A CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEBATE ON THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA AS A SECULAR STATE AND ON THE TERMS SECULARIZATION AND SECULARISM

Abstract

In this paper, the author addresses the question of separation of state and church in the Republic of Croatia. There are those who argue that Croatia is a secular state, and there are those who argue the opposite. In order to analyze the relationship of state and church in the Republic of Croatia, the author first analyzes the constitutional determination of separation of state and church. He then analyzes different models of state-church relations in order to provide a theoretical frame for the inclusion of the Republic of Croatia in a corresponding model. He defines the term “secularism” and distinguishes this term from two other terms: “secular” and “secularization”. Through examples and research done by other authors he shows that there is no common definition of secularism and that it is not possible to define it in a way that would apply in every legal system. The author shows that those who argue that Croatia is not a secular state are wrong. However, he also shows that the meaning that “secularists” in Croatia ascribe to the term “secularism”, on the basis of which they claim that Croatia is a secular state, is also flawed. Namely, secularism in the context of Croatia does not have the same meaning as that in France – the banning of religion from the public sphere. Croatia has built a cooperation model of church and state relations in which church and state are separate, but the state is obliged to cooperate with and assist religious communities in their work.