Religion and Nation: The case of the Republic of Macedonia

• Main Authors: Stojan Slaveski, Igor Gelev, Biljana Popovska
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Philosophy, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje 2017-06-01
• Series: Bezbednosni Dijalozi
• Subjects: politics; religious communities; nation; fundamentalism; secularism
• Online Access: http://periodica.fzf.ukim.edu.mk/sd/SD%2008.1%20(2017)/SD%2008.1.09%20Slaveski,%20S.%20&%20Gelev,%20I.%20&%20Popovska,%20B.%20-%20Religion%20and%20Nation%20The%20case.pdf
• ISSN: 1857-7172; 1857-8055

Historically to ensure unity in a country where religion played a significant role, it was required that the country have only one religion i.e., "the sovereign of the country determines its religion." This politicization of religion led to religious wars within and among the nations of Europe; hence the principle was replaced by one of secularity, i.e. separation of religion from the state. So, today western liberal democratic societies are secular, or in other words, religion is set apart from the state. However, the beginning of the 21st century has seen a re-politicizing religion. This trend has been particularly noticeable in the period since the end of the Cold War. The Republic of Macedonia is no exception to this international trend. Under the constitution, the state is a secular one and religion is segregated. This means that the state has no right to interfere in religious matters, nor may religious communities involve themselves in matters of state. In practice, however, this strict division of labor is not achieved in any secular society. In this paper, we shall investigate the interlocking relationships that have come to exist between politics and religious communities in the Republic of Macedonia in the building of the contemporary Macedonian nation. In the paper, the authors concluded that the process of building the modern nation should continue to occur within the existing cultural matrix, which in itself articulates the values of two civilizations - Muslim and Orthodox. Religious groups, in essence, are calling for peace, tolerance and respect for the "other", which can contribute to building a multicultural society. On the other hand, disrespect and manipulation of religious particularity can adversely affect the building of the sense of a single nation. In a society such as Macedonia's, inter-religious cooperation is very important. Only this concept carries any promise for the future of the contemporary Macedonian nation.