Религията и църквата в усташката националистическа доктрина
Nationalism and religion play a significant role in the development of the Croatian society. Croatian nationalism is traditionally related to the Catholic Church. For the Croats their religious belonging has always been a synonym of their national identity. In the ideology of the Ustasha movement nationalism and Catholicism played a central role. They were not only two major ideas, but also two inseparable from each other ideas. With the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945) Ustashas included even more substantially Catholicism in their national doctrine. During the Second World War the Ustasha organization made special efforts to gain the support of the Catholic Church for the implementation of its nationalistic policy. However, it did not always find the expected “loyal cooperation”. The Catholic clergy, especially the higher hierarchy, showed some reticence as regards the extreme methods of rule of the Ustasha leaders and especially - to their terrorist activities and their attempts for forcible conversion to Catholicism of a part pf the Orthodox Serbian population.
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