Katolícka jednota Magazine as an Intellectual Source of Catholic Women

The present study deals with the founding of Katolícka jednota žien and the association’s magazine, Katolícka jednota, which was created as a response to the rise of socialism and the spread of secular and feminist ideas in Slovakia in the early 1920s. The magazine was intended to serve as an intellectual resource for Catholic women, representing an alternative to secular feminism. Catholic women faced societal prejudices that led to an impression of them as easily influenced by priests, an idea that served as justification for their exclusion from political life, ostensibly to protect secular politics from religious influence. The magazine’s editors aimed to counter these stereotypes by highlighting the capacity of Catholic women to engage with social issues and propose solutions. Those who identified with the image of loyal, rational Catholics were actively involved in public life, but their participation was always aligned with Church teachings on gender roles. Activism centred on protecting family, morality, and religion while rejecting socialist and secular feminist ideas, which they believed threatened traditional gender roles and Catholic values. Katolícka jednota thus provided women with a platform for social and intellectual self-expression while simultaneously stressing the importance of preserving the traditional social order, supporting their role within the Christian family model, and providing the right education for responsible citizenship.