Caritas et veritas 2016, 6(2):99-114 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2016.037

The Views and Attitudes of Czech Christians on the Refugee Crisis: Results of a Survey Among Czech Christians

Michal Opatrný

Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Teologická fakulta, Katedra etiky, psychologie a charitativní práce, Kněžská 8, 370 01 České Budějovice

The study presents selected elementary results of the social investigation Christians and Refugees, which was realised in the Czech Republic in August 2016. This research focused on the interpretation of several issues associated with the so-called refugee crisis in the EU by practising Christians. It is essentially a theological study, which makes use of certain elements of social scientific methodology. In the first part the theoretical foundation of the investigation is elaborated, of which its basic lens is the theology of signs of the times. In the second part, selected findings of the survey are presented, which are then theologically interpreted in the third part, with respect to the theoretical starting points of the study. The study shows that the - at first sight fairly high - openness of practising Christians in the Czech Republic towards refugees must be perceived in a differentiated manner with respect to whether the refugees come from Moslem countries. It thus turns out that despite evident identification of the refugee crisis as a sign of the times Czech Christians respond to this sign in an ambiguous manner.

Keywords: refugees, migration, refugee crisis, diakonia, charity, caritas, solidarity, signs of the times, Generace 21, Good Samaritan, fear, xenophobia, Czech Republic

Published: September 30, 2016  Show citation