Czechia (Czech Republic)

Freedom for Czechs has too often translated into a “free-for-all”. A generally successful shift to a market economy is positive for the country, but it places economic stress on too many of the most vulnerable. The moral vacuum that has emerged sees hedonistic materialism assume primacy; crime, sexual immorality, substance abuse as well as depression and suicide are more prevalent today than in Communist times. Atheism rose from 40% in 1991 to 60% in 2001 (and 71% non-religious in 2010), but apparently this does not preclude widespread use of horoscopes and a fuzzy mishmash of spiritual ideas. Pray for this existential and spiritual heaviness over the Czech Republic; pray that serious soul-searching may take place and that a shift in the spiritual atmosphere might occur.