Territory, Place, and Identity in Slovak Church-state Conflict: 1948-1989 By Brett R. Chloupek Submitted to the graduate degree program in The Department of Geography and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson: Dr. Shannon O’Lear ________________________________ Dr. Leslie Dienes ________________________________ Dr. Stephen Egbert ________________________________ Dr. Alexander Tsiovkh ________________________________ Dr. Nathan Wood Date Defended: 7-13-11 The Dissertation Committee for Brett R. Chloupek certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Territory, Place, and Identity in Slovak Church-state Conflict: 1948-1989 ________________________________ Dr. Shannon O’Lear - Chairperson Date approved: 7-13-11 ii Abstract This paper focuses on the development and utilization of a conceptual framework for studying religion from a spatial perspective, drawing on themes and methodologies from human geography. The goal of this research is to help reconnect the geography of religion as a subdiscipline with broader themes in the discipline. Through an examination of Catholicism in Slovakia between 1948 and 1989, it examines how the Church utilized and organized geographic space, how it crafted a Catholic sense of place, and how the Communist government in Slovakia competed with the Church for authority and control within these spatial 'realms.' Examining issues of territoriality, power relations, and identity formation at a number of spatial scales, ranging from the local to the international, the paper attempts to show their interrelation. This project draws on a collection of primary documents obtained from state and ecclesiastic archives in Eastern Slovakia. iii Acknowledgements I need to give the greatest deal of thanks and acknowledgement to my wife Sylvia for supporting me in countless ways. From coping with the uncertainly that academic life brings to dealing with my ups and downs during the dissertation process, Sylvia was always there to provide support, encouragement, and the occasional stern pep talk. She also spent countless hours arranging research appointments for me and spent hours working in the archives with me. My advisor Shannon O’Lear helped me see this project through to the end. The amount of work and assistance Shannon dedicated to my research was far beyond what I could have ever expected or asked from an advisor. My other committee members were equally vital to the completion of this project. I am grateful to Dr. Leslie Dienes for agreeing to serve as a member of my committee. He provided wonderful and unique insights about the region and time period. Dr. Nathan Wood’s door was always open when I needed to ask for help or a bit of much needed advice and his courses helped me develop my writing and researching abilities. Dr. Alex Tsiovkh always made himself available when I had questions or simply wanted to talk things over. He went above and beyond in his efforts to serve as a committee member. Dr. Steve Egbert’s door was open to me from the first semester I arrived at KU and he went out of his way to help me complete my research as a committee member. Finally, I would like to thank all of my family members who supported me during the last four years: Shelly and Randy Chloupek, my grandparents, my siblings, and Viktor and Luda Mihalik for sharing their home in Slovakia. This research was supported by a David L. Boren Fellowship as part of the National Security Education Program (NSEP). iv Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Space and Territoriality .............................................................................................................................. 5 Place and Power ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Discourse and Identity ............................................................................................................................. 10 Outline of Dissertation ............................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 2: Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 18 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 18 The Geography of Religion .................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 3: Methodology .............................................................................................................. 50 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 50 Data Collection and Project Scope ......................................................................................... 51 Data Collection and Organization ............................................................................................................ 53 Archives of the Diocese of Lincoln – Lincoln, Nebraska ........................................................................... 54 Košice Branch of the Slovak State Archives – Košice, Slovakia ................................................................ 56 University of Ružomberok, Faculty of Theology Library – Košice, Slovakia ............................................. 61 State Scientific Library of Košice – Košice, Slovakia ................................................................................. 65 Archives of the Office of the Archbishop of Košice – Košice, Slovakia ..................................................... 66 Notes on Fieldwork and Data Collection .................................................................................................. 67 Data Analysis and Methodology .............................................................................................................. 72 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 80 Chapter4: The Church in Transition: 1945-1948 ......................................................................... 82 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 82 The Road to Communist Takeover ......................................................................................... 90 Chapter 5: Human Territoriality: The struggle to control space ............................................... 102 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 102 Human Territoriality ............................................................................................................. 103 v Territorial Structures in Slovakia .......................................................................................... 106 The Catholic Church ............................................................................................................................... 106 The Communist government of Slovakia ............................................................................................... 109 The seizure of diocesan property by the KNV...................................................................... 112 “Catholic Action” and the Church hierarchy ........................................................................ 121 The Infiltration of the Church Hierarchy .............................................................................. 133 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 141 Chapter 6: Geographies of Power .............................................................................................. 144 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 144 Holidays, the work week, and the calendar .......................................................................... 150 Holidays .................................................................................................................................................. 150 Sundays ................................................................................................................................. 157 The Communists and Catholic Education ............................................................................. 160 Catholic Education and Sense of Place .................................................................................................. 161 Communist Attacks on Catholic Education ............................................................................................ 165 The Catholic Response ........................................................................................................................... 168 The Pilgrimage and the Procession—Reclaiming Catholic Places....................................... 170 Religious Processions and the Performance of Religion .......................................................................