According to a Harvard University study conducted between 2002 and 2015, Czechs are among the most racist people in Europe.
According to experts, this is caused by the fact that during their decades of isolation from the outside world, the inhabitants of what are today the formerly communist countries either never or only rarely came into contact with foreign nationals who looked different or who practiced different cultural customs, and even today they encounter them only exceptionally in their everyday lives on a personal basis. Another role is said to be played by the fact that we are all “infected” by prejudice starting in childhood which then resonates throughout the society-wide discourse.
This study involved 144,000 Europeans and the poll was only answered in English online. According to the critics, this was not a representative sample and, moreover, contained too many instructive questions. “If the survey is answered by educated people who speak English, it means that the reality will be even worse,” said Psychologist Jeroným Klimeš.
Statistics also show the rise of extremism that affects the views of the Czech Republic. In 2017, 334 extremist events took place in the Czech Republic, 26 more than a year earlier.
This result has a historical context as Klimeš explained that the Czech society was extremely homogenous due to communism that occurred in the past.
Author: A.M.
