Vlastní Bůh - Mírotvorný a násilný potenciál náboženství – Beck Ulrich (2018)

This Czech-language study examines religion’s ambivalent role as both a source of conflict and a means of calming it in today’s globalized world, where cultures and worldviews intermingle against a background of historical conflicts. Sociologist Ulrich Beck is presented as a strong advocate of individualized religiosity, a subject also explored by Charles Taylor, and shares an interest in religion’s role in the public sphere with thinkers such as Jürgen Habermas. The book treats violence and peace as interconnected features of universalist religions because of their universal claims. Drawing on observations by contemporary sociologists including Gilles Kepel, Beck goes beyond description and outlines possible ways forward. These approaches are not intended to bring new masses of believers into emptying churches, but to reveal to individuals the potential of their own forms of religious experience and to show society the benefits of a cosmopolitan plural constellation, including among European Muslims. The book is intended for anyone interested in religion in modern society and cultural conflicts, especially students of religious studies and the sociology of religion. The contents are in Czech.