ABSTRACT
Marxist, or as the historical actors would themselves call it, scientific atheism, had many metamorphoses during its time, from anti-religious propaganda and the invention of new rituals to serious attempts to study religion. Somewhere in between propaganda and scholarship stood museums of religion. The past and present of the most famous museum of religion in the context of socialist countries, the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism in Leningrad, is fairly well documented. Comparatively little is known about such institutions outside of the Soviet Union. Detailed research in regional archives and atheist articles led to the discovery that such a museum, called the Museum for the Development of Social Consciousness, did indeed exist. The principal question concerns the expectations that were harbored by scientific atheists who participated as employees in the museum. Another topic is the focus and scope of the museum. It is important to highlight the type of exhibitions, attendance and outreach of the institution in the context of scientific atheist policies, because it gives a new insight into the role and impact of the museum in the Czechoslovakian context. Furthermore, the final phase of the museum in the context of post-socialist Czechoslovakia will be discussed.
