The relationship of faith to a communist society Cover Image

Vjera u komunističkome okviru
The relationship of faith to a communist society

Author(s): Ivan Markešić
Subject(s): History
Published by: Katolički bogoslovni fakultet
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Aloysius Stepinac; Catholic Church; Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ); Holy See; Communist Alliance of Yugoslavia (SKJ)

Summary/Abstract: The author analyzes the relationship between the Socialist authorities in former-Yugoslavia and religion, the Church and religious communities, and explores the degree to which the Socialist system led by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ), or, more correctly, the Communist Alliance of Yugoslavia (SKJ), from 1945-1989, was responsible for weakening the bonds between the people and the Church and religious communities, with falling Church membership as a result. The article also analyzes the degree to which believers were excluded from political and social life, which resulted in their social marginalization. The article is divided into four sections. The first deals with the essence of the “conflict” between the Catholic Church and the KPJ authorities. The next three sections correspond to three phases in the relationship between the state and the Church and religious communities. These are: 1) from the end of WWII (1945) to the end of the confrontation with Stalin (1950); 2) the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s; and 3) from the end of the 1970s to the end of the 1980s. In each period, the author analyzes the relationship between Yugoslav Marxist theory and religion, the Church and religious communities, the relationship of the Socialist authorities with the Church and religious communities, and the relationship of the Church and religious communities with the Socialist system. The article also deals with relationships inside one of the religious communities. It examines the relationship between the Catholic hierarchy and some Franciscans and their associations, namely “The Good Shepherd Association of Catholic Priests”. This is important because the relationship between the church hierarchy and this association reflected the broader relationship between the Church and the state at that time.

  • Issue Year: 2013
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 27-75
  • Page Count: 49
  • Language: Croatian