Sociology of Croatian society: Religion Siniša Zrinščak May 2, 2017 sinisa.zrinscak@pravo.hr http://www.sinisazrinscak.com/

What is religion? Substantive definitions – what religion is, common content of all religions? “belief in spiritual beings” “in divine beings”, “supra empirical… P. Berger: human production of a sacred cosmos - concept of “sacred” ...– what about practice, Eastern religions, new ways of spirituality...? Need for broader definitions, problems of operationalization in different social and cultural contexts

Functional definitions – what religion does M. Yinger: “a system of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggles with the ultimate problems of human life” – functions: creating meaning, empowerment, courage, integration... Not ethnocentric! But: how to differentiate from other phenomenon with same / similar consequences...?

Durkheim: “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one singles moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them” “sacred” + “integration” Definition – just and academic issue? Definition and Church-state relations – which religion should have access to public / state / schools, hospitals…

Confessional belongings, Censuses % 1953 1991 2001 2011 Catholics 73.9 76.5 87.97 86.28 Orthodox 11.26 11.1 4.42 4.44 Muslims 0.18 1.2 1.28 1.47 Protestants 0.5 0.4 0.19 0.34 Others (+ not known in 1991) 0.47 6.9 0.43 Not religious, undecided, agnostics, not known 13.59 3.9 5.79 7.03

Communist period Very hostile attitudes – particularly in late 1940s and 1950s (a story of cardinal Stepinac…) Second period – partial normalization from mid 1960s Public vs. private level – strong religious presence in private life+ secularization in late 1960s, 1970s + crisis of the communist system and revitalization in late 1980s Social circumstances: multi-national + multi-religious Yugoslavia / ethnic-religious links

Religiosity of youth, 1985/86, % (Vrcan) Nations Confessional belongings Religious belongings Serbs 61.7 18.2 Croats 82.5 55.0 Slovenians 64.4 40.8 Macedonians 85.8 30.8 Montenegrins 65.2 12.8 Albanians 87.3 48.4 Muslims 79.0 32.2 Yugoslavs 35.9 16.6

Post-communist period Entering of religion to public space War, state- and nation-building – not religious war but religious involvement; changes of the ethnic structure – Croats, Serbs… Church-state relations in new circumstances Constitution – religious rights; separation of Church and state; equality of religions against law; public, social, educational activities of Churches with the protection and help of the state

= cooperationist model based on hierarchy of different religions – how to compromise equality with empirical difference? Religion in public schools as an optional subject, but confessional nature, 1991 4 agreements with the Holy See, 1996 and 1998 Other religions – Law only in 2002 – two important differences:

(1) simple registration for old / existing + stricter for new: a) 5 years existence as NGO; b) at least 500 believers (2) Religious communities with and without agreement with the state Different treatment – exception or rule from the European perspective? ECHR – lawsuit against Croatia – the Protestant Reformed Christian Church, the Full Gospel Church, the Word of Life Church

The ruling in favor of these communities in December 2010 – the Government has the right to set the criteria but they have to be clear, reasonable, well-argued – and applied equally to all! Implementation of ruling only in August 2014 – no public debates, concerns about this issue

Religion in empirical research Dimensions: - belief - experience (“subjective religiosity”) - practice, confessional identification (+ public role) - knowledge -consequential dimension .... What to study and how?

Practice – at least once a month EVS- VWS data Country Belonging Religious persons Practice – at least once a month   1999.-2001. Change 2008. Austria 88,1 -5,3 75,0 -14,3 42,5 -14,4 Croatia 88,7 -4,5 79,9 -0,9 52,5 -9,9 Czech R. 33,7 -5,8 40,4 -9,1 11,7 +1,1 Finland -12,4 61,6 -12,6 14,0 -4,0 France 57,5 -6,5 44,4 -1,8 11,9 +0,6 Greece 96,0 +0,9 74,8 +11,9 33,5 +9,9 Germany 60.4 -6.7 24.3 -8.5 35.1 - 10.9 Hungary 57,1 -3,8 57,6 -5,2 17,6 -3,0 Italy 82,2 83,2 -1,7 53,7 -6,1 Poland 95,7 -1,5 91,8 -8,2 78,2 -8,4 Portugal 89,0 -2,1 85,4 -3,9 51,2 -3,7 Rusian F. 50,5 +12,5 60,1 +11.1 9,1 +5,3 Slovakia 76,8 +3,0 76,7 +0,3 49,8 Slovenia 70,0 +1,0 64,6 30,7 -4,8

EVS - Croatia, 2008

1999 and 2008

Religion, politics, social expectations : Ančić, B., Zrinščak, S. (2012) Religion in Central European Societies: Its Social Roles and People's Expectations. Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe 5(1):21-38

Ranking of the countries according to religiosity RELIGIOUS SELF-IDENTIFICATION (mean) CHURCH PRACTICE (mean) PRAYER (mean) BELIEVING IN GOD Romania Poland Croatia Moldova Serbia Slovakia Ukraine Lithuania Bulgaria Belarus Slovenia Hungary Czech Republic Most religious Religious Less religious Secular

Believing that Catholic Church can respond to the… yes, %   Croatia Slovakia Slovenia Czech Republic Moral problems and needs of individuals 56.3 47.9 45.6 40.5 Problems of family life 55.1 52.5 42.1 34.5 Questions about meaning of life 64.5 66.8 53.4 50.3 Actual social problems in our country 37.2 35.4 31 26.5

Appropriateness of big Christian Churches to deal with… yes, %   Croatia Slovakia Slovenia Czech Republic Unemployment 58 56.4 36.4 47.2 Abortion 48.8 51.6 31.5 30.3 Extramarital relations 50.7 57.5 32.7 36.2 Same-sex relations 52.1 53 32.2 30.7 Growing social differences 70.3 63.8 49 52.9 Politics of the government 30.1 36 19.5 33

neither disagree nor agree For strengthening democracy it is important to assure that churches would have a role to play   For strengthening democracy it is important to assure that churches would have a role to play (fully) disagree neither disagree nor agree (fully) agree Croatia 38.1 26.1 35.8 Slovakia 33.3 31.3 35.4 Slovenia 58.6 24.3 17.0 Czech Republic 52.7 26.2 21.1

Influence of religious leaders on people’s voice and government (only answers (strongly) agree) %   Croatia Slovakia Slovenia Czech Republic Religious leaders should not influence people’s vote 84.6 74.3 82.7 73.7 Religious leaders should not influence government 80.5 70.2 82.5 69.4

There is a place for the public role of religion+ engagement in various social issues + opposition Approval do not match perfectly the general level of religiosity Strong opposition to political involvement (CRO + SLO!) CZ – place for church-owned institutions