CONTROVERSIES ON RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION REGARDING THE 2021 CENSUS IN MACEDONIA
CONTROVERSIES ON RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION REGARDING THE 2021 CENSUS IN MACEDONIA

Summary/Abstract: After a number of controversies and delays, in September 2021, a census of the population, households and dwellings was conducted in Macedonia. Nineteen years after the last census, contrary to expectations, the long-awaited new data caused numerous reactions regarding their accuracy. Despite the highlighting by the State Statistical Office, the competent national institution for conducting the census, that it had been carried out in accordance with all international standards, there was no adequate justification for the data obtained on religious affiliation, which caused the greatest confusion. At the same time, the biggest controversy was caused by 13.4% of the population being designated as Christians without specifying their denomination. Also, additional controversies, regarding religious affiliation, were caused by the presentation of 132,260 citizens as “persons for whom the data were taken from administrative sources”, while it was not stated to which religion these persons belonged. All this, in the public, imposed the question of the relevance of the data obtained, as well as the relevance of the methodology that was applied during the census. In order to give a clear overview of the essence of the remarks and the possible consequences of the census data on religious affiliation, this paper presents the views of the representatives of the religious communities in Macedonia. In doing so, interviews were conducted with the representatives of religious communities, after which a thematic analysis of the responses obtained from the semi-structured interviews was applied. After the analysis, inadequate formulation of the question about religious affiliation was indicated as the main reason for the confusion regarding the registered category “Christians”. The need was also pointed out of specifying the question, that is, the sub-question about faith, or affiliation to a religious community, in order to obtain accurate data. In addition, the possible risks for religious communities in Macedonian society due to the lack of accurate data on religious affiliation were explained.

• Details
• Contents