To make things worse, Czechs have come to disdain organized religion due to the association (sometimes actual, sometimes only perceived) of the Catholic Church with dominant, often abusive, political regimes. The church is as a result looked down upon and seen as irrelevant.

Psychiatrist Libor Growsky (quoted in the same online article as above), puts it this way, "I'm a nonbeliever. It's connected to our history. Religion limited the freedom of the people. I don't see a difference between the Communists and the Catholics. They each want people to comply with their ideals. My sense of morality comes from literature and my family."

In addition to killing religion, communism managed to kill Czech spirits, creating mistrusting, pessimistic, and closed lives. But things are changing...

Though the Czechs are very atheistic, this is only by habit—because of the unbelieving environment that has surrounded them—and not because they are absolutely convinced there is no God. In fact, many Czechs, especially the younger generations, are beginning to question their atheistic heritage. After discussing religion with his university class, one professor concluded that the Czech Republic is not a nation of atheists but of "believers without religion." Many Czechs, he believes, are actually closet theists. Our own experience confirms this: a number of the Czech university students we have interacted with believe in a higher power.

This growing interest in transcendance and spirituality, however, has not changed the Czechs' view of the church. The spirituality they are seeking is experiential, personal and practical in nature—something people can participate in without having to deal with the baggage of the church.

Our challenge, our dream, our desire is to present a vibrant, relevant form of the gospel, one that despite the church's bad reputation, will create a desire in Czech hearts to gather together in transformative communities of faith. According to an article by Czech theologian David Novak, this is possible, because "a negative or indifferent attitude towards the church can be broken by positive personal experience with Christians."