Religion in Croatia
Encyclopedia
Freedom of religion
is a right defined by the Constitution of Croatia
, which also defines all religious communities
as equal in front of the law and separate from the state
. A large majority of the Croatian population declares themselves as religious believer
s.
. Orthodox Christians make up around 4.4 percent of the population, Muslims around 1.3 percent, and Protestants around 0.3 percent of the population. 5.2% of Croatians are non-believers or agnostics. In the Eurostat
Eurobarometer Poll of 2005, 67% of the population of Croatia responded that "they believe there is a God". In a 2009 Gallup poll, 70% answered yes to the question "Is religion an important part of your daily life?"
The public holidays in Croatia
also include the religious festival
s of Epiphany, Easter Monday, Corpus Christi Day, Assumption Day, All Saints' Day, Christmas, and St. Stephen's or Boxing Day. The primary holidays are based on the Catholic liturgical year
, but other believers are legally allowed to celebrate other major religious holidays.
Marriage
s conducted by the religious communities having agreements with the state are officially recognized, eliminating the need to register the marriages in the civil registry office.
s between the Government and the Vatican
. The concordats and other government agreements with non-Roman Catholic religious communities allow state financing for some salaries and pensions for religious officials through government-managed pension and health funds.
The concordats and agreements also regulate public school catechism
s and military chaplain
s.
In line with the concordats signed with the Roman Catholic Church and in an effort to further define their rights and privileges within a legal framework, the government has additional agreements with the following 14 religious communities:
Registration of religious groups is not obligatory; however, registered groups are granted "legal person" status and enjoy tax and other benefits. The law stipulates that to be eligible for registration, a religious group must have at least 500 believers and be registered as an association for 5 years. All religious groups in the country prior to passage of the law in 2002 were registered without having to meet these conditions; religious groups new to the country after passage of the law must fulfill the requirements for the minimum number of believers and time as an association. Religious groups based abroad must submit written permission for registration from their country of origin.
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
is a right defined by the Constitution of Croatia
Constitution of Croatia
The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia...
, which also defines all religious communities
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
as equal in front of the law and separate from the state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
. A large majority of the Croatian population declares themselves as religious believer
Religious belief
Religious belief is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny. Such a state may relate to the existence, characteristics and worship of a deity or deities, divine intervention in the universe and human life, or values and practices centered on the teachings of a...
s.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census the majority of Croatians (87.8%) belong to the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Orthodox Christians make up around 4.4 percent of the population, Muslims around 1.3 percent, and Protestants around 0.3 percent of the population. 5.2% of Croatians are non-believers or agnostics. In the Eurostat
Eurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
Eurobarometer Poll of 2005, 67% of the population of Croatia responded that "they believe there is a God". In a 2009 Gallup poll, 70% answered yes to the question "Is religion an important part of your daily life?"
Interaction between religious and secular life
Public schools allow religious teaching in cooperation with religious communities having agreements with the state, but attendance is not mandated. Religion classes are organized widely in public elementary and secondary schools, most commonly coordinated with the Catholic Church.The public holidays in Croatia
Public holidays in Croatia
Holidays in CroatiaNote: Citizens of the Republic of Croatia who celebrate different religious holidays have the right not to work on those dates...
also include the religious festival
Religious festival
A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar...
s of Epiphany, Easter Monday, Corpus Christi Day, Assumption Day, All Saints' Day, Christmas, and St. Stephen's or Boxing Day. The primary holidays are based on the Catholic liturgical year
Liturgical year
The liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear in...
, but other believers are legally allowed to celebrate other major religious holidays.
Marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
s conducted by the religious communities having agreements with the state are officially recognized, eliminating the need to register the marriages in the civil registry office.
Denominations
The Roman Catholic Church in Croatia receives state financial support and other benefits established in concordatConcordat
A concordat is an agreement between the Holy See of the Catholic Church and a sovereign state on religious matters. Legally, they are international treaties. They often includes both recognition and privileges for the Catholic Church in a particular country...
s between the Government and the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. The concordats and other government agreements with non-Roman Catholic religious communities allow state financing for some salaries and pensions for religious officials through government-managed pension and health funds.
The concordats and agreements also regulate public school catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
s and military chaplain
Military chaplain
A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...
s.
In line with the concordats signed with the Roman Catholic Church and in an effort to further define their rights and privileges within a legal framework, the government has additional agreements with the following 14 religious communities:
- Serb Orthodox Church (SPC)
- Islamic Community of Croatia
- Evangelical ChurchEvangelical ChurchThe term Evangelical Church may refer specifically to:* Slovak Evangelical Church* Armenian Evangelical Church* Assyrian Evangelical Church* Christian Evangelical Church of Romania* Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus...
- Reformed Christian ChurchReformed churchesThe Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
- Pentecostal Church
- Union of Pentecostal Churches of Christ
- Christian Adventist Church
- Union of Baptist ChurchesBaptist Union of CroatiaThe Baptist Union of Croatia is a national organization of Baptists in Croatia for promoting fellowship and ministry. The Baptist Union of Croatia is officially recognized by the state....
- Church of GodChurch of GodChurch of God is a name used by numerous, mostly unrelated Christian denominational bodies, most of which descend from either Pentecostal/Holiness or Adventist traditions.-Pentecostal Movement:*Church of God...
- Church of ChristChurch of ChristChurches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
- Reformed Movement of Seventh-day AdventistsSeventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
- Bulgarian Orthodox ChurchBulgarian Orthodox ChurchThe Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
- Macedonian Orthodox ChurchMacedonian Orthodox ChurchThe Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric or just Macedonian Orthodox Church is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian...
- Croatian Old Catholic ChurchOld Catholic ChurchThe term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
Legal status
The 2002 Law on the Legal Position of Religious Communities broadly defines religious communities' legal positions and covers such matters as government funding, tax benefits, and religious education in schools. Matters such as pensions for clergy; religious service in the military, penitentiaries, and police; and recognition of religious marriages are left to each religious community to negotiate separately with the Government.Registration of religious groups is not obligatory; however, registered groups are granted "legal person" status and enjoy tax and other benefits. The law stipulates that to be eligible for registration, a religious group must have at least 500 believers and be registered as an association for 5 years. All religious groups in the country prior to passage of the law in 2002 were registered without having to meet these conditions; religious groups new to the country after passage of the law must fulfill the requirements for the minimum number of believers and time as an association. Religious groups based abroad must submit written permission for registration from their country of origin.
See also
- Roman Catholicism in Croatia
- Orthodoxy in CroatiaOrthodoxy in CroatiaEastern Orthodoxy is the second largest religion in Croatia. Over 200,000 people, forming 4.4% of the total Croatian population, are Orthodox Christians....
- Islam in CroatiaIslam in CroatiaIslam in Croatia was introduced by the Ottoman Empire. Muslims constitute about 1.3% of the population of Croatia. The Islamic Community of Croatia is officially recognized by the state....
- History of the Jews in CroatiaHistory of the Jews in CroatiaThe Jewish community of Croatia dates back to at least the 3rd century AD, although little is known of the community until the 10th and 15th centuries. The community, over 20,000 strong on the eve of World War II, was almost entirely destroyed in the Holocaust. After the WWII half of the survivors...
- Buddhism in CroatiaBuddhism in CroatiaThe first Croatian Buddhist group was founded in Zagreb in the 80's. Several groups have formed since, affiliated with different traditions. Estimates of the number of Buddhists in Croatia vary from 500 to 1000, depending on the definition. At present, active Buddhist groups are working to...
- Slavic NeopaganismSlavic NeopaganismSlavic Neopaganism is a modern fakeloric, polytheistic, reconstructionistic, and Neopagan religion; its adherents call themselves Rodnovers , and consider themselves to be the legitimate continuation of pre-Christian Slavic religion.- Rebirth of Slavic spirituality :The pre-Christian religions...
External links
- Registry of Religious Communities, Ministry of Public Administration, Government of the Republic of Croatia