Unique connections. Uses of the transnational social capital of Czech pastors in the Cold War 1940s-1960s

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the genesis of the transnational professional network of Czech pastors from the second half of the nineteenth century with the main emphasis on its functioning and instrumentalisations on different levels in the context of the Czechoslovak Communist dictatorship caught in the dynamics of the global Cold War. It is close to the attempts to reintegrate reflection on religion in the history of globalisation.

Furthermore, it adopts a perspective related to the 'new Cold War historiography' emphasising considerable interaction and exchange irrespective of seemingly insurmountable political divisions and conflicts.

Keywords

• Czech Communist dictatorship
• religious internationals
• Transnational professional relations