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the Czech areas, as part of the nationalist movement away from Roman Catholicism. After the Communist takeover, the Protestant churches were subjected to state control, as was the Catholic Church. Although the Protestant groups were relatively small and lacked the power to resist, they were autonomous and were more strongly identified with Czech nationalism than was the Catholic Church. Thus they were able to more easily accommodate themselves to government demands and therefore were less vulnerable to Communist pressure. In addition, egalitarianism and social reform had been part of the creed of the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren, the largest Czech Protestant church. However, Slovak Protestants found it more difficult to reconcile themselves to Communist rule, and their opposition prompted harsh repressive measures. Protestants currently constitute about 10% of the total population.

Numbering an estimated 400,000 members in 1970, the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, sometimes referred to as the Slovak Evangelical or Slovak Lutheran Church, is the largest Protestant denomination in Slovakia. Resisting Communist attempts to gain control, the leaders of the church were forced to resign in 1951 and were replaced by a more cooperative group of proregime leaders. Formerly containing a minority of Magyars among its members, the church has been almost 100% Slovak since the emigration of German and Magyar populations after World War II. However, the other major Protestant denomination in Slovakia, the Reformed Church, has been from its inception during the Protestant Reformation predominantly Hungarian. In 1970 its membership was estimated at about 100,000.

The Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren, claiming the allegiance of between 250,000 to 300,000 Czech Protestants in 1970, traces its origins to the 15th century Hussite reform movement. After uniting with the Lutheran Church of Bohemia in 1575, it rapidly became the dominant Protestant group in Bohemia and Moravia and has enjoyed through the centuries the prestige of being the religious vehicle of Czech nationalism. After the Counter-Reformation many of its believers emigrated to other parts of Europe, and later others settled in the United States and founded a branch known as the Moravian Church. The Czech Brethren emphasize the Bible as the foundation of Christian faith and require simplicity in worship and rigorous morality in the life of its membership.

Founded in 1920 by a group of Roman Catholic clergy and laymen who broke away from the Catholic Church as part of the nationalist and anti-Catholic fervor of the times, the Czechoslovak National Church was composed of a membership variously estimated to number between 500,000 and 750,000 in 1970. The religious inspiration for its reformist teachings emanates from Jan Hus, and its theology is on the lines of the Unitarians. It introduced the Czech language into church services in place of Latin, abolished the compulsory celibacy of the clergy, introduced presbyterial ordination of the bishops and lay representation in the governing bodies, and democratized the organization of the parish.

During the pre-World War II period, the Czechoslovak National Church was heavily subsidized by the government. Its close association with Czech nationalism and liberal social philosophies made it a target for persecution during the German occupation of World War II. Under the Communists it has probably been least affected by the various restrictive measures imposed on religious organizations, because both its organization and its theology are loose enough to be adapted to government demands.

Other Protestant denominations in Czechoslovakia number only a few thousand each. These include the Methodists, the Baptists, the Congregationalists, and even a small group of Jehovah's Witnesses who have strongly resisted the government's attempts to thwart their religious practices. In the 1930 census Jews numbered about 240,000. Nazi extermination policies during World War II and large-scale migration between 1945 and 1950 have reduced their number to an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 in 1970.

F. Education (U/OU)

Education has a long tradition of high esteem among the Czechs and Slovaks. Following the formation of the First Republic in 1918, the government placed major emphasis on maintaining the high standards that had been a hallmark of the educational system in Bohemia and Moravia for centuries, especially since the days of Jan Komensky (Comenius), the 17th century theologian and educator, who is widely regarded as one of the fathers of modern education. The schools sought to produce a well-rounded, educated, and cultured citizen rather than a specialist, and the structure and curriculum reflected that aim. After the Communist takeover in 1948 the educational system underwent major changes in structure, curriculum, and philosophy. Of primary importance was the abandonment of the Western philosophical approach, with its emphasis on the dignity of man, in favor of the Marxist principle that the individual has no rights independent of the state.

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