What Went Wrong? Church–State Relations in Socialist Yugoslavia

Abstract

Yugoslavia's socialism was always a special case when compared with other states in the eastern part of Europe, and so was its religious policy. In the 1960s, Yugoslavia adopted a rather liberal stance towards its religious communities. The state interfered less in the internal affairs of the churches than it did in most states in the Warsaw Pact. Even Croat Cardinal Franjo Kuharić, who was otherwise very critical towards Tito's Yugoslavia, had to admit in 1987,The Pope freely appoints bishops, without the intervention of the government. The church is free in its inner administration: there is no numerus clausus, neither for priests nor for the order's candidates. The bishops appoint and transfer priests without hindrance, without government interference. Bishops, priests and believers are free to gather in church rooms and don't have to apply for special permits. The orders can exist and function, although within the frames of law. The freedom of motion in- and outside the country is not hampered, though it may happen that-in our conviction, without justification-priests' passports are taken away. The freedom of the religious press is also one of the positive facts.