How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989)
After the Communist coup in February 1948, all areas of society in Czechoslovakia were indoctrinated by the ideology of Marxism–Leninism. The Christian Churches became the biggest internal enemies of the state, since, especially in Slovakia, they had a strong tradition and numerous representations....
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/7/858 |
| _version_ | 1797587649186234368 |
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| author | Blanka Kudláčová Andrej Rajský |
| author_facet | Blanka Kudláčová Andrej Rajský |
| author_sort | Blanka Kudláčová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | After the Communist coup in February 1948, all areas of society in Czechoslovakia were indoctrinated by the ideology of Marxism–Leninism. The Christian Churches became the biggest internal enemies of the state, since, especially in Slovakia, they had a strong tradition and numerous representations. The government tracked representatives and members of the Church and controlled all their activities. The activities of religious orders were prohibited, which de facto abolished them. The only possibility of their preservation was to continue the life, education and work of individual orders in secret. Our goal was to examine how the Salesian order survived in this situation; specifically, we focused on the forms of formation and illegal study of the Salesians during the totalitarian regime. Research in these activities is rather demanding, since they could not be documented for security reasons. So-called memoir literature, the oral history method, and private archival sources were used in the research. Despite the fact that it seems that religious orders would not survive in this historical situation, the opposite was true: in the period of persecution, the orders were not only able to survive, but also raised a new generation that ensured their continuity and the continuation of their activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:41:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43ef5daac05240339af434b99c3a60c6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:41:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-43ef5daac05240339af434b99c3a60c62023-11-18T21:09:42ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-06-0114785810.3390/rel14070858How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989)Blanka Kudláčová0Andrej Rajský1Faculty of Education, Trnava University in Trnava, Priemyselná 4, 918 43 Trnava, SlovakiaFaculty of Education, Trnava University in Trnava, Priemyselná 4, 918 43 Trnava, SlovakiaAfter the Communist coup in February 1948, all areas of society in Czechoslovakia were indoctrinated by the ideology of Marxism–Leninism. The Christian Churches became the biggest internal enemies of the state, since, especially in Slovakia, they had a strong tradition and numerous representations. The government tracked representatives and members of the Church and controlled all their activities. The activities of religious orders were prohibited, which de facto abolished them. The only possibility of their preservation was to continue the life, education and work of individual orders in secret. Our goal was to examine how the Salesian order survived in this situation; specifically, we focused on the forms of formation and illegal study of the Salesians during the totalitarian regime. Research in these activities is rather demanding, since they could not be documented for security reasons. So-called memoir literature, the oral history method, and private archival sources were used in the research. Despite the fact that it seems that religious orders would not survive in this historical situation, the opposite was true: in the period of persecution, the orders were not only able to survive, but also raised a new generation that ensured their continuity and the continuation of their activities.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/7/858SlovakiasocialismCatholic ChurchSalesian ordereducationpersecution |
| spellingShingle | Blanka Kudláčová Andrej Rajský How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989) Religions Slovakia socialism Catholic Church Salesian order education persecution |
| title | How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989) |
| title_full | How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989) |
| title_fullStr | How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989) |
| title_full_unstemmed | How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989) |
| title_short | How to Survive in a Totalitarian Regime: Education of Salesians in Slovakia in the Period of Socialism (1948–1989) |
| title_sort | how to survive in a totalitarian regime education of salesians in slovakia in the period of socialism 1948 1989 |
| topic | Slovakia socialism Catholic Church Salesian order education persecution |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/7/858 |
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