Jehovah's Witnesses in the Territories of Former Czechoslovakia and Hungary
For the past almost 130 years, Jehovah’s Witnesses practiced their Christian religion in the territories of Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary, among changing political structures and different territorial settings. They mostly practiced their religion mainly under ban and underground. With the collapse of the Soviet regime Jehovah’s Witnesses became officially registered and legally recognized as a religious organization in these countries.
The history of the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the former Czechoslovakia and in Hungary documents a remarkable resistance under multiple dictatorships based on Christian conviction. This religious minority survived for half a century despite the harshest of state persecution and the severest repression from the German National Socialists and Hungarian fascists. In addition, the Czechoslovak expulsion and resettlement policy resulted in many German and Hungarian Jehovah’s Witnesses having to leave the country. They survived over 40 years of hard repression and fierce persecution during the Communist regimes in those countries. During this period Jehovah’s Witnesses’ conduct vividly reveals their religious integrity and faithful adherence to their Christian beliefs as law-abiding and peaceful citizens, even under the threat of harsh, unjust, and inhumane treatment from the governments.
However, against this historical background, an analysis of the present situation has revealed that often the proclamation of religious freedom clashes with how it is actually implemented. For example, the difficulties of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Czech Republic never completely ceased after recognition. Even after their legal registration, they experienced an increase of religious discrimination by being often attacked in the media. That is why there is a need for further scrutiny of how these states apply this fundamental right.
- Szerző:
- Csapody Tamás, Dirksen, Annegret, Rajki Zoltán, Slupina, Wolfram, Szita Szabolcs (szerk.)
- Megjelenés dátuma:
- 2025. 12. 11.
- ISBN:
- 978 963 556 675 4
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