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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 mpore effect among Muslims and the few surviving Jews.
Stavrianos, Leften Stavros. The Balkans since 1453 (2000).
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