Survey of Religious Movements, Communities and Churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is an heterogeneous country wherein ethnicity and religious adherence overlap. The scope of this work is based on the study of religious communities of various religious and cultural backgrounds that exist and function in post-war BiH. As there are insufficient comprehensive studies on this complex subject, this article examines the role religion plays in social and political life in post-war BiH by focusing on the way it is employed by the religious communities that have been working actively in this field. A diversification of BiH’s religious scene emerged with the collapse of Communism and dissolution of Yugoslavia, especially during the 1992–1995 war and in the first couple of years after signing the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995. Hence, this research primarily addresses the questions regarding the formation of new religious communities, their roles within society, the overall impact on the religious market as well as the citizens’ and experts’ perceptions of this. This article is based on analysis of the data collected using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Quantitative data was collected using a close-ended questionnaire that consisted of 38 questions based on dichotomous scales (e.g., yes/no) and Likert five-point scales, conducted with experts in the field and religious officials (clerks, priests and imams) from the different religious communities that exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The qualitative research approach is based on grounded theory using secondary and primary data collection tools.