ABSTRACT In this article, I examine the phenomenon of ethnoreligiosity in the post-Yugoslav context, focusing on the Catholic Church in Croatia and the Serbian Orthodox Church. I distinguish between ethnoreligion as a cultural specificity and ethnoreligiosity as a distortion where religion is instrumentalized by ethnonationalist ideologies. By analyzing the role of ethnonational myths in shaping religious discourse, I show how ethnoreligiosity sacralizes political projects of ethnic homogenization and legitimizes violence, leading to the vulgarization of Christian faith. I argue that theology must respond contextually and liberatively by exposing these myths and reclaiming religious discourse for justice, reconciliation, and genuine Christian witness.

Following the collapse of the concrete canopy at the newly reconstructed train station in Novi Sad, which killed sixteen people, Serbia has been witnessing the largest student movement in Europe since 1968. Students of diverse ideological, political, and religious backgrounds have come together to demand justice and accountability from a corrupt political establishment. This paper will strive to explore the religious and quasi-religious elements of the movement – rituals of silence, pilgrimage, ascetic endurance, and communal feasting – interpreted through a functional and anthropological approach to religion inspired by Durkheim. The study combines qualitative media discourse analysis of secular and religious communications (November 2024 to June 2025) with the author’s direct anthropological observation of protest events. This dual perspective enables an examination of how collective rituals and moral symbols emerged both in representation and in practice. The protests drew strong reactions from Serbian Orthodox Church dignitaries and other public voices, which will be examined through critical discourse analysis, focusing on how churchstate relations and religious or ideological divisions were framed. The question of various collective subjects fulfilling the usual societal functions of religion will be posed.

This paper represents an analysis of a custom from the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church, connected to the celebration of the feast of Saint Archangel Michael as a family patron saint day (Slava), commonly known as “Aranđelovdan” (Archangel’s Day). In some Serbian regions, hosts refuse to prepare boiled wheat or koljivo for the feast of Saint Archangel Michael, claiming that koljivo is prepared exclusively for saints who have died. At the same time, maintenance of this custom is often justified by the argument that it is inherited from ancestors and, in that sense, represents part of family heritage or a certain kind of pledge. After an analysis of the Holy Canons, it is concluded that the criterion by which the canons accept a custom as legitimate is compatibility of that custom with apostolic tradition. From that perspective, we will seek to show why that is not the case with the aforementioned custom observed on Saint Archangel Michael’s day.

A particularly important issue, to which insufficient attention is paid today, especially in scientific and professional circles, is the question of the connection between the current politics of neighboring Serbia, on the one hand, and the ideological matrix and tenets of the Greater Serbian ideology's program, conceived, developed, and defined many years earlier, on the other hand. There is a series of recognizable indicators (manifestations) through which true and verifiable scientific knowledge can be acquired, supporting the main thesis that the political and party system of Serbia, in the period after the formal end of the dissolution of Yugoslavia until today, has been established and functions in a way that perpetuates the basic tenets and premises of the Greater Serbian ideology. In short, this is an ideology of evil, slaughter, killing, torture, and expulsion of the non-Serb population, especially Bosniaks, from the designated so-called Serbian territories. The results and implications of this ideology on the ground are particularly visible during World War II, as well as the last aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These theses are also the main starting point for the approach to research, analysis, and consideration of the subject matter within this study. A minor weakening of these narratives in Serbia occurred during the October uprising in 2000, when Slobodan Milošević's regime was definitively overthrown and fell. However, it did not take long for this practice to resume, under some new circumstances and frameworks. In this context, it is necessary to penetrate, through a scientific approach and analysis, these sometimes open, but very often hidden tendencies and forces operating within the political field of Serbia, which aim to maintain the continuity and “life” of the ideology and politics of creating a so-called Greater Serbia, and the extremely fascist and genocidal Greater Serbian ideology. Its continuous existence within the political arena of Serbia is noticeable, with some new actors and through some new (more modern, innovative) models, ways, and methods of expression. This presence is reflected today, both through the activities of political parties, some of which are even represented in the highest representative body of the state (National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia), and numerous right-wing and extremist movements, which closely cooperate with current politics, and some were even represented in parliament. Right-wing and extremist movements in Serbia have become an inseparable part of the ruling structures and one of the main pillars of the current regime's existence in Serbia. One should not lose sight of the fact that, in addition, they also enjoy the attention of the Serbian Orthodox Church, from which the political regime is simply inseparable, and whose support and assistance are particularly important to them. The inadequacy of original academic research on the subject matter necessitates such and similar studies, with the aim of exposing the place and role of fascist and criminal Greater Serbian ideology in current political developments and relations in the Balkans, with a special focus on developments and the political arena in neighboring Serbia and the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska. A turning point from this ideology has not been made, and it is evident that it influences the creation of public policies and the overall political system in Serbia, with constant pretensions towards neighboring states Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Montenegro. This ideology has proven to be the main factor and element preventing and limiting Serbia's complete democratic consolidation. Until this happens, Serbia will be justifiably targeted, not as the main driver of regional peace and stability, but as the main disruptive factor of these processes and aspirations. All basic methods of scientific research will be used for the purposes of this research. Among the general scientific methods, the hypothetical-deductive method, the comparative method, and the statistical method will be used. For the purpose of data collection, the method of document analysis (content analysis) will be used. The general conclusion is that, although in today's political life the Greater Serbian ideology, at least formally and legally, is not the ruling ideology, it is nevertheless present on the Serbian political scene and has a significant influence on the adoption of the most important state decisions and public policies.

Drawing on archival and published documents and relevant historiographical literature, this paper describes the role that the priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) had in the development of the Chetnik organization in the area of Dalmatia during the Second World War. Available sources point to the conclusion that seventeen SPC priests were actively involved in the Chetnik organization in Dalmatia, with the two most prominent members of that organization being SPC priests Sergije Urukalo and Momčilo Đujić. The Chetnik organization initially operated in the form of a humanitarian society under the name “Committee for Aid to Serbian Refugees”, and from 1942 it received a military framework and operated under the designation “Dinara Division”. The Chetnik organization operated with the support of the Italian authorities until the capitulation of Italy, after which it cooperated with the German authorities. With the withdrawal of the German army from Dalmatia, the Chetnik organization collapsed and the majority of SPC priests who were its officials withdrew. After the defeat of the Chetnik organization, six SPC priests who were members of its organization remained in Dalmatia. The authorities of socialist Yugoslavia sentenced three SPC priests to prison terms, while the other three priests of the SPC were granted amnesty. Due to the connections of some members of the socialist Yugoslav authorities with the SPC, the subject addressed in this paper remained concealed and historiographically unexamined.

Abstract This paper deals with symbolic struggles unfolding in Serbia, where the conflicting parties could be identified as the Serbian Orthodox Church and the “wider scientific community.” The authors focus on the five years which produced debates over three concrete issues which involved a conflict between “religion” and “science” in the Serbian public space: the discussion on the theory of evolution in public schools (2017), covid-19 protective measures (2020), and the inclusion of topics related to gender and sexuality in elementary school biology textbooks (2022). These conflicts contributed to creating and consolidating the symbolic boundaries in Serbian society. The corpus of empirical data includes texts available on online news portals, and these have been subjected to discourse analysis. Special attention was given to the borders drawn around social groups and collective identities by “religion” and “science.” Symbolic classifications frequently followed geopolitical rifts and conflicts.

The forest restitution process in Serbia: The role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in shaping an adapted forest governance framework

In 1934, after several years of struggle, the Orthodox community of Maribor was awarded a lot to construct a new sacral building on General Maister Square (then Yugoslavia Square) in Maribor, at the site of the recently removed monument dedicated to Vice Admiral Wilhelm Tegetthoff. The square boasts a rich symbolic history, wherein the very names of the square have clearly indicated the identity of the city over time. The new government sought to modify public space in accordance with the new state – these spaces had to be given not only a Slovenian, but also a Yugoslavian identity. The first modification was changing the square’s name to Yugoslavia Square, after which a Serbian Orthodox church was built in the Serbian national architectural style by architect Momir Korunović (1883–1969), who designed all three Serbian sacral buildings in the province of Dravska Banovina (in Maribor, Ljubljana, and Celje). The Church of St. Lazarus was to be ideologically connected to the monument dedicated to King Aleksandar Karađorđević on Liberty Square, which would provide a clear Yugoslavian identity to the city district.

The paper examines Serbian press coverage of the resurgence of Eastern Orthodoxy in Serbia during the 1980s. It is based on an analysis of the most influential daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers and magazines printed in Serbia between 1980 and 1990. The research aims to reconstruct perceptions of the revival of religiosity in Serbia during this period and to identify its root causes. The research showed a close causal connection between the change in public perception of religion, that is, the revival of religiosity in Serbia, and the changed political environment in former Yugoslavia in the 1980s. The research suggests that the escalation of tensions in Kosovo triggered the ethnic mobilization of Serbian society and consequently strengthened the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Serbia in the late 1980s.

Remembering Suffering and Resistance: Memory Politics and the Serbian Orthodox Church by Karin Rogier Hofmeister (review)

The paper deals with the analysis of the interpretations and “framings” of the Serbian Orthodox Church in publicly shared comic content. The Church in contemporary Serbian society is an organization with a considerable reputation among the citizens, endowed with great trust. It has numerous privileges and utilizes a fair number of resources provided by the political oligarchy. The Church enjoys a prominent public presence, both through the formal involvement of clergy and Church representatives in the work of secular institutions, and through the informal everyday practices of people. The hegemonic position of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as a (self-)proclaimed moral and spiritual leader, makes it a particularly suitable target for mocking and comic treatment using irony, satire and parody. The undertaken analysis conceptually relies on Gramsci’s deliberations on hegemony and Peter Berger’s constructivist approach to humor. Using netnography as the method for data collection and thematic analysis for data interpretation, the study will demonstrate the delegitimizing potential of ridicule in social struggles. The analysed and interpreted data is comprised of visual and textual content that was created as a reaction to various public appearances of the Church. Most often thematized were “blunders”, “inappropriate” behavior, “problematic” statements and attitudes of Church dignitaries, as well as the practices of the Church representatives seen as opposed to the Christian teachings and the moralities preached by the Church (material opulence, moralizing and interference in the private lives of the people, aggressive outbursts, supporting disavowed politicians, superstition, sex misconduct and other scandals).

The article analyzes the structuralist approach and methods of the perpetrators of political extremism within Kosovo and Metohija in violating the fundamental human rights and freedoms of citizens, believers of the Orthodox Church. Article defines modern approaches to political violence through the structuralist model and the institutionalization of various types of violence. Violence of structures, for which it is difficult to determine the perpetrator, is a model that was also used during the March Violence of 2004, where, instead of the perpetrators appears dissatisfied, resigned, incoherent and heterogeneous but extremely violent groups of people, whose violence is difficult to control. The paper points to the evolution of methods and approaches to violating fundamental human rights. The violation of religious rights and freedoms of citizens is particularly highlighted, through violence towards material cultural heritage, property and historical identity and the canonical foundation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as a religious community but also as a social stakeholder within todays Kosovo and Metohija. This is a complex, hybrid approach that combines structural and institutional violence. The article points to the danger of a new concept of violence that can lead to far-reaching consequences for the national interests of the Serbian people and the Statehood interests of the Republic of Serbia. Additionally, the article brings the need for planning future steps that would prevent threats the Serbian Orthodox Church within Kosovo and Metohija closer to the wider public.

This study examines the alignment between Serbia’s religious moderation policies and its constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, secularism, and non-discrimination. While Serbia’s 2006 Constitution enshrines these principles, the practical application of religious policies reveals discrepancies shaped by social norms and dominant religious narratives. The preferential treatment of "traditional" religious communities, especially the Serbian Orthodox Church, reflects a persistent intertwining of national identity with Orthodox Christianity. Through legal analysis and case studies, the study illustrates how cultural and institutional biases can undermine formal constitutional protections. It also explores the role of public perception, media discourse, and policy implementation in reinforcing religious hierarchies. Ultimately, the study argues that Serbia’s religious moderation remains only partially consistent with constitutional ideals, as prevailing sociocultural dynamics continue to influence both interpretation and enforcement. A more inclusive approach requires bridging legal norms with democratic values of pluralism and equal treatment for all religious communities.

The purpose of the research paper is to highlight the circumstances of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 as one of the most important historical events for nations of the Balkan. The main events are analysed and a comparison of versions is presented that modelled a mythological aspect of the battle. The scientific novelty lies in the exploration of different perspectives and versions in an attempt to re-examine this important historical event in the land of the Balkans, to better understand who participated in it, at what scale, how and where this event was recorded historically and why this battle became a myth. Conclusions. As a decisive event, the Battle of Kosovo had a great resonance in the Balkans. Between the Serbian and Ottoman versions discussed in this article, one can find both common points of inaccuracies and exaggerations of figures, as well as differences and changes in approach. Modern Turkish historiography treats the Battle of Kosovo as an important battle because their leader was killed along with his eldest son, and above all as a victory which defeated the Balkans and subjugated them for centuries. Serbian historiography, supported by the Serbian Orthodox Church, built the ‘myth of the battle’ with the argument that the event took place in the heart of their territory in ‘Old Serbia’. Serbian historical science deliberately denies everything Albanian and, in an organised form, ignores the relevant sources which argue the participation of Albanians in the battle and their Albanian continuity in Kosovo. The story about the Battle of Kosovo was actualised as an issue of archival research in Serbia at the end of the 19th century. Thus, all the Serbian policy was fully and consciously supported, and was propagated with myths and folklore that went to extremes, mobilising the entire Serbian intellectual elite to find scientific arguments which had never existed. These myths and legends about the Battle of Kosovo were transmitted through descendants of epic folk poetry, the Serbian Orthodox Church, intellectuals and historians, and national and political leaders. The goal of Serbian historical-political myth-making was to justify Serbia’s right to the territory of Kosovo and to deny such a historical right to the Albanian people.

A process of desecularization, sacralizing the nation, and retraditionalizing gender roles has been ongoing in post-Yugoslav Serbia since the late 80s, but has gained new steam since 2012, when a new government of a coalition similar to the 1990s politics was formed, albeit this time with the ostensible aim of joining the EU. Against the backdrop of these processes, Serbian iden-tity has been constructed in a particularly masculine way. And although the use of homophobia to Other the ‘Enemy within’ is not new in Serbian nationalism, a notable shift has been observed as Serbia has been pushed to accept LGBT bodies as part of its Europeanisation process, which is now further complicated by the war in Ukraine. The pride parades, which Serbia has had to endure due to its European integration process, and the tactical decision to appoint a lesbian prime min-ister, have contributed to the impossibility to openly rely on stereotypical homophobic means of othering. As such, the focus of the ‘enemy’ within shifted from the homosexual to other ‘Others’: Albanians, migrants traversing the Balkan route, non-maternal women, and most recently, ‘gender ideology’ in biology textbooks and gender-sensitive language. Tracing the debates in the Serbian media, especially with regard to the discursive chasm between LGBT communities/feminisms and the Serbian Orthodox Church, but also with changes in the dominant media discourse, this pa-per contends that nationalist othering in Serbia is consistently reshaped in order to accommodate the changing political climates. It demonstrates the moving boundaries in the construction of the nation, which constantly fluctuating representations of identities stereotypically associated with LGBT communities, masculinities and femininities, ‘Serbhood’, and Orthodoxy.

The scientific paper before us will question the role, scope and importance of Orthodox Christianity in social issues, especially in the case of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC). The topic of the scientific work is focused on questioning the connections between the specifically Ortho-dox experience of religion and its place in contemporary (Serbian) society. Therefore, the views of church dignitaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church regarding the role of the Orthodox faith in social issues were selected as the subject of research. Through his research, the author has set himself the goal of predicting the possibilities of establishing and building the social teaching of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The increasingly active role of religious communities and churches in contemporary society: from culture, through politics and economy to the natural environment points to the legitimate social significance of the basic assumptions of this scientific paper. The questioning of theoretical assumptions, religious conceptions and spiritual-political phenomena: fundamentalism, integralism and secularism on the example of an isolated case study in the ideas and value positions of dignitaries and theologians of the Serbian Orthodox Church leads to an indisputable innovative contribution and scientific justification of the research. After all, the SOC has always been the foundation of the national rallying of the Serbian ethnos, and the main le-ver of national identity, so the overall justification of the topic is greater. In the paper, the author started from the initial assumption that the current opinion in the Serbian Orthodox Church is not favorable towards the establishment of the social teaching of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The research was based on numerous methods in social sciences, such as: observation, case study, content analysis, comparative approach...

This article explores religious understandings of interpersonal forgiveness in post-conflict contexts. It challenges views that portray religious perspectives as purely normative, prescriptive, and insensitive to life’s complexities. This study draws from 75 in-depth interviews with religious leaders from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three largest faith communities (Islamic Community, Roman Catholic Church, and Serbian Orthodox Church). Using grounded theory methodology for data collection and analysis, this research reveals three interrelated conceptualizations of forgiveness: (1) forgiveness as a dispensation from justified punishment, (2) forgiveness as an emotional process, and (3) forgiveness as a spiritual transformation. This paper further examines forgiveness along the dimensions of procedurality, collectivity, conditionality, and memory. Forgiveness emerges as a fragmented, non-linear process shaped by both individual and collective factors. While some fundamental openness toward forgiveness is often seen as unconditional, its progression depends significantly on the wrongdoer’s actions and broader context. Finally, the findings show that forgiveness does not imply forgetting, yet it substantially influences how past injuries are remembered and commemorated.

Establishment of the Macedonian Orthodox Church after World War II and the Reaction of the Serbian Orthodox Church (Historical-Canonical Research)

Right-wing actors—conservative politicians, public intellectuals, and the Serbian Orthodox Church—have been influential in contemporary Serbia since the early 1990s, playing a formative role in its anti-gender movement. This study advances our understanding of how anti-gender mobilization draws from its local context. Drawing on Judith Butler’s concept of gender phantasm and Andrea Pető’s concept of gender as symbolic glue, this analysis examines two documents: the 1992 “Warning” resolution and Patriarch Pavle’s 1995 Christmas message. These texts enable mapping of actors and succinctly encapsulate the ideological imaginaries of the conservative elite who remain active. The ideological imaginary uniquely draws from rhetoric used to justify regional wars, serving as the phantasmic foundation of contemporary anti-gender mobilizations. Since right-wing actors operated within a contested space, the study acknowledges the unwavering feminist and pacifist left-wing opposition.

This paper explores the conceptualizations of spiritual fathers in Orthodox Christianity, with a focus on the narratives of believers in the Serbian Orthodox Church. It examines the role of spiritual fathers in individual religiosity and their importance in the growth of the Orthodox faithful since the late 20th century. The research is based on ethnographic material collected during the project ?Ecclesiastical and Religious Praxes of Christian Orthodox Believers in Serbia: An Anthropological Research? (2021-2023), as well as relevant academic and religious literature. The function of a spiritual father depends on social, historical, and cultural contexts, with spiritual fathers providing stability during times of crisis or serving as educators in periods of relative stability. Today, spiritual fathers integrate traditional roles with new forms of spiritual guidance, ranging from media presence to advising on the integration of religious values into modern life. The narratives of respondents emphasize the personal role of spiritual fathers in their spiritual growth, while contemporary practices point to the adaptation of religious models to meet the demands of modern life. The paper highlights that the concept of a spiritual father is dynamic, reflecting changes in the spiritual and social needs of believers. The research has shown that the role of a spiritual father (duhovnik) is multifaceted, as it includes sacramental confession, personal spiritual guidance, and, in some cases, the charismatic authority associated with an elder (starets).