Abstrakt
Buddhism in the Central and Eastern post-communist European countries shows several specific features. It appears that secularization of society in Europe and Czechia has led to a marked slump in the number of believers of the traditional Christian societies and conversely enabled a bigger development of non-Christian religious movements, including Buddhism.
Buddhism, like other religions, is marked by a distinct trend toward individualism which is attested to by the "open" activities of the centres, especially meditation courses and lectures attended prevailingly by sympathizers. The majority of Buddhist-minded population is thus not affiliated with any religious institution and the creed of this group of inhabitants is of a private nature.
This privatization of religion has not impacted only Buddhism but generally the entire religious scene in Europe.