Religiosity has played an important role in everyday life for centuries. This is evidenced not only by the sacral and profane dimensions of ceremonial behaviour, which persisted in the folk culture of Slovakia until the early 21st century, but also by spiritual songs. As a broad complex of vocal expressions with religious content, these songs accompanied worship services and were also sung during prayers at home, as well as during pilgrimages, processions, and other occasions outside the church environment. Many of them can be understood as manifestations of folk religiosity. Using the example of an unnotated handwritten hymn book compiled by & Scaron;imon Pal & aacute;rik from Rakov & aacute; in 1833, this study focuses on the forms of folk religiosity among the rural population of the Kysuce region in the early 19th century, particularly in relation to specific singing contexts. The author also points out that within the folk song tradition, some of the older spiritual songs recorded in the examined hymn book remained in use into the second half of the 20th century, albeit with an altered function.
