Legal framework of freedom of religion in the Republic of Macedonia

Abstract

Guarantee of freedom of religion and its regulation with international and regional legal instruments is undoubtedly the foundation of every modern democracy. However, elaborating freedom of conscience and religion has to be done within the framework of a positive legal system, i.e. Laws and the Constitution, which underlie the concept of organizing the state itself. Religious beliefs have been present for millenniums and their beginnings are in the very essence of both humans and communities, and even countries. The Republic of Macedonia along with all other states which were once part of the common Yugoslav federation has two periods of treatment of the issue of religious freedom, i.e. the freedom of conscience and religion. The well-known concept of separation of religious feelings from the state-legal system was practiced in the former common federation. Relying on that concept and upon gaining independence, the Republic of Macedonia has developed a different, primarily symbiotic blend of the state with its two biggest religious communities, thus attempting to deal with this extremely sensitive issue, more or less successfully, which is actually the basic principle of human freedoms.