World Religions Paradigm, legal system and education. The case of the Czech Republic
The article deals with the concept of religion in the laws which regulate access of religious organisations to public education in the Czech Republic. The analysis of the laws reveals that the World Religions Paradigm (WRP) is applied here. Religious organisations representing ‘important
world religions’ have a privileged position in accessing public education. Mostly Christianity-based churches have access to public education through the legal notion of ‘special rights’ granted by the state. The article provides a concise review of the key points of criticism
of the WRP. The paradigm is criticised as ethnocentric, inherently theological, developed with colonialism, undefinable in practice, highly abstract, essentialist and ahistorical. Its historical development is related to the process of reification as defined by W.C. Smith. The concluding part
relates the criticism of the WRP to the concept of religion in the laws regulating the access of religious organisations to public education in the Czech Republic. The application of the WRP leads to restrictions of religious pluralism.
Keywords: Czech Republic; Religions; World Religions Paradigm (WRP); education
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Department of Sociology, Andragogy and Cultural Anthropology, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
Publication date: 03 July 2018
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