ONDŘEJ KADLEC
HUSITSKÁ TEOLOGICKÁ FAKULTA UNIVERZITY KARLOVY
HUSSITE THEOLOGICAL FACULTY OF CHARLES UNIVERSITY
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE. THE APPROACH OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK (HUSSITE) CHURCH
IN THE YEARS 1920-1940
Abstract: From its inception, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church took an interest in public affairs in
Europe and the emerging ecumenical movement. It maintained close contacts with a union for
the promotion of international friendship through churches. Its representatives, especially Prof.
František Kovář, future professor František M. Hník, and Prof. A. Spisar, participated in a number of
conferences organized by this community. From the very beginning, it closely followed the Life and
Work movement, which after World War II became part of the World Council of Churches. Kovář,
Hník, and Spisar responded to the global economic crisis, the suppression of religious freedom in
the Soviet Union, and the advance of German fascism. The issues of democracy, war and peace,
and a Christian solution to the crisis came increasingly to the fore. As a theologian and sociologist,
Hník devoted himself to the formation of a new economic order which encountered problems and
misunderstanding in the churches. Contrary to pacifist tendencies, Hník
believed that Christians
were entitled to participate in a defensive war fought to preserve civil liberties, human dignity, and
the legal order. In the spirit of T. G. Masaryk, he considered this to be humanitarian pacifism. The
studies analyzed by the authors demonstrate their high level of expertise and, at the same time,
testify to their firm roots in the Czechoslovak Church.
Keywords: Christianity and social change; secularization; world economic order; democracy; the
Life and Work movement; religious freedom in totalitarian regimes; respect for religious differences;
the church and nationalism
THEOLOGICAL REVIEW, Vol. 95, 2024, No. 1 – 2, Number of Article 2, p. 19 – 33.
DOI: 10.14712/12117617.95.1-2.2