How much "real" influence does religion actually have in your country today?
Posted by molindevent@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 16 comments
I’ve been reading lately about the situation in Croatia and Greece regarding abortion, specifically how common "conscientious objection" is among doctors in rural areas
The general vibe here (at least in Belgrade) is that the church is viewed as corrupt and state-controlled. It’s a common trope that the SPC is a "mob" and priests are "thieves". Many believe the current Patriarch was handpicked by the government
Beyond politics, they seem to focus on bizarre non-issues. Just recently, a priest got dragged online for criticizing a kid crocheting on Instagram, calling it "un-Serbian". Because of stuff like this, the church feels culturally irrelevant to me but I recognize my "city bubble" might be biasing my view
I want to know about your country
Do people actually care about religious dogma or is it just "identity theater"? Do average people listen to church officials/Imams or are they mostly ignored?
BardhyliX@reddit
If you asked me who is the leading religious figure in Kosovo and pointed a gun at me, I wouldn't be able to answer. If you asked me to name more than one religious figure I wouldn't be able to answer. If you asked me when the last time I was inside a mosque, I would only be able to give you a vague answer because It's been over eleven-twelve years.
In conclusion politically religion plays a low role unless there's talks about passing a same-sex civil union law.
Some imams here are mostly watched by older people, amongst younger generation there is an interest that has expanded in the last 10 or so years but it's much lower than with the retired folks especially in the cities.
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
interesting when you consider the high percentage of muslims.(i know it means barely nothing to Albanians)
we had recently a study in Austria / Vienna wich had really bad results.
https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000320230/41-prozent-der-jungen-muslime-sehen-islamische-gebote-ueber-den-gesetzen-stehen
41 percent of young Muslims see Islamic commandments as being above the laws. This is very worrysome and i think Austria will try to take some drastic measures in the future to curb this.
True-Blacksmith4235@reddit
The church has never had lower support within the public, so much so that a lot of people completely separate religion from the church.
It’s seen as corrupt and regime supported.
Religion is a different thing, but even so, most people are not that religious, they just follow traditions, and mostly the basic stuff.
I couldn’t imagine anything related to abortion, or any pro-life movement having any meaningful support or discourse in Serbia.
Ok_Win8049@reddit
This sums it up fairly well. What I'd add: Abortion is still a contentious topic within the populace, it's not really different from how people discuss it in the US for instance. But politically, it was never a serious talking point and no one who wants get into power is willing to touch it. Practically political suicide. It's been legal for decades with no challenge.
molindevent@reddit (OP)
Yeah, most of it is just performative tradition. I remember that Zaga Stankić case from 10 years ago. Doctors refused her a medically necessary abortion because it was Pentecost (Duhovi)
It wasn't even about sanctity of life, they literally told her they don't work on a "crveno slovo". In the end, the hospital just scapegoated a nurse to protect the doctors
So it’s not like that kind of thing never happens here but even when it does, it usually comes wrapped in this weird layer of cynicism rather than genuine conviction
I guess the silver lining in Serbs not really having any strong values is that nobody ends up becoming a pro-life nutcase 😅
Red-Citron-56@reddit
I share your opinion and I think organized religion is a scam. However, more and more people need to show how religious they are. Makes me sick.
Radusili@reddit
Enough to ruin us actually
fleuret_fighter21@reddit
It's not religion though that is ruining us. It's ignorance, lack of education and spite, all wraped up under the illusion of religion and patriotism.
Radusili@reddit
Yeah it's not religion as a cause, but as a tool. Depends on how you see religion in the first place but I get what you mean
JumpApprehensive9949@reddit
In Kosovo not much!
No political influence, no influence in schools.
Religion is simply a path people can take if they want to. Personaly i am more religious cause wordly stuf don’t really matter to me and are a thing to become a past one day, so God( The creator ) and the rules set by islam like being a good man, charity, helping others, praying, fasting etc, make sense and
Set my mind and heart at peace!
NoCredit3354@reddit
Not much. But we should return to Catholicism
JumpApprehensive9949@reddit
If we as Albanians have a good thing is religion tolerance and not identifying with any of them.
There is no state religion here !
No-Championship-4632@reddit
I don't give a sh*t about Chekist Orthodoxy.
HighlanderMX4@reddit
I still can't put it in my head that there are countries where religious leaders are so influential that their opinion is actually heard. In Kosovo, they do make appearances for Bajram, Christmas they congratulate each other but that's it. They can handle their own internal matters.
The most controversial thing currently is an imam running for parliament now, which is a first and it's against the policy of the Islamic council to run for parliament, but I think he's not part of the Islamic council so he doesn't care.
Other than that priests and imams can have influence in their local communities but I'd say they have almost zero influence in the state.
Atlandios000@reddit
The reddit / internet type of Atheists are few and mostly cringe.
Many of us do believe in some for of God without really agreeing with everything the priests say.
The people who are going every Sunday to church are more or less 10 / 20 % of the population.
There is a lot of criticism against the priests and the main church bodies but some of it is plain lies.
While I'm pro-seperation of church and the state claims like " the Greek church gas trillions needs lots of proof that no one can give ".
For the most people going to church only in Christmas / Easter and in ceremonies like weddings and baptisms but that's all.
(( My biggest criticism of the main church as a religious person is that they seem to not be biblical but that's not a story for now. ))
Sakky93@reddit
The "conscientious objection" thing for doctors is just so that they dont have to perform abortions in public hospitals, instead they do it in their private clinics and collect the cash.