Invented religions and the conceptualization of religion in a highly secular society: The Jedi religion and the Church of Beer in the Czech context

Abstract

This study illustrates the need to develop efforts that define scientific terms, namely, ‘religion’. Despite the fact that such efforts may seem to be practically unattainable, current phenomena testify to the need to continually improve standardized scholarly terminology (such as Invented Religion, Parody Religion). Using specific material (of new religious phenomena in the Czech Republic, specifically the Jedi religion and the Church of Beer), the study identifies several key ambiguities stemming from the cultural and social context in which both contemporary new religions and academic study of religions coexist. The study concludes that in a highly secular society, where the continuity of religious memory is disrupted (as in the Czech Republic), the academic study of religions plays an important role, functioning as an authority for the decision-making of state institutions.