The notion of an exceptional decline in religiosity in the Czech Republic has sparked interest both domestically and abroad. However, how can this topic be subjected to empirical historical research without merely stating that since the mid-19th century, secularization has necessarily increased alongside progress? The author poses the question of how religious and social changes are interconnected. In his book, he has chosen three concepts as the subject of research – religious practices, religious changes, and the vocation of a clergyman. It is precisely the clergy who most frequently brings religion to laypeople, and thus the chapters of the book are structured into liturgical parts. The book examines how the issues of secular pastoral care in modern times have influenced the conception of spiritual formation in the seminary. In a way, it serves as a collective biography of the clergy of the Prague Archdiocese in the second half of the 19th century. Each chapter has its hero, whose origins, upbringing, or relationships in the religious field clearly outline the nature of religious change. These include the director of the seminary and the convicts, František Srdínek, and his charges – the poet Svatopluk Čech, journalist Servác Heller, later bishops František Krásl, Josef Doubrava, and Antonín Podlaha, and finally, also Jindřich Šimon Baar, who captured the issues of priestly education...
