Central European Journal for Contemporary Religion is a scholarly journal published both by the Hussite Theological Faculty of the Charles University and Karolinum Publishers, which aims to serve as a publication platform for Comparative Religion and related disciplines. It focuses mainly on contemporary religious phenomena with special (but not exclusive) focus on Central and Eastern Europe. It should serve both as a source of information on te religious life in the region and as a supply of scholarly studies focused on contemporary lived religion at large. It is published semi-annually both in print and online (free access). Its goal is to bring thought-provoking contributions related not only to current established religions and religious movements new and old, but also to contemporary spirituality in its wider context, including the New Age milieu, Neopaganism and pop-cultural spirituality. The journal also covers the latest theoretical and methodological trends in Comparative Religion, Ritual Studies and other disciplines. The editorial board consists of scholars from most Czech Comparative Religion departments, as well as experts on the most important religious traditions across the globe.
CENTRAL EUROPEAN JOURNAL FOR CONTEMPORARY RELIGION, Vol 6 No 1 (2022), 1–26
ArticleThe Normalisation Choir: Bratislava Catholic Youth Choirs as a Case Study of Youth Activities in Slovakia Under Late Socialism
Samuel Trizuljak
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/25704893.2026.1
zveřejněno: 10. 04. 2026
Abstract
The article helps fill the gap in the study of activities of the young generation in late socialist Slovakia by presenting the case study of Bratislava Catholic youth choirs, drawing on eight oral interviews conducted by the author. The first part highlights that youth activities in late socialist Slovakia remain understudied. The second part offers an interpretative summary of the phenomenon constituted by four leading Bratislava choirs: Céčko, Ursus Singers, Káčko, and Kufríkovci. It describes their apolitical motivations, activities beyond singing and beyond Bratislava, and their conspirative operation. The third part interprets the case study in light of existing historiography. It highlights the rootedness of choirs in the context of traditional Slovak religiosity, their exemplification of social movements contributing to the revolutionary carnival of the late 1980s, the a-legal nature of their activities, and the likely enduring relevance of categories such as “living in truth” in describing late socialist life in Slovakia.
klíčová slova: youth activities; popular culture; Catholic church; late socialism; normalisation; Czechoslovakia; Slovakia
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The Normalisation Choir: Bratislava Catholic Youth Choirs as a Case Study of Youth Activities in Slovakia Under Late Socialism is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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cena tištěného čísla: 180 Kč
ISSN: 2533-7955
E-ISSN: 2570-4893
