Christianity in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo

Abstract

Several situations that involve cooperative interfaith endeavors aimed at reconciliation are commonly observed within the religious communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. In 1997, religious leaders of the Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish communities of the region agreed to share a moral commitment and establish a new Interreligious Council for their country that would discourage any acts of revenge or ones grounded on hatred towards different religions and ethnicities, while also considering welfare and human rights. As this council brought their advocacies to Kosovo, Kosovo's religious leaders also accepted and adopted the Interreligious Council scheme. In this chapter however, attention is given to how Christianity affected the Balkan conflict, therefore the discussion will be limited to the positive and negative roles of those involved from the Roman Catholic and the Serbian Orthodox Churches.