Charles University Faculty of Science Study program: Social Geography and Regional Development Field of study: Social Geography and Regional Development RNDr. Daniel Reeves Territorial Identities and Religion in Czechia and Central Europe Územní identity a náboženství v Česku a střední Evropě Dissertation Doctoral thesis Prague 201 Advisor: RNDr. Tomáš Havlíček, Ph.D. 8 ii Prohlášení: Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou práci zpracoval samostatně a že jsem uvedl všechny použité informační zdroje a literature. Tato práce ani její podstatná část nebyla předložena k získání jiného nebo stejného akademického titulu. Woods Cross, Utah, USA, . 201 30 4 8 RNDr. Daniel Reeves iii Abstract: Territorial identities are a mosaic of many different cultural elements, from which religion is just one subset. This dissertation explores elements of religion as they are expressed within territorial identities at varying scale levels in Czechia and several neighboring countries. The use of a religiously themed postage stamp or a Christian toponym, the inclusion of a religious site in a hand drawn map of one’s hometown or one’s position regarding the return of disputed properties to the churches they were taken from years ago, each of these can be an expression of territorial identity. Whether actively practiced or passively acknowledged, religion is bound up in our sense of place. The four separate studies that make up the body of this dissertation present religion’s case as an integral ingredient within the territorial identities of Central Europe. In terms of spatial differences, Slovakia and Poland are more likely, as compared to Czechia, to recognize and include elements of religion in their territorial identities. This is true at both national – postage stamps – and local levels – toponyms and cognitive maps. Each of the methods used to explore the presence of religion in expressions of territorial identity – postage stamps, toponyms and cognitive maps – proved effective. The comparative analyses and case study presented in the article “Secularization and church property: The case of Czechia” also proved effective in shedding light on religion as a component of territorial identities. The recurring dichotomy of passive and active forms of religious identity and their differing impacts on territorial identities becomes apparent when the studies are examined collectively. iv Abstrakt: Územní identity jsou mosaikou mnoha různých kulturních prvků, z nichž jedním je i náboženství. Tato práce se zaměřuje na náboženství jako na součást územních identit různých měřítek v Česku a ve vybraných sousedních státech. Náboženský prvek jako projev územní identity může nabývat různých podob: použití poštovní známky s náboženským tématem, použití křesťanského toponyma, zařazení náboženského místa do mentální mapy rodného města, ale také vyjádření stanoviska k restituci sporných církevních majetků. Náboženství je nedílně svázané s osobní představou místa bez ohledu na formu (aktivní, pasivní) praktikování náboženství. Předkládaná práce představuje náboženství jako nedílnou součást územních identit ve střední Evropě na základě čtyř případových studií. Výsledky práce ukazují, že Polsko a Slovensko vykazují větší sklon k uznání a začlenění náboženských prvků do konstrukce územních identit než Česko, což platí jak na národní (poštovní známky), tak na lokální úrovni (toponyma, mentální mapy). Každá z použitých metod (analýza poštovních známek, toponym a mentálních map) se osvědčila při zkoumání náboženských prvků jako nedílné součásti územních identit podobně jako komparativní analýza a případová studie představená v článku „Sekularizace a církevní majetek: případ Česka“. Na základě syntézy poznatků ze všech studií lze identifikovat dichotomii mezi pasivní a aktivní formou náboženské identity jako velmi významný faktor ovlivňující podobu konstrukce územní identity. v Territorial identities and religion in Czechia and Central Europe Daniel Reeves To my wonderful wife Valerie and our children, Thanks for your patience and support through this long process! Acknowledgement: I would like to formally thank Tomáš Havlíček, my dissertation advisor, for the support and guidance he has provided me over the course of my studies. I am grateful to co- authors Martina Hupková, Tomáš Havlíček and Sam Otterstrom, who lent their expertise to the research presented in this dissertation. In addition, I wish to thank fellow researchers from the Research Centre for Cultural and Historical Geography, including Kamila Klingorová, Sylvie Kučerová, Michal Semian, Pavel Chromý and Zdeněk Kučera for willingly sharing valuable guidance and encouragement. This dissertation received generous support from the following grants: • GAČR no. 17-08370S “Post-secularism in Czechia: trends and regional differentiation” • GAČR no. 13-35680S “Development, transformation and differentiation of religion in Czechia in the context of global and European shifts” • GAČR no. P410/12/G113 “Historical Geography Research Centre” • GAUK no. 165110 “Pilgrimage sites in the cultural heritage of Czech society and their role in the reproduction of territorial identities” 2 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Theoretical framework .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Territorial identities .............................................................................................................................................. 10 Religion ....................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Central Europe ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 Religion in Czechia and Central Europe ................................................................................................... 16 Included studies ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 Religious themes in Central European postage stamps, 2006-2010 ............................................ 21 Christian Toponyms in Czechia, Poland and Slovakia ........................................................................ 22 Secularization and church property: The case of Czechia ................................................................ 23 Children’s perceptions of local religious sites in rural Central Europe ....................................... 24 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................. 26 References ................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Published studies: Reeves, Daniel (2015). Religious themes in Central European postage stamps, 2006-2010. Journal of Cultural Geography, 32(2), 169-194. Reeves, Daniel and Otterstrom, Samuel (2018). Christian toponyms in Czechia, Poland and Slovakia. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Geographica, (manuscript accepted for publication). Hupková, Martina; Havlíček, Tomáš and Reeves, Daniel (2015). Secularization and Church Property: The Case of Czechia. In: Brunn S. (eds) The Changing World Religion Map. Springer Dordrecht:Reeves, Daniel and Havlíček,. Tomáš (2018). Children’s perceptions of local religious sites in rural Central Europe. In Klima, E. (ed.) The Sacral Landscape and Remembrance in a Postsecular Age – Churches, Crosses and Cemeteries, Lodz University of Technology. (manuscript accepted for publication). : Lodz 3 Introduction Humans are inherently social and habitual. We seek out others and organize ourselves into social groups to satisfy a variety of material, social and spiritual needs. The formation and subsequent perpetuation of these social constructions is, however, far from arbitrary. It is closely bound to the inertia of habitus, i.e. traditions, social norms, perceived history, etc. (Elias 1969). The interaction of our inclination to belong, on the one hand, with the traditions and heritage bound up in each social group to which we could potentially belong, on the other, creates an interesting laboratory for an examination of human behavior. In his structuration theory, Anthony Giddens describes this interaction as the duality of structure (Cloke, Philo and Sadler 1991). Agents act within the bounds of a given structure while those very actions shape the structure of which the agents are a part. In most cases, we can choose whether and to what degree to affiliate ourselves with various communities. With few exceptions, this is true of religious organizations, political parties, professional associations, interest groups, sports clubs, and myriad other social networks. In contrast, however, certain social groups base membership on characteristics that cannot be chosen, including family, nationality, ethnicity, gender, native language, and time and place of birth. All of these communities, chosen or not, can provide us with identities, which we are then free to use in the pursuit of basic needs and wants. Even more than group membership, group identity is subject