For many years, Sotiris Skoufis operated his own business of wholesale fabrics in his native Athens. In 2015, he grew physically ill from back pain. At the same time, he went financially broke by the economic crisis in his homeland. Mentally exhausted, he traveled to Prague in the Czech Republic and his life would be forever changed.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) earlier this month released a significant statement on the current worldwide persecution of Christians. It’s essence: Religious freedom is still comparatively neglected as a human right, and the ongoing persecution of Christians is relatively unknown.
Read MoreRegardless of one's religious affiliation, Prague’s Church of Our Lady Victorious’ breathtaking architecture and rich history make the church an irresistible attraction for travelers. While most can find this to be a unique spiritual experience, locals of Prague have a rather interesting relationship with the church.
Read MoreAlthough the Czech Republic is the most atheist country in the world, people still practice religious traditions today. Simultaneously, there are many factors contributing to the change of religious food culture in the Czech Republic, like globalization, tourism and immigration.
Read MoreMuslim tourists and locals in Prague find solace in their accessibility to Middle Eastern, halal food along with tourist hot spots. What’s special about such accessibility is that digital media now promotes “halal tripping” or “halal tourism.”
Read MoreAs I researched media content, it became quite clear to me that churches find their place in the news primarily (if not only) when the subject is business or economics related — church properties and estates — as if shaking away the communist past; political and/or financial correlations. Looking at the local religious life — it barely ever is a subject of media focus.
Read MoreAlmost all of the pieces are religious, taken from churches, basilicas and private chapels. They are echoes of a glorious religious past — one that contrasts with the fact that most of the Czech Republic’s population today is religiously unaffiliated.
Read MoreThe French Father Choux helped his colleagues in normalization-period Czechoslovakia, a time following the 1968 Soviet invasion of the country marked by secret police and threats to clergy. He died at age 74 on April 10, after suffering with a neurodegenerative disease.
Read MoreThe Benda family faithfully observed the rites that defined their lives inside of their second-floor apartment. Every day, they prayed together, studied together and found ways to enjoy themselves – while doing everything they could to show others there was more to life than the rules of a paranoid police state.
Read MoreThere is hardly a more telling moment to epitomise the state of journalism in the Czech Republic than a short TV clip from a recent meeting of two presidents: Miloš Zeman, Czech head of state and his Russian counterpart - Vladimir Putin. “And here are more journalists?” asked Mr. Zeman in Russian at the press conference. "There are too many journalists. They should be liquidated.“
Read More(OPINION) A recent Pew Forum survey shows that the influence and practice of faith is slipping in lands long identified with Catholicism, those closest to the European West. Eastern Orthodoxy is rising, especially in lands in which faith and national identity blend. But the most stunning changes are happening in the Czech Republic.
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