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), 27–42
ArticleIn the Rhythm of Lorien: Czech Community in the Context of Alternative Spirituality
Patrik Chmel
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/25704893.2026.2
published online: 10. 04. 2026
abstract
This article deals with the Czech community Lorien, which serves as a center of alternative spirituality for many of its visitors. The first half of the article provides basic information about Lorien community, the course of the author’s field research, and community members’ attitudes to the concepts of religion, spirituality, and esoteric. Furthermore, the text discusses the widely shared teachings and practices of followers of alternative spirituality, which then compares with the ideas and actions of Lorien community members in the second half of the article. Residents consider the vision of the community expressed in three pillars to be the most essential aspect of their shared life. The pillars are the following: caring for common relationships, caring for common space, and organizing self-development seminars. First pillar is very strongly inspired by the principles of the book The Different Drum by Morgan Scott Peck, the second by the ideas of eco-spirituality and the third one with 5Rhytms Movement and other religious traditions.
keywords: Lorien; community; Morgan Scott Peck; community-building seminars; dance celebrations; alternative spirituality; self-development
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In the Rhythm of Lorien: Czech Community in the Context of Alternative Spirituality is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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