Cold War Communist Yugoslavia: Religion

Figure 1.--Here we see a Catholic First Communion group, we think in Croatia, during 1953. The Coimmunist Government pyrused an atheist campaign, but it was not as intense as in the Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe. Notice there are mor girls than boys. Before the Communist take over, the genders were more balanced. We suspect that educational opportunity and career prospects were more important factors for boys than girls.

Communism whereever it appears attacks religion and pursues atheism. Karl Marx saw religion as both an expression of material realities and economic injustice. As a result, religion inevitably became involved with problems in society. Religion was not the fundamental problem, but was a symptom. He saw it as a mechanism that oppressive forces could use to make the popultion feel better about their condition even though they were being exploited and reduced to poverty. This is why he described religion as the 'opium of the masses'. Marx's view on religion were more complex than often depicted. This is because Communist leaders not only hated relgion for ideological reasions, but because they represented an alternative belief systems. And Communist leaders can not tolerate diversity, especially any ideplogical challenge. The Bolsheviks in particular launched a major often brutal attack on religion. Anf Stalin intensified the brutality. This effort was pursued by the Communists imposed on Eastern Europe by Stalin after World War II. None of the campaigns were as brutal as in the Soviet Union, but they were strong enough to sharply reduce the role of religion in each country, except in Poland where the Catholic Church effectively resisted the Party. Immediately after the War, Yugislabia wa one of the more aggesive of the newly Communist East Ruropean countries. Yugoslavia was different in that Stalin failed to gain control of the country leading to Tito's 1948 split. We have been unable to find much information on the atheist campaign in Yugoslavia. There certainly was one. Some Catholic prelates were acused of connectiins with the Fascist Ustaše. Sone were involved, but not all that were charged. Party members could not advance if they practiced religion. But this seems to have moderated as Yugoslavia began to tolerate more diversity than rhe Eastern European countries cintrolled by the Siviet Uniion. We have not been able to find much information Communist Yugoslavia's policies on relgion. As far as we can tell they were less intense than any of the Soviet Bloc countries.

Communist Atheism

Communism whereever it appears attacks religion and pursues atheism. Karl Marx saw religion as both an expression of material realities and economic injustice. As a result, religion inevitably became involved with problems in society. Religion was not the fundamental problem, but was a symptom. He saw it as a mechanism that oppressive forces could use to make the popultion feel better about their condition even though they were being exploited and reduced to poverty. This is why he described religion as the 'opium of the masses'. Marx's view on religion were more complex than often depicted. This is because Communist leaders not only hated relgion for ideological reasions, but because they represented an alternative belief systems. And Communist leaders can not tolerate diversity, especially any ideplogical challenge. The Bolsheviks in particular launched a major often brutal attack on religion. Anf Stalin intensified the brutality. This effort was pursued by the Communists imposed on Eastern Europe by Stalin after World War II. None of the campaigns were as brutal as in the Soviet Union, but they were strong enough to sharply reduce the role of religion in each country, except in Poland where the Catholic Church effectively resisted the Party.

Yugoslavia

Immediately after the War, Yugoslavia wa one of the more aggesive of the newly Communist East Ruropean countries. Tito's forces began shooting down Allied aircraft in the Afruatiuc and other aggressive actions. Yugoslavia was different in that Stalin failed to gain control of the country leading to Tito's 1948 split. We have been unable to find much information on the atheist campaign in Yugoslavia. There certainly was one. Some Catholic prelates were acused of connectiins with the Fascist Ustaše. Sone were involved, but not all that were charged. Party members could not advance if they practiced religion. But this seems to have moderated as Yugoslavia began to tolerate more diversity than permitted in the Eastern European countries controlled by the Soviet Union. A complicatioin in Yugoslavia is the nationality issue which Tito severly repressed. Communist Yugoslavia was federal uniin of six Socialist republics with strong ethnic/national sentiment. 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 becauyse of the connection. There were imortant minorities within the various reoublics, inclusung Catholic Croats in Serrbiam Orthodox Serbs in Croatia, and Muslim Ksovars in southern Serbia. (This was particularly problematic given the fact that southern Serbia was the Serb historic heartland. During the Communist era there was a significant internal migration. Most notable was a movemnent from the poorer south and east to the more prosperous morthwest. Until the Communist victory in World War II, census data suggest a virtual universal participation in religious practices. The stength of ethnic feeling and connection eith religion was a significant challege to Tito and the Communists. Surveys taken in the 1960s showed a substantial decline in religious practice, still high by Western stabndards, but a substantial decline. Muslims seem to have been especially resistant to the Communist atheism camoaign. As far as we can tell they were less intense than any of the Soviet Bloc countries.

Created: 4:34 AM 11/19/2018
Last updated: 8:04 AM 6/15/2020