Before the start of the Thirty Years' War in 1618, only about 15 % of Bohemians and a third of Moravians were Catholic. When Protestantism was outlawed in the Renewed Land Ordinance issued in 1627, Protestants were given the option of conversion to Catholicism or exile. In order to track the efficacy of the Counter-Reformation, Catholic parishes began recording the names of all persons who received the obligatory Easter confession each year. These confessional lists were used as proof that the Counter-Reformation was successful and that no Protestants remained in the country.

Catholic parishes continued to compile confessional lists even after the end of the Counter-Reformation.

The confessional lists are sorted by village and cover all confirmed parishioners. People of different religions are not recorded. In addition to the confessional lists, summary sheets were usually created for individual villages of the parish.