Church-State Relations in Slovakia in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century (Legal Aspect)

Abstract

The article discusses the features of relations between the state and religious organizations in Slovakia in the second half of the twentieth century. The focus is on state initiatives (laws, agreements) regulating the nature of church-state relations. Changes in the political situation in the country (independent Slovakia under the control of Nazi Germany, Slovakia as part of socialist Czechoslovakia, an independent state after the Velvet Revolution of 1989) signifi determined the dialogue between the state and the church - and, above all, at the level of legislation. This explains the periodization of church-state relations in Slovakia undertaken by the author. Such a periodization in turn determined the structure of work. So, talking about the life of religious organizations during the Second World War, the author dwells on the unrealized possibility of concluding a Concordat of Slovakia with the Holy See. In the next period, the Czechoslovak, it was shown how the state tried to use the church to its advantage, either by restricting freedoms or by allowing certain indulgences. In today’s Slovakia, church-state relations are built on the dialogue between two equal partners, and their character is determined, on the one hand, by domestic laws, and on the other, by international treaties (agreements) and domestic treaties and agreements with registered churches and religious organizations. Not limited to only the relations of the state and the Orthodox Church, the author’s research optics recreates wide panorama of religious life in the country. A special place in the work is given to the relationship of the Slovak government with the Vatican, since historically the Roman Catholic Church has occupied and continues to occupy a leading position in the life of the state. The author’s observations are supported by a wide quotation of Slovak sources inaccessible to domestic researchers: state laws, statistical data and population census results.