Figure 1.--Here we see a small Catholic class group somewhere in Yugoslavia during the late-1930s. The nuns' habits look Catholic. Religious groups had access to schools at the time. They also had their own schools. We are not sure where in Yugoslavia the photo was taken. Slovenia and Croatia are the most likely places as they are the most Catholic. The maps on the wall look vaguely like Slovenia. There is an encription on the back using the termn 'Pensionat' which may mean the guest at a basic hotel, or in this case the student at a boarding school. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the group. Click here to see the enscription.
Religion was important in pre-World War II Yugoslavia, at least until the Communists seized control of the country and launched an atheism campaign. There were definite differences between the various constituent republics, but the noteable aspect of the country was the degree to which ethnicitt and releigion was mixed. Bosnia in particular was an ethnic and religious stew of Serb, Croat, Orthodox, Catholic, along with Muslims and a few Jews. Orthodox Christianity was the most important religion (over 40 percent). The religion was heavily determined by ethnicity. Orthodox Christianity dominated in Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Roman Catholicism was next most improtant (30 percent), concentrated in Croatia and Slovenia. Muslims were concentrated in Kosovo and Bosnia (over 10 percent). There were outbreaks of ethic and religious violence in the area of Yugoslavia, but during the period of Royal Yugoslavia there was relative peace (1918-41). This changed during the Axis occuopation. Led by the Germans and their Croatian allies, the country became an ethnic and religious killing field. Yugoslav Jews were largely murdered. Orthodiox Serbs were targeted by the Ustache in Croatia and Bisnia. The Serbs targeted Muslims in Kosovo. The Germans fornmed Muslim SS groups which tatgeted Serbs and Jews. The ethnic and religius conflict combined with the the Resistance led by guerrilla fighters, Yugoslavia had one of the highest death rates of the NAZI occupied countries. With the advent of the Communists (1945), the importance of relgion in national life significantly declined. Religion was not banned, but there as atheist campaign. Proselytization was sharply discouraged, but without the brutality used in the Soviet Union. Monasteries and churches were seen as part of the national heritage. Children were taught about religion in the schools. All religious schools were closed. The lessons on religion were part of history classes. They were taught that religion was a fiction and a way of keeping peasants happy so they could be exploited. The fall of Communism (1989) resulted in a religious revival, but religion is much less important than before the War and Communists.
Importance
Religion was important in pre-World War II Yugoslavia, at least until the Communists seized control of the country and launched an atheism campaign.
Chronolohgy
Constiuent Republics
There were definite differences between the seven constituent republics, but the noteable aspect of the country was the degree to which ethnicity and releigion was mixed. Bosnia in particular was an ethnic and religious stew of Serb, Croat, Orthodox, Catholic, along with Muslims and a few Jews. Religion was an important part of the narioinal ethos in these repubulics. Croatian and Slovenia in the north were stongly Roman Catholic. Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia in the east are stroingly Orthoxox. Bosnia oon the center was ethnically and ethnically mixed with religion tending to follow ethnic lines. Yugoslavia was ehnically and religiously mixed before the Communists seized power. And this mixing increased as the Comminist regimes actively supressed any asoect of ethnic national sentiment. This ultimately impacted religioin because of the connection. There were imortant minorities within the various reoublics, inclusung Catholic Croats in Serbian Orthodox Serbs in Croatia, and Muslim Kosovars in southern Serbia. (This was particularly problematic given the fact that southern Serbia was the Serb historic heartland.)
What was to become Yugoslavia was part of the Roman Empire when Emperor Consatntine converted to Christianity (3rd century AD). And the area became Christianized in a realtively short period. The Christian Church officially split--the Great Schism (1054). By this time it meant Chtisendom was divided by the Eastern (Greek) Church supported by the Byzantine Emopire and Western (Latin) Chutch led by the Papacy. The area of Yugoslavia became a frontline in the Schism and the division betweem Croatia and Serbia at the time is not much different than the situation today. After the Ottomans conquered Serbia (1459) they defeated Hungary (1526), but Hungarians and Austrians continued to resist and this was a majpr factor in the northern areas of what is now Yugoslavia (Criatia and Slovenia) remaining Roman Catholic. Orthodox Christianity was the most important religion in the Yugoslavia created after World War I, but not a majority (over 40 percent). This was in part because Serbia was the largest and most populace of the coinstiuent republics. Religion in Yugoslavia was heavily determined by ethnicity. Orthodox Christianity dominated in Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Roman Catholicism was next most important (30 percent), concentrated in Croatia and Slovenia. Muslims were concentrated in Kosovo and Bosnia (over 10 percent). Religion also determined which alphabet each of Yugoslavia’s peoples usually used: the traditionally Orthodox peoples preferred the Cyrillic alphabet, while the rest used the Latin alphabet. Muslim Yugoslavs and Albanians were mostly Sunni Muslims. Tito's Communist Government which seized power after the War iniaitaed an atheist campaign, but not with the brtality of the realated Soviet effort. Tito and the Communists primary concern was with ethnicity. Any expression of ethnic sentiment was severly supressed. Religiious and ethnic sentiment was not extinguished, but rather driven underground. Traditional religions beliefs continued, especially with non-party members, rural populations and especially particularly among Christians The atheist campaign seem tomhave had more effect among Muslims and the few surviving Jews.
Ethnicity
The different constiuent republics were primarily based om etnicity. Even so, the population was heavily mixed. This was because of centuries of Ottoman rule in which there was a greater degree of relgious tolerance than in Christian Europe. People could move and live where they wanted. As a result, Toyal Yugoslavia was surely the most ethnically mixed couuntry in Europe.
The primary difference that distinguished Yugoslavia’s ethnic groups was religion. Often lanuage helped define ethnicity, bur much of the population spoke Serbo-Crotatian which meant the two largest ethnic groups. Serbs, Macedonian Slavs, and Montenegrins were traditionally Orthodox Christians. While the Croats and Slovenes tended to be Roman Catholics. The Muslim Slavs tended be ethnically similar to Christian Yugoslavs. While the Ottomans controlled most of Yugoslavai for over three centuries, only limited numbers of ethnic Turks moved into what became Yugoslavia. Ethnic tensions disrupted the normal political function virtually as soon as Yugoslavia was created. King Alexander moved to establish essentiallyh a royal dictatorship. As part of this process he attempted to create a centralised Yugoslavia. [Stavrianos, p. 624.] This only exacerabated the political situation. It was preveived by non-Serbs, especially the Croats as creating a Serb dominated country. The King did away with Yugoslavia's historic ethnic-based regions. New domestic boundaries were estanlished for provinces (banovinas). The banovinas were named after rivers. Many ethnic oriented politicians (mostly non-Serbs) were arrested or kept under surveillance. The impact of Alexander's dictatorship was to further alienate the non-Serbs from the idea of unity. The king was assainated by ethnic disidents (1934). While ethnicity was at the heart of this tension, the overlap between ethnicity and relgion brought religiin into the developing situation that made Yugoslavia a killing field during World War II.
World War II
There were outbreaks of ethic and religious violence in the area of Yugoslavia, but during the period of Royal Yugoslavia there was relative peace (1918-41). This changed during the World War II Axis occuopation. Led by the Germans and their Croatian allies, the country became an ethnic and religious killing field. Yugoslav Jews were largely murdered, men women and Jews. The first open murder operations of the Holovcaust. Orthodox Serbs were targeted by the Ustache in Croatia and Bosnia. The Serbs targeted Muslims in Kosovo. The Germans formed Muslim SS groups which targeted Serbs and Jews. The ethnic and religious conflict combined with the the Resistance led by guerrilla fighters, Yugoslavia had one of the highest death rates of the NAZI occupied countries. With the advent of the Communists (1945), the importance of relgion in national life significantly declined. Religion was not banned, but there was a Government run atheist campaign. Proselytization was sharply discouraged, but without the brutality used in the Soviet Union. Monasteries and churches were seen as part of the national heritage. Children were taught about religion in the schools. All religious schools were closed. The lessons on religion were part of history classes. They were taught that religion was a fiction and a way of keeping peasants happy so they could be exploited. The fall of Communism (1989) resulted in a religious revival, but religion is much less important than before the War and Communists.
Religious onservation was very strong in Yugoslavia. The strong religious belief in the 19th continued into the early-20th century when Yugoslavia was created. We have no inforrmation on Fiest Communiin in the 19th century, but we have some 20th century information. There continued to be almost universal religious identification in the eraly-20century. And we have found quite a number of First Communion portraits in the photographic record. And religious practice only began to change after World War II with the Communist Government atheist campaign. And even then the change was relatively slow. In fact religious observation appears to have declined more steeply in Western Europe than in Yugoslavia, despite the Government's atheist campaign. It appears that secular influences in the West were more powerful than the Communist atheist campaign. Religious observation, especially First Communion for the children continued. We see children doing First Communiib throughoiut the Communist era (1945-89). And this included families that were not chgurch menbers. This was the case for the Catholic and Orthodox and related denominations. We are less sure about the Protestant demonination, but they were a very small part of the population. So as to avoid duplicatiion. we will archive First Cimmunioin images primarilt in the pages of the cinstituent reopiblics which today are indepndent countries. .
Sources
Stavrianos, Leften Stavros. The Balkans since 1453 (2000).
