4. Religion and Civic Values in Slovakia: A Secular State?

The chapter looks into the interplay between (un)civic values and religion in Slovakia. More specifically, it examines and compares the attitudes of the country’s two major religious organizations, namely, the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession with respect to a number of topics that polarize Slovak society, such as international migration, abortions, LGBTQIA+ rights, as well as the (non)influence of these religious organizations on policymaking. Even though, according to the Constitution, the Slovak Republic is a secular state that is not based on any religion or specific political ideology, the Roman Catholic Church in particular continues to exercise a considerable degree of influence over some of the national policies and over some of the most prominent politicians. Thus, it is important to explore how this fact is manifested in the relationship between the state and the Church and what possible implications that has for the country’s political development. Methodologically, the research relies on content analysis of the official websites of the two confessions as well as of pastoral letters that the Churches address to their respective communities. In addition, it examines the official Facebook accounts and YouTube channels run by major representatives of the two confessions. The original contribution of the study lies in a systematic comparison of the public messages that the three major confessions in Slovakia deliver on a number of polarizing topics. The study thus also examines the impact that these messages have on the country’s politics, as compared to representatives of other confessions present in Slovakia, such as the Slovak Muslim and Jewish communities.