugiadas en la República Checa. La declaración de este colectivo solicita una comprensión de las malas condiciones de vida de las futuras madres. El colectivo también ha organizado protestas contra las malas condiciones laborales de trabajadores con bajos ingresos llamados Žít ne dřít (Vivir, no trabajar como un esclavo). Todas estas actividades están unificadas alrededor de ideas de solidaridad y santidad de la Creación. La RFK fue acusada de faltar el respeto al ideal de la Iglesia sobre la familia tradicional, la ley moral sexual o la superioridad del cristianismo con respecto a otras religiones. Pero este colectivo intenta no ser jerárquico, apoyando la visión de la Igle- sia como una comunidad de creyentes.

Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel wird das tschechische, Radikal-Feministische christliche Kollektiv, RFK, und seine Aktivitäten zusammen mit der ihm zugrunde liegenden Spiritualität diskutiert. Die Theologie basiert auf der Vorstellung von einem verwundbaren Gott, der die Schwachen stützt und schützt: Das heißt, Gott sucht Gerechtigkeit an den Orten, an denen Menschen leiden. Die Tschechische Republik erlebte in den letzten Jahren eine rasante Ausbreitung populistischer Ideen. Der derzeitige Präsident Miloš Zeman ist bekannt für Hassreden wie für seine populistischen, transphobischen und islamo- phoben Behauptungen. Gleichzeitig ist jedoch auch die tschechische feministische Bewegung erstarkt und gewachsen, nicht zuletzt in der Auseinandersetzung mit den post-faschistischen Kräften des Landes. Die Situation der religiösen Szene scheint eine allgemeine politische Situation im Land widerzuspiegeln. Das Oberhaupt der tsche- chisch-katholischen Kirche, Erzbischof Dominik Duka, ist ein politischer und ideolo- gischer Verbündeter von Präsident Miloš Zeman. Beide teilen einen populistischen Ansatz basierend auf Anti-Immigration, Islamophobie sowie einer respektlosen Rhetorik gegenüber tschechischen Intellektuellen, politischen Aktivisten, NGOs und Menschenrechtsbewegungen. Das tschechische radikal-feministische christliche Kolle- ktiv wurde als Reaktion auf die Unterstützung des tschechischen „Marsch für das Leben“ durch den Erzbischof Dominik Duka gegründet. RFK verteidigt das Recht von Frauen auf Abtreibung sowie das Recht von Flüchtlingen auf Asyl in der Tschechis- chen Republik zu beantragen. Die Aussagen dieser Gruppe fordern Verständnis und

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Veränderung der schlechten Lebensbedingungen werdender Mütter. Das Kollektiv hat auch Protestaktionen gegen die schlechten Arbeitsbedingungen von Arbeitnehmer*innen mit niedrigem Einkommen organisiert, die als Žít ne dřít (Leben, nicht Schuften) bezeichnet werden. Ihre Aktivitäten konzentrieren sich auf die Ideen der Solidarität und der Heiligkeit der Schöpfung. Dem RFK wurde vorgeworfen, das Ideal der Kirche hinsichtlich traditionellen Familienwerte von Sitte, Moral und Sexualität zu missachten und die Überlegenheit des Christentums gegenüber anderen Religionen nicht zu res- pektieren. Das Kollektiv versucht jedoch ausdrücklich nicht-hierarchisch zu denken und die Vision der Kirche als Gemeinschaft von Glaubenden zu unterstützen.

Introduction The current Czech president, Miloš Zeman, has become well known for his populist, transphobic and islamophobic statements as well as his hate speech,1 with Archbishop Dominik Duka acting as his political and ideological ally.2 One of the results of the recent parliamentary elections held in the fall of 2017 has been the success of the “post-fascist” SPD party.3 However, alongside the latter’s success, and in reaction to Archbishop Dominik Duka and his support for the Czech National March for Life,4 the Czech Radical Feminist Christian Collective has been founded and gradually grew bigger and stronger in its actions. The Collective’s activities are rooted in ideas of solidarity and the holiness of Creation. The RFK has often been accused of disrespecting the Church ideals of the traditional family, sexual moral law or the superiority of Christianity over other religions. While some RFK members do not belong to any Church, they do consider these ideals important because they understand the Church as a

1 Jan Velinger, “Bloc against Islam leader charged with hate speech,” in: Radio Praha (2015). (https://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/bloc-against-islam-leader-charged-with-hate-speech, 26 December 2018) 2 When Duka was publicly criticised, Zeman has even decided to write a letter to pope Francis and intercede on his behalf, claiming that Duka was a patriot. (https://zpravy.idnes.cz/milos- zeman-dominik-duka-papez-frantisek-mandat-f5w-/domaci.aspx?c=A180215_202843_ domaci_fer, 26 December 2018) 3 The term post-fascism is used here to describe policies, practices, routines, and ideologies present in the current society and similar to those developed in Germany, Spain and Italy before and during the Second World War. See Gaspar Miklos Tamás, “On Post-fascism,” Boston Review (2000). (http://bostonreview.net/world/g-m-tamas-post-fascism, 2 January 2019) 4 http://pochodprozivot.cz, 26 December 2018.

97 Magdalena Šipka Your Violence is Not our Religion politically active power,5 maintaining that it should stay on the side of the weak, poor and vulnerable. Unfortunately, such a stance is far from the public activities of the Czech Catholic Church and Archbishop Dominik Duka.

Your Violence Is Not Our Religion In May 2018, a group of right wing activists who call themselves Slušní lidé (Decent people) occupied a theatre in Brno. They came to protest a play by Croatian playwright Mladisko Gledališče, Naše násilí, vaše násilí (Our Vio- lence, Your Violence), in which one scene depicts Jesus Christ raping a Mus- lim woman. Slušní lidé, who present themselves as Christians, were outraged by this image. Archbishop Dominik Duka supported this step by far-right activists.6 He even personally sued the theatre director, claiming that the image hurts his emotions and his love for Christ. This was not the first time Duka supported xenophobic tendencies. He openly supported Tomio Okamura – leader of a populist party making use of anti-immigrant rhetoric. When the Czech Republic was recently asked to accommodate at least five hundred immigrants, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, himself a leader of the populist movement ANO, refused to help.7 Although the Czech Republic does not have any problems with immigrants at all, and while the only groups really affected by their presence are Czech volunteers within public initiatives and non-profit organisations, similarly to many post- communistic countries, the Czechs have their share of xenophobia. Archbishop and Cardinal Dominik Duka embodies these xenophobic and populist tendencies in the Catholic Church.

5 The RFK has mostly reacted to speeches and statements issued by Roman Catholic clergy. The Roman Catholic Church is the biggest Czech denomination (encompassing 10% of population) and Roman Catholic clergy tend to see theirs as the “national” church. Both big Protestant churches, the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (Českobratrská církev evangelická) and The Czechoslovak Hussite Church (Církev československá husitská) are more liberal, ordain- ing women as priests, offering pastoral care for LGBT believers, some priests presiding over same-sex marriages, and official church statements abstain from spreading hate against immigrants. These Protestant churches are quite small (both encompassing less than 0.5% of population), and from a feminist perspective within the Czech Republic, there is much less to criticise about them than with the Roman Catholic Church. 6 Apolena Rychlíková, “Slušný člověk Dominik Duka,” in: Český Rozhlas Plus (2018). (https:// plus.rozhlas.cz/apolena-rychlikova-slusny-clovek-dominik-duka-7228562, 26 December 2018) 7 https://www.tyden.cz/rubriky/domaci/wintonovo-dite-babis-odmita-sirotky-v-cesku-jsou-i- dobri-lide_496318.html, 26 December 2018

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The populism connected with Duka, Slušní lidé, and even Tomio Okamura’s Party, is based on some kind of conservatism. Neither of the three support the LGBT movement, and all frequently use the term “traditional family” to represent a mononuclear family composed of woman, man and child.8 This con- cept disrespects not only same-gender partnerships, single parents, polyam- orous or childless families, but also a wider family circle composed of grandparents, uncles, cousins, and other relatives or friends. What types of protest and which arguments have been used by the RFK? What kind of theology and theological ethics is being utilised in its actions?

Critics of the Pro-life March The best opportunity for Duka to display his conservative, nationalist stands has clearly been the Pro-life March. However, in doing so, he provoked Chris- tian feminists into action: the RFK Collective was established as a reaction to this march. The Collective’s first action was the writing of a letter addressed to the Pro-life March in 2016. The RFK as a collective and its members as individuals continued to participate in demonstrations against the march in 2017 and 2018. Let us focus on their argumentation against the Pro-life March. The criticism of the March is rooted in the idea of human solidarity and social justice. The appeal to women to have more children calls upon Czech women in the Czech Republic to save “us” from “the immigrants” by con- tributing to population growth. Duka himself said: “Look how many immigrants we need for work. This work could be done by Czech children.”9 This logic doesn’t take into account people of other nationalities already living in the Czech Republic and having children there. It is not so long ago that Roma women were still forced to undergo sterilisation.10 This logic also presumes that the main reason for having children is the idea of keeping one’s ethnic or

8 “Kardinál Duka to rozbalil jako ještě nikdy. Prosil svaté o záchranu evropských národů, tradiční rodiny I českého školství,” in: Parlamentní listy (2017). (https://www.parlamentnilisty.cz/arena/monitor/Kardinal-Duka-to-rozbalil-jako-jeste-nikdy-Prosil-svate-o-zachranu- evropskych-narodu-tradicni-rodiny-i-ceskeho-skolstvi-505959, 27 December 2018) 9 Ondřej Mazura, “I Ježíš měl dva táty,” A2LARM (http://a2larm.cz/2017/04/fotoreport-jezis-mel- dva-taty, 21 October 2018). My translation. 10 The last reported forced sterilisation of Roma women was performed in 2007. See Evropské centrum pro práva romů, Nucené a kruté: Zpráva evropského centra pro práva Romů: Steri- lizace a její důsledky pro romské ženy v České republice (1966-2016) (Evropské centrum pro práva romů: Budapešť 2016). (http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/file/nucene-a-krute- 28-november-2016.pdf, 15 August 2018)

99 Magdalena Šipka Your Violence is Not our Religion cultural heritage. Parts of the Bible focus intensely on offspring and the Jew- ish tradition clearly emphasises the family. However, children are more a sign of human prosperity given by God. Having many offspring may be seen as a form of God’s blessing; one does not have to bear children in order to save God. Christian missionary vision and pneumatology are also based on the presumption that God is present within all the nations. The first letter against the Pro-life March criticised it because of its intoler- ance, nationalism, homophobia, and connection to far-right extremists.11 The D.O.S.T. (Enough) initiative connected to the March was supported by Adam B. Bartoš, who was legally prosecuted.12 On its official website, the initiative expressed a desire to “stop the Islamisation of Europe by having more children.” The letter against the March did not elaborate much on abortion itself: it would be impossible to implement anti-abortion laws in the liberal and mostly atheist society of the Czech Republic. The debate regarding the inter- ruption of pregnancy acts as a substitutive theme: abortion is legal, and there is no real chance of changing it. The authors of the first letter mentioned single parents, gay couples and women in general as important and fully legitimate parts of society and stated that motherhood should not be interlinked with patriarchy. The RFK then continued to protest against interreligious hate by criticising a speech given by Milan Badal, the chief of the Archbishop’s department for public relations, in which Badal presented an alleged Muslim vision of taking control over Europe. The protest against Badal was the first action held by the RFK in the Prague Castle Square under the windows of the Archbishop’s palace and close to the Prague Castle, the seat of president Zeman. The RFK returned to this square several times since, to protest against the relationship between the Church and the state. In 2017, the protests against the Pro-Life March were more evident. This time, a blockade was set, stopping the March’s progress for 30 minutes. The blockade was a result of cooperation between feminist initiatives and Logos, an organisation focusing on LGBT+ Christians. The protest developed its own code of sexual morality. The banners read, for example: “God sees

11 “Otevřený dopis Pochodu pro život: křesťanská je solidarita, nikoli netolerance,” in: Deník Referendum (2016). (http://denikreferendum.cz/clanek/22694-otevreny-dopis-pochodu-pro-zivot- krestanska-je-solidarita-nikoli-netolerance, 31 August 2018) 12 „Trest pro antisemitu Bartoše platí. Soud potvrdil dvouletou podmínku,» in: Romea (2018). (http://www.romea.cz/cz/zpravodajstvi/domaci/trest-pro-antisemitu-bartose-plati-soud-potvrdil- dvouletou-podminku, 26 March 2009)

100 Magdalena Šipka Your Violence is Not our Religion you when you masturbate, and He likes it”; “Jesus has two dads as well”; and “Fuck Duka – but use a condom.” Sexuality has been treated as something deeply positive and non-problematic at its root. In 2018, the blocade of the March was run by an activist group called Insti- tut pro svobodu a magii (Institute for Freedom and Magic).13 The participants were dressed as witches and tried to represent or embody taboos connected with sexuality. Historically, witches have been connected with the free expres- sion of female sexuality. Witchcraft was used as an umbrella term for unknown, tabooed or overly emancipated behaviour by women.14 The criticism of the Pro-Life March, which has begun with a critique of nationalism, continued with the exploration of new attitudes towards sexuality. One may even speak of a new ethic. This ethic is grounded in accepting the whole of Creation as good. This approach towards women may be connected to Catherine Holtmann’s study of American women’s views on reproductive ethics.15 Holtmann argues that women, stressing their own experience, support life and do not like abortion, but also dislike strict rules and find the Catholic sexual ethic cruel. This theory supports an image of a God that does not impart cruel rules or imperatives.16 Holtmann’s article is based on statements made by common women, who exhibit similarities with the statements made by RFK members. Holtmann reflects women’s opinions formed by interaction with reality more than by obedience to Church morality. Likewise, the RFK members’ power to revolt comes from their own experiences, sense of social justice, active love, and intellect.

13 One inspiration for this initiative may have been the Witches Against Trump campaign. See Adam Borzič, “Čarodějnice versus Trump,” in: Deník Referendum (2017). (http://denikreferendum.cz/clanek/24778-carodejnice-versus-trump, 2 January 2019) 14 The last woman executed after being charged with witchcraft in Europe was Anna Gölgi, who had been accused of poisoning a child while she actually tried to heal it. See Walter Hauser, „Der Hexenprozess gegen Anna Gőldi in der Beurteolung der Zeitgenossen,“ in: Späte Hex- enprozesse (Verlag für Regionalgeschichte: Bielefeld, 2016), 123. 15 Catherine Holtmann. “Women, Sex and the Catholic church: The implications of domestic violence on reproductive choice,” in: Pamela Dickey Young, Heather Shipley and Tracy J. Trothen (eds.), Religion and Sexuality: Diversity and the Limits of Tolerance (UBC Press: Vancouver 2015), 141-168. 16 Sabine Dievenkorn, “Eisgesis – Women’s Survival Strategies in Male-Dominated Theology in Times of Conflict: Women and their Strategies of Survival in Latin America and a Trans- latorial Theology,” in: Empowering Women in conflict: Ecumenical Engagement for Peace and Justice, The Regional Central and Eastern European Conference of the ESWTR (paper read on 28 August 2018).

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The Christian feminist collective RFK has co-organised two other protests connected to feminism. One, held on November 17, a memorial day in the Czech public, is also connected to the student protests of 1939 and 1989.17 On its anniversary in 2017, the RFK assisted with a demonstration titled Žít ne dřít (To live, not to drudge/toil), in which the unacceptable working conditions of people with low-income professions/jobs were protested. The RFK also helped to celebrate the 2018 International Women’s Day in a March to the Castle held on March 8th, in which the main theme focused on ecology. The ideological escalation of the actions taken by the liberal and left wing Christians crystallised in the Odduka initiative.18 The initiative issued a letter addressed to Pope Francis, asking him to accept the abdication of Archbishop Dominik Duka. Duka became a symbol of conservativism and populist, neolib- eral and homophobic tendencies in the Church. Although the initiative was dubbed “Emancipation of Laypersons”, the letter was addressed to the head of the Catholic Church. It therefore denounces and supports the Church structures at the same time. The letter reflects the traditional pilgrimage to St. Wenceslas, symbolising and embodying Czech nationalism and Church post-communist property restitution, which was not received well by the public. The authors also take care to mention the difficult state of affairs of the clergy:

As we have mentioned, Dominik Duka cultivates intense relationships with the representatives of the state. He displays significantly lesser interest in the Church. This is voiced for example by diocesan priests in the recent Salve magazine (named Worries in the Church). As one of the priests claims, “Our bishops and vicar- generals communicate only amongst themselves, potentially with their generational contemporaries. The middle and the youngest generations of priests, who are the actual intermediaries with the secular world, is minimised to the ceremonial aspect which is the only measurement of success.” The priests are, however, not the only group of believers suffering from a lack of interest on behalf of the hierarchy. Dominik Duka has also contributed to the book Eleven Cardinals Speak on Mar- riage and the Family, which is very strict in its stance towards the pastoral care of

17 The protest on November 17, 1939 had been connected to protests against the German occupa- tion of Czechoslovakia. During the Czechoslovak Independence Rally held on October 28, 1939, Jan Opletal, a student, and Václav Sedláček, a worker, were both shot. Opletal died on November 11, 1939, and his funeral ignited even larger protests. Czech universities were closed by the Nazi government on November 17, 1939. The Demonstrations in 1989 were connected with the end of the real-socialist regime, and student movements were once again among their leading forces. 18 http://odduka2018.cz/?page_id=63, 21 October 2018.

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divorced and remarried Catholics. Not long ago, Dominik also denied pastoral care to the community of LGBTQ Catholics in the Prague diocese.19

Odduka’s initiative was presented in front of the Archbishop’s palace. Groups of activists wore masks representing different groups in society. The masks were labelled “divorced”, “transwomen”, “pensioner”, “layperson”, “refu- gee”, in reaction to Duka’s declarations in which he expressed support for the anti-immigration Party, denounced gender theory and called the social-state “false” and “a destroyer of all creativity.”20 Members of the RFK Collective and other people involved in this initiative attempted to represent the groups forgotten by the conservative Catholics, as epitomised by the Archbishop himself. At the end of the gathering, people gave each other “priestly” stoles, symbolising the priesthood of all believers.

Conclusion The activities carried out by a group of Christian feminists may span a wide range of themes. With the RFK, these have begun with the theme of abortion and the protests against the pro-life movement. In 2015, the RFK protested against fundamentalism and xenophobia connected to this cause. Later, protests co-organised by the RFK developed their own sexual- and body-positive agenda, opposing taboos connected to women and sexuality. The RFK also addresses climatic and social justice issues, and it stands with the LGBT community. The group understands activism as standing for those oppressed by the conservative branch of the Church. The Collective wishes feminist theology to appear in the public space and in the Church, and con- tinuously appeals to the Church to renew its social justice agenda. Actions and declarations made by the RFK Collective express the hope that leftist activism and radical feminist agenda could live within the Church too. The theology underlying the RFK movement has been expresses very well in the Odduka happening. During the gathering, RFK members put on masks with “labels” representing groups of people oppressed or not accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. This theology is focused on oppressed people, working with a negative image of God as a socially and economically marginalised

19 Ibid. For a Czech version of the letter, see https://www.parlamentnilisty.cz/arena/nazory-a- petice/Aktiviste-proti-kardinalovi-Dominiku-Dukovi-524406, 1 April 2019. 20 Marie Lukáčová, «Odduka». (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQgNxINAKl4&t=54s, 21 October 2018)

103 Magdalena Šipka Your Violence is Not our Religion person.21 This type of theology can be carried out by collectives of nearly nameless individuals much better than by the official structures. This is a heritage of feminist theology, working with an oppressed and forgotten image of divinity. One may possibly label this type of theology “negative theology”.22 Public happenings and demonstrations in its frame were often based on the critique of current Church and state policies or hate speech as part of official statements issued by these institutions. This theology has a transformative power as well and works along the vision of new social orders and deeper social justice. Ultimately, this new society should embrace gender equality, environ- mental and economic justice and sustainable prosperity for all people. The rhetoric of the RFK movement is deeply rooted in concrete social and political situations while working at the same time with some idealistic visions which may be interpreted as eschatological.

Magdalena Šipka, Feminist theologian, publicist and poet studied theology at Charles University in Prague and Phillips-Universität in Marburg. Currently com- pleting her PhD at the University of South Bohemia, focused on systematic theology and women theologians. Her main themes are Hildegard of Bingen and her theology of nature and the theopoetry of Dorothee Sölle.

21 See Matthew 25:31-46. 22 A term invented by Origen and later widely used and transformed. Negative theology is often used by mystics during the dark night of the soul. Typical examples would be Eckhart or John of the Cross.

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