Polityka władz komunistycznych wobec serbskiej cerkwi prawosławnej w Jugosławii w latach 1945‒1980 – zarys problematyki

Abstrakt

 In communist regimes there was no space for institutions which promoted alternative ideologies competing with communism which influenced the spiritual sphere and people’s behaviour. This was mainly true for religious institutions. After World War II, Yugoslav communist authorities had to face issues connected with three major religions: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Islam. Serbian Orthodox Church was not only a supreme religious institution, but also a medium for identity, culture, history as well as a tradition of cooperation with lay authorities. In such a context, the process of eliminating the importance of religion proved to be a truly complex problem. In the first period after World War II until the beginning of 1950’s, the elimination was treated literally, which is characteristic for the beginning of Communist power over Central and South-eastern Europe. The next stage was going to consist in fighting the Orthodox Church in an indirect manner by making the society secular. But this strategy was only partially successful, because as the Orthodox Church was pushed to the fringes of society and out of people’s consciousness, it managed to uphold the respect for the institution itself, which allowed for its re-emergence during the decline of Yugoslav communism (socialism) in the 1980’s.